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When the Head of the Pentecost Church visited Finland
• A section of the audience at the event
Three weeks ago, on Friday, September 30, 2022, the Global Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, Apostle Eric Nyamekye visited Finland.
It was a visit to acquaint himself with thec in Finland and a mission to spread the message of God.
He was accompanied by Apostle Emmanuel Agyemang Bekoe, the International Missions Director of the church.
They were hosted by the Church of Pentecost Finland (COP Finland), led by its National Head, Rev. Francis Owusu Kwaah.
Powerful ministration,inspiring experience
It was an unforgettable experience. Despite the fact that the event took place on a Friday, a working day, it was attended by an impressive number of people.
In attendance were other religious leaders from various churches or missions and dignitaries.
Organised under the theme, “Equipping the church as an army to possess the nation”, it was, indeed, an occasion of powerful worship and ministration with spirit-filled songs of praise.
Apostle Nyamekye preached a powerful message on the need to work hard to draw closer to God and win more souls for Him.
The Church of Pentecost, he said, would strive to become a church whose members go to possess or take nations by promoting values and lifestyles that would turn many people to Christ. “The church is for whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ”, he sermonised.
The Church of Pentecost in Finland
The Church of Pentecost in Finland was established about 20 years ago. It started in September 2000 as a prayer group with a small number of devoted persons in Helsinki (see www.copfinland.fi).
With time, following the growth of the group there was the need to secure a place of meeting in the Helsinki area. The church has grown and spread to other towns and cities in Finland.
Today, in Helsinki alone, there are two branches of the church. There is the Akan Assembly where worship is done mostly in the Twi language. The other branch is the English Assembly (or the PIWC) which is attended by other nationalities and African immigrants aside Ghanaian immigrants.
In addition to the two Assemblies, the COP Finland has branches in cities such as Turku, Tampere, and Vaasa. There are other branches in Oulu and Kuopio, according to Elder Samuel Yaw Anni, who is the National Secretary of COP Finland.
The National Executives of COP Finland, Elders, Deacons and Deaconesses were introduced to Apostle Nyamekye.
Growth
Soon after its inception, COP Finland established contact with Ghana, and it has since grown increasingly both in numbers and in spirit.
It has received countless visitations from representatives of other Church of Pentecost missions around Europe, including UK, Italy, and Norway.
In 2013, Apostle Edmund Appiah was posted to Finland as the National Head of COP Finland and there was growth during his term, including re-organising the Vaasa branch.
The growth of the church has continued under Pastor Francis Owusu Kwaah, who took over from Apostle Appiah as the National Head of the Church in Finland a few years ago. And there is every indication that the church would grow to more places in Finland.
COP Finland has been one of the major channels through which the Ghana Union Finland (GUF), an association of Ghanaian immigrants in Finland, has made more contacts with members of the Ghanaian immigrant community.
Thus, it is one of the major Pentecostal or Charismatic churches dominated by Ghanaian immigrants which has been of immense benefit to GUF.
Previously, before the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 and its attendant restrictions, newly-elected executives of GUF got the chance to introduce themselves to other Ghanaian immigrants by visiting them at church sessions. This boosted easy interaction. Thank you!
[The writer is a Ghanaian lecturer at the University of Helsinki, Finland]
Email: perpetualcrentsil@yahoo.com
By Perpetual Crentsil
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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