Church leaders have admonished Christians to use the celebration of Easter to promote peace, unity, oneness, forgiveness and reconciliation. They also stressed the need to show love and serve one another. The leaders gave the advice in separate interviews with the Ghanaian Times in Accra. The Most Rev. Dr. Justice Yaw Ofei Akrofi, Archbishop of the Province of West Africa, urged Ghanaians to strive to live in peace saying "it is an important message of Easter." In a message to mark the season, the Most Rev. Dr. Akrofi said "the resurrection represents an option for peace and reconciliation," and distinctions between tribe, race, gender, age and religion should not be allowed to shortchange the humanity and dignity of anyone. He said the resurrection also enjoined Christians to eschew violence and offensive language. Most Rev. Dr Akrofi said "the Christian Feast of Easter is being celebrated against a background of considerable gains and anguish, and these include earthquakes, tsunamis, political upheavals and social and economic lives that get more and more difficult many," adding that the consequences of the acts of nature in the Far East, for instance, had affected the car industry with the consequent shut down of factories, resulting in job loss for workers. The Catholic Archbishop of Accra, the Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, said the death and resurrection of Christ should be used to promote truth, peace and reconciliation. He said Christ is a symbol of love, unity, reconciliation and peace, and thus, it is necessary for mankind to emulate his example. "We should consider ourselves as one people, despite our religious and ethnic differences" he said. Archbishop Palmer Buckle said it was also significant for people to recognise the sacrifice of Christ, who died on the cross to redeem man from sin. Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, president of the World Miracle Outreach Ministry, urged Ghanaians to use the occasion to reconcile with each other to help bring about peace and development in the country. "We should not forget to maintain the peace that the country enjoys currently through unfading prayers," he said. The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, Ghana, the Right Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, said the reflection of Christians, during Easter should be on the fact that "we are prepared to let Christ be our guide." Dr. Apostle Opoku Onyinah, Chairman of the Church of Pentecost, said the season reminds Christians of the death and resurrection of Christ which is the trust of the Christian faith. "Easter demonstrates to us the love that God showed to humanity. He gave us his own son, (Jesus) to die on the cross on our behalf and redeem us from our sins," he said. The Secretary-General of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr Fred Deegbe, said Jesus Christ died on the cross to save people from their sins. He said the death and resurrection of Christ indicates that "when we die we will rise one day, and will be rewarded according to how we lived on earth." Rev. Deegbe said people should not only think about themselves, but the needy as well during Easter. He said Christians should endeavour to shun evil and be upright during and after the celebration. The Most Rev. Prof Emmanuel Asante, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, said Easter presents to us newness of life in the sense that Jesus Christ died because of our sins. He said, "we should not see Easter as a mere celebration, but rather work together to make His resurrection meaningful.'' "As we celebrate the season, we should do things afresh and open a new leaf: Families and Christians should look back where they failed and do new things to honour God and their families" he said. The Presiding Bishop said the nation should move away from partisanship, which will not augur well for the development of the nation. "Ghana should become one, irrespective of our political differences: We should move from politics of insults and focus on the development of the country," he stressed. He said Ghanaians should also endeavour to change their negative attitude towards work; saying, "We should not think the country’s burden is on the government alone. Ghana's business is for all of us and we should work hard to promote the development of the country". Source: Ghanaian Times/Ghana