By Atia Tilarious Azohnwi
Unlike previous celebrations, this year’s Presbyterian Church day was a moment of reflection on the crisis in Cameroon’s North West and South West regions
The 61st anniversary of the constitutional independence of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) was commemorated with a call for Christians to mediate and meditate on the crisis which has rendered most Presbyterian schools and hospitals in the conflict-hit regions paralysed.
As part of activities to mark the anniversary, the Presbyterian church is poised on distribution food and technical assistance items to some internally displaced persons who have registered with the church.
Rt. Rev. Fonki Samuel Forba , PCC Moderator in a message captioned ”Transformed To Endure!”, enjoined Christians to endure these trying moments by seeking God’s face.
Hear him: “Fellow Presbyterians; the socio-political crisis that has been going on in the Northwest and Southwest regions since 2016 has brought social, spiritual and financial challenges to the Church of God, the PCC not excluded.
“These days are evil; we cannot wholly fulfil our primary mission to worship, to fellowship, to disciple, to evangelize and to do ministry. Today, it is challenging to bear witness to the truth, uphold justice and preach righteousness in a world where evil is normal, the killing of human beings is celebrated, hate speech is glorified, and the holiness of the Church of God is desecrated.
“Today, we see the military, armed youths and unbelievers of the faith interrupt the worship of God, desacralize sanctuaries of worship, humiliate God‟s servants and inflict pain on the body of Christ. The sacredness of human life has been undermined; the image of God in our fellow human beings is unrecognized, family life has been disjointed and communal living completely broken down. Family life and communal living are fraternal expressions of the Holy Trinity.
“The rights to life and school are basic fundamental human rights and the right to worship is a basic divine responsibility. We cannot experience these privileges anymore. 82% of our socio-economic Page 3 activities take place in the Southwest and Northwest regions. 14 of our 30 Presbyteries are partially or wholly dysfunctional. The arms of our secondary evangelisation such as Schools and Hospitals cannot meet up their ministry function. We have a huge social and spiritual burden to care for workers and their families. These things have a huge impact on our Christian witness and a huge rippling effect on our churches economy. Things are falling apart in our society by the day! We need a positive change.”
The Moderator adds that, “In moments of adversities like ours, we cannot lose heart, but are called upon to endure. Endurance is the potential to move on and not give up, no matter how bad things may be or seem to be. As faithful Page 4 Christians, we remain hopeful that our Yahweh who holds history – the past, the present and the future firmly in His hand, and who has seen us all these years through the paths and journeys we have covered as a church and as individuals, will not abandon us. He has never abandoned his own!”
He urged Christians to spend less and evangelise more. He ended by stating the position of the PCC with regards to the conflict in the North West and South West regions.
His words: “We denounce the arbitrary and indiscriminate killing of Cameroonians by the armed forces and the ‘Amba Boys’, the rampant attack on educational institutions and the deprivation of children off their right to education. We denounce the intimidating presence of armed forces and their usage of excessive force against unarmed populations in the two regions. We call on the government to promptly initiate and announce a national plan for the resolution of this crisis taking into account its real and profound causes, in view of establishing veritable peace. We call on the Diaspora to stop hate speech communication that promotes and stimulates violence amongst the people of Cameroon. We call on the ‘Amba boys’ and all armed groups and individuals to value human life, be it theirs or that of others.”