Church leaders urged to empower the vulnerable

The Minister in Charge of Cabinet Affairs, Dr Charles Murigande, has called upon church leaders to inspire morality, if the church is to achieve its prime goal of transforming the society.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

The Minister in Charge of Cabinet Affairs, Dr Charles Murigande, has called upon church leaders to inspire morality, if the church is to achieve its prime goal of transforming the society.

The Minister made the remarks during a consultative workshop with Church Legal Representatives at a hotel in Kigali.

Quoting from the Bible, he condemned Christian organisations which hide under the pretext of spreading the gospel while doing the contrary.

"Work without action as the Bible says is nothing and counted as a loss. We should look up to helping the power like Jesus did in his times because they still exist,” Murigande urged.

Religious leaders were also advised to embark on capacity building measures to enable local churches to serve the most vulnerable people using church programmes, groups or networks.

This call was made by Phil Smith, the Country Director of World Relief (WR), who explained that his organisation intends to empower the church to serve the most vulnerable by addressing their needs.

"In the community, we, together with local churches envision the transformation of lives for those at risk either economically, socially or spiritually,” Smith told the gathering.

He pointed out that as much as the government has the major responsibility of caring for the underprivileged, the church should step up efforts to supplement it.

Smith encouraged the church leaders to take pride in the value of Jesus Christ of equipping the people with continuous improvement, empowerment and partnership.

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