By Seykajipo Amegashie

Speaking on the theme: “In Times Like These” with text drawn from St. Luke 10:25-37, Rev. Dr. Charles W. Fiske, Jr. Senior Pastor of the Duahzon United Methodist Church in Duahzon, Margibi County told the congregation that ‘Father’ is a title given to a male parent of a child or children but due to the delicate importance attached to a father, not every male parent is fit to be father and not all male parent possesses the requisite criteria to be called a father.

He went on to say that in the church, a Pastor can only be called a father, if he is providing the requisite spiritual guidance for the growth of the congregation, and for a leader can be called father of the nation is only if he is cautiously sensitive to the plight of the citizens and seek ways and means to improve their livelihood.

A father does not depend on his ability to impregnate as many females as he can but how well he exercises his God’s given responsibility to provide care, leadership and support for those precious creation.

Rev. Dr. Fiske therefore indicated that a father in times like these must be someone with a caring heart.

He said in times like these, the society needs a father that stands for the truth and whose light does not only shine in his home but in the entire community, and in the nation at large. A true father must be someone who shows compassion, he told the cheering congregation.

The United Methodist Clergyman recounted the numerous contributions Rev. Emmanuel Jotunu Giddings made to the construction of the Duahzon UMC, the Society and the nation whom he described as the Good Samaritan.

On Sunday, July 17, 2022, Rev. Emmanuel J. Giddings was honored as District Father of the Year 2022/2023 respectively for his outstanding contributions to the church through the provision of scholarship, micro-finance loan to market women and rural Pastors’ salary support over the years when he served as Director of Alfalit International and the Liberia-Ghana Missions.

It can be recalled that in May 2018, Rev. Giddings was in the media for a student identified as Odell Sherman who died on arrival at the ELWA Hospital as a result of hemorrhage in his compound in Duahzon, Margibi County. The Liberia National Police has since cleared Rev. Giddings of any foul play.

Rev. Giddings recently announced his intention to contest the Senate seat for Margibi County in the forthcoming general and presidential elections in October 2023.