MONROVIA – A three men delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is currently visiting the country as guests of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church Int’l (APCI).
According to the head of delegation, Rev. Dr. Benjamin K.L. Simon, their mission in Liberia is an assessment visit with the Apostolic Pentecostal Church which he said has applied for membership with the World Council of Churches.
Dr. Benjamin said in the next few days while in Liberia his team will engage and work with the Apostolic Pentecostal Church International (APCI), assess the living condition with the people in the country and meet with other church leaders as they have already done with the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) and some member churches of the World Council of Churches in Liberia.
Speaking on the theme: Victory is the Lord’s, with text taken from 2 Samuel 10:12 during the worship service at the New Water in Desert Assembly, Apostolic Pentecostal Church (APCI), Dr. Simon called on Liberians to begin the process of reconciliation, peace and unity which he said are the three pillars the WCC is currently working with.
He called on Liberian churches to help propagate the messages of reconciliation, peace and unity amongst Liberians in order to bring about national healing and development.
He however said that reconciliation, peace and unity go hand in hand with justice and forgiveness, starting with the family, community and the nation.
“We cannot talk about reconciliation, peace and unity without providing justice. Forgiveness comes after justice is served, then reconciliation, peace and unity can be genuine. We are all one people despite our diversities,” he explained.
Explaining the criteria for a denomination to be qualified to join the WCC, he said every applicant church must have a membership of at least 50,000, be a member of a continental religious body and must believe in the Trinitarian faith, amongst others.
For his part, His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim Kykotis said there is a need that the powerful countries in the world pay more attention to eradicate poverty and diseases than spending billions of dollars in purchasing weapons to destroy the very people they seek to protect.
He decried the appalling living and learning condition of the people including the children in Tubmanburg, Bomi County.
Also speaking, Bishop Kortu Brown who is the head of the Apostolic Pentecostal Church International (APCI) called on Liberians to pick up the message of reconciliation, peace and unity spoken by Dr. Simon and thanked the team for coming to Liberia as guests of his church.
He said the team was split into three, with Dr. Benjamin Simon worshipping at the New Water in the Desert Assembly in Brewerville, while His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim Kykotis worshipped with Renewed Fellowship in Tubmanburg and Rev. Astride Ntumba worshipped with the Lee Henderson APC in Kakata, Margibi County respectively.
The WCC delegation to Liberia includes Rev. Dr Benjamin Simon, WCC-Program Executive for Church Relations and Professor at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey and the head of delegation to Liberia; Rev. Astride Ntumba, pastor of the Presbyterian church in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Director for the Diaconical program and member of the WCC Central Committee; and His Eminence Metropolitan Serafim Kykotis, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.
They will conclude their stay in Liberia in Kingsville, Margibi County following the Birth Registration, Awareness and Certification ceremony for 700 children who were presented birth certificates completed by CAI and Ministry of Health.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) currently has a membership of 352 churches across the world and more could be added to its membership by next year according to Dr. Simon. Reported By Varney K. Sirleaf.
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