By Sandra Agyeiwaa OTOO
Kingdom Flame Missions (KFM) has launched the second edition of the National Forgiveness Conference which aims to mend broken relationships and promote unity and healing across the country. The event, held in Accra, brought together distinguished guests, religious leaders and members of the community to embark on a journey of forgiveness and healing.
The conference, themed ‘As we forgive’, intends to aid in the reconciliation of broken connections in many areas of life, including communities, families and religious identities. This year’s event will feature a Forgiveness Clinic, where individuals can interact with religious leaders to overcome challenges with unforgiveness; and a book of forgiveness, where political leaders can commit to reconciliation before, during and after the General Elections.
Founder of Kingdom Flame Missions, Moses Kofi Amponsah, in his keynote address, mentioned that as forgiveness is practised, it opens oneself to true healing and restoration. He said forgiveness is not merely an act of letting go, but a divine mandate that calls us to extend grace, mercy and love to those who have wronged us.
“Forgiveness is not merely an act of letting go, but a divine mandate that calls us to extend grace, mercy and love to those who have wronged us. As our Lord Jesus Christ taught us in the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors’, this simple yet profound principle has the power to heal wounds, restore relationships and build stronger, more compassionate communities,” he stated.
According to Mr. Amponsah, a nation that forgives is a nation that receives from God. He further urged stakeholders to support the initiative with their quota.
“We therefore call on all stakeholders, including sponsors and partners to support us as we spread the message of forgiveness at the global, national and local levels through the National Forgiveness Conference,” he added.
This year’s event will be held at the Kingdom Flame Missions auditorium at Dansoman on 8th September, 2024, with Rev. Dr. J.K.K. Baisie as the main speaker among other invited men of God.
Chairman of the National Peace Council, Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, in a speech read on his behalf, echoed the importance of forgiveness, citing the numerous conflicts plaguing the country.
“To the NPC, this is timely not only because of the upcoming elections, but the myriad of conflicts in the country. As we speak, the country is battling with over 400 conflicts from politics, religion, land, chieftaincy, among others. It is interesting to know that as a religious country as we are, it would be expected that there wouldn’t be this high number of conflicts; but unfortunately, this is where we find ourselves,” he revealed.
According to Dr. Adu-Gyamfi, “It is our vision to have a country characterised by a dynamic environment where people can engage in their lawful activities and are confident that the institutions, mechanisms and capacities for mediating differences and grievances are effective and responsive”.
“The mission of the council is to facilitate the development of mechanisms for cooperation among all relevant stakeholders in peace-building in Ghana by promoting cooperative problem-solving to conflicts and by institutionalising the processes of response to conflicts to produce outcomes that lead to conflict transformation; social, political and religious reconciliation; and transformative dialogues,” Mr. Adu-Gyamfi added.
Mr. Adu-Gyamfi revealed that the National Peace Council (NPC) uses soft approaches in dealing with conflicts such as dialogue, mediation and negotiation to facilitate reconciliation. He went ahead to urge all and sundry to uphold the values of forgiveness and reconciliation, irrespective of their religion, for a better Ghana and the world at large.
