14 Apr 2013

Churches are expected to integrate, reach out and bridge the divides between communities, the Vice President, Dr Ponatshego Kedikilwe, has said.

Officiating at a four-day Methodist Church of Southern Africa - Limpopo District’s annual Young Men’s Guild District Convention, Dr Kedikilwe acknowledged the role that churches played in communities.

He said churches often played a leading role in social upliftment and dealing with the trauma of violence against women and children.

Although he said he was elated that the Methodist Church had not conducted themselves in a manner that compromised their integrity, Dr Kedikilwe said he was concerned that the modern church was more pre-occupied with what God could do for them than what they could do for God. As a result some churches have “stooped to the lowest methods to get a following,” he said

Religious organisations must lead by example and the leadership must also be phenomenal, upright, diligent and God fearing, with high levels of integrity and above reproach, he said.

Furthermore, Dr Kedikilwe noted that the nation placed significant trust in the church. “We view the church as a manifestation of grace, and an intermediary between us and our Saviour. We therefore wish that the trust we place on the church be upheld and that the church remains calm,” he counseled.

“We expect everyone to touch the hearts of those around them in a positive way that will transform them. Where they have lost hope, the church is their hope, where they have lost trust in the secular world they should have trust in the church,” he added.

He also appreciated Methodist Church’s initiatives to assist humanity and its contribution towards educational development, adding that the church would invest some money in Botswana towards construction of the Ramotswa church building.

This, he said, was commendable because church structures in the evolution of the church around the world served as homes for the homeless and refuge for those who found themselves stranded in times of war.

The Vice President added that having a permanent structure assured those who needed it to come and remain in the house of the Lord and also gave them dignity to praise God in a comfortable way. ENDS