Rev. Lawson Kwaku Dzanku has been elected as the clerk of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG) at its Extraordinary General Assembly meeting held on Saturday, August 21, 2021 at the Ho Kpodzi Dela Parish.
Rev. Dr. Lawson Kwaku Dzanku the Presbytery Synod Moderator for Central-Western Presbytery of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, pulled 139 votes to to be elected ahead of Rev. Wisdom Seloame Alorvi who pulled 37 votes.
Rev. Dzanku replaced Rev. Dr. Mrs. Bridgette Ben- Naimah in the nominations, who declined her nominations on ethical grounds, having been recently appointed as the Director of Careers and Counseling Center at the University of Ghana.
Background:
Rev. Dr. Lawson Kwaku was born on the 10th October, 1969. He hails from Akrofu Agorve in the Volta Region.
He was commissioned into the Ministry on May, 4th 2001.
Rev. Dzanku, the current Synod Moderator for the Central-Western Presbytery of the Church, is the former Chaplain of the Evangelical Presbyterian University College, a school owned by the Church.
The Clerk elect Rev. Dzanku is holds a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Master of Philosophy (MPhil ) University of Ghana – Legon, Bachelor of Divinity (BA) University of Ghana Legon, and Diploma in Education from the University of Education Winneba.
He is currently serving as General Assembly Executive Council Member, a lecturer at the Evangelical Presbyterian University College and Research Ethics Committee Chair at the University of Health and Allied Sciences UHAS -Ho
He is married with six (6) children.
Rev. Dzanku is expected to take over office from Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Amey whose tenure of office ends on 31st December 2021 as the Clerk of the General Assembly of the E. P. Church.
Rev. Amey served the church for six years.
Addressing the media after the General Assembly meeting, the Moderator of the General Assembly Rt. Rev. Lt. Col. Bliss Agbeko (Rtd.) disclosed the need for the extraordinary meeting, explaining that meeting is supposed to be held next year August but the need came since the Clerk’s term of office will expire at the end of the year 2021.
“Welcome to Dela Cathedral where we are ending General Assembly’s extraordinary meeting, It’s extraordinary because we had to meet next year 2022, August but the Clerk will end his term of office on 31st December 2021, therefore, he will not be in office before the General Assembly and that place cannot be vacant so we have to meet to elect a successor that will take over office in January 2022” he said.
The meeting, also elected renowned Lawyer Dick Anyadi and Presbyter Joy D.S. Amegbe as Non-Standing Committee members of the Board of Trustees of the General Assembly.
“We also had the chance to elect two Non-Standing Committee member trustees of the church to support the running of the Church. The trustees’ duties are to be the legal component of the estate of the church to make sure they guard and protect all that is left to us and make sure they improve upon them and also bring about revival in all forms thus; spiritual, financial, moral, social in to the Church” he added.
The Moderator in his address further disclosed that, the meeting was also used to amend article 30 (1b) of the Church’s Constitution which has to do with the age of high office bearers from Synod Moderators to General Assembly Moderators.
“The fact is that we had in our constitution that the one who will be elected to this offices must not be less than 45 years and not more than 59 years of age but we realised, that will represent a challenge for us in getting very experienced ministers to man the various Presbyteries so we have to revert to the old, that’s not less than 45 and not more than 64-years of age.
The General Assembly Moderator called on the Church to be committed to the fund mobilisation strategies of the Church to alleviate the financial distress that has bedeviled the Church.
The next General Assembly meeting is scheduled for the Meridian Presbytery in August 2022.
Source: awakenewsroom.com/Evans Attah
