The Rector of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute (ACI), Rev. Prof. B. Y. Quarshie, has called for commitment from the Christian fraternity to help curtail the destruction of the environment.
Prof. Quarshie believed that many Ghanaians who claimed to be Christians were the same people involved in illegal mining also known as “galamsey” and other environmentally destructive activities, adding that was a blot on the Christian faith.
He said this on Tuesday at the launch of a partnership between A Rocha Ghana (ARG) and ACI aimed at teaching and inspiring future clergy and lay church leaders to care for the natural environment held atAkropong in the Eastern Region.
The programme dubbed “Creation Care Theological Education Programme,” is targeted at providing support and creating awareness to enhance the knowledge of creation care studies and its practice in an African context.
The programme launch also featured an inaugural symposium which gave an in-depth view on how to build creation care in the African Church with a focus on the process, the role of the Pulpit—which includes the leadership of the church and the Pew—which has to do with the members of the church and their responsibilities in ensuring the environment is kept healthy for tomorrow.
According to Prof Quarshie, the partnership would pursue the sustenance of God’s creation and educate the members on the right way to treat the environment, as he called on various religious institutions to come on board to save the world.
“Those of us who claim to appreciate what it means to be a new creation in Jesus Christ cannot run away from our responsibility towards creation. No religious person can be neutral in this. We cannot sit on the fence. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, it’s your responsibility to take care of the environment,” he said.
The National Director for A Rocha Ghana, Dr. Seth Appiah-Kubi, highlighted the need for Christians to be fully involved in the care for the environment as it formed the basis of Christianity.
According to Dr Appiah-Kubi, God’sinitial role given to man was, tendering, sustaining and keeping the beautiful creation He had made.
He expressed the hope that the programme would demonstrate the need to create a sustainable environment by taking on practical interventions that would help save important ecosystems, ecological places and species and enable them to thrive just as God intended them to be.
“At a time when the effects of ecological changes can be felt in almost every aspect of life, there is an urgent need to also get every faction of society actively involved in reducing the risks of ecological decline and ensuring that the environment is well protected and conserved for posterity,” he added.
He said ARG and ACI were, therefore, working together to help instill positive habits of caring for creation in faith-based organisations, specifically the church which is known to make up one of the largest social networks in the country.
Dr Appiah-Kubi said Christian educators and church pastors were in a unique position to influence their respective communities by developing and teaching values and practices that promoted creation care.
BY JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU
