Pastors who have developed the attitude of contracting and officiating marriages for would-be couples without recourse to the families of the couple have been warned to desist from the habit, as it is against traditional cultural practices and norms.
The General Overseer of the Divine Gift Worship Centre, Prophet Philip McCalister Appiah who gave the advice at a Marriage Seminar organized by the Church in Agona Swedru pointed out that even some pastors go to the extent of fixing date for the marriage ceremony before informing the families of the would-be couple.
He described this as unacceptable, as marriage is contracted by the family, and not a pastor.
He further stressed that some pastors also demand the would-be couple to convert the drinks meant for the marriage rites as required by custom into money.
According to him, drinks play significant role in marriage, as it symbolizes the acceptability of the relation by families of both couple, and as such rejecting it means rejecting the marriage in spiritual sense.
He questioned why Jesus Christ who is the embodiment of Christianity turned water into wine at a wedding ceremony in Canaan, if drink has no significance in marriage.
By: Robert Ayanful