The Seventh-day Adventist Women Quadrennial Congress opened in Accra on Wednesday with a call for women to acknowledge their roles as development agents.
The first since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Congress brought together four thousand women from the Southern Ghana Union Conference and the Northern Ghana Union Mission.
The five-day congress is on the theme “Empowered to Go, Get Involved Now!”
Ms Lydia Alhassan, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, said at the Congress that women ought to acknowledge their power and the impact of their actions on other people, no matter how modest.
“Do not underestimate the impact you can have on people around you. Your actions no matter how small they may seem can bring about transformation and renewal.
“In a world that desperately needs the love of Christ, let us go forth, empowered by His grace, to make a positive and lasting impact on our communities and the world at large.
“Times of great change and challenge are a time when people are searching for meaning, for hope, for something to hold on to, and it is precisely in times like these that our faith calls us to action,” she said.
Ms. Alhassan stressed that women can participate in development by observing and addressing issues around them.
“It may be a neighbour who is struggling, a friend who is lonely, or a community that is hurting. It is about opening our eyes, our hearts, and our hands to those in need.
“Each one of us has been uniquely empowered by God, not only with talents and gifts but also with boundless love that if shared can transform lives. She added.
In her welcome address, Mrs. Vida Linda Gyasi, Women’s Ministry Director for the Northern Ghana Union Conference (NGUC WM), stated that many people were dying without hope, and that “it is our duty to help such persons out of a hopeless situation.”
Mrs. Christiana Agyenim-Boateng, Director of the Southern Ghana Union Conference Women (SGUC WM), on her part, emphasized the importance of women in the church and the crucial role they play.
She mentioned education, skill training, and community empowerment as issues that would be addressed at the congress.
Dr. Omobonike Adoela Sessou, West-Central Africa Division Women’s Ministries Director (WAD WM & CHM), noted that women have many gifts that must be used to promote the development of women in the church and around the world.