President Lazarus Chakwera has advised Malawians to work together, be patriotic and have national pride for the country to rise above current hardships to success.
The Malawi leader made the plea at Civo Stadium in Lilongwe Sunday, when thousands of Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) members under Nkhoma Synod gathered for a thanksgiving giving prayer service.
He said, for the country to address socio-economic problems, there is a need for the citizenry to have unity of purpose.
“Let us rise, let us work, let us have good wishes for our country. Other people will not respect us if we disrespect one another; others will not respect us if we see ourselves as useless people.
“National pride and patriotism should start with us. This country is not a dumpsite; this country is a country loved by God,” Chakwera told the congregation, which braced the sunny day.
He, nevertheless, acknowledged that the country is facing challenges, just like other countries worldwide, urging Malawians to place their trust in God.
Chakwera, a pastor, advised religious leaders to continue praying for the country and reveal prophecies from God instead of cursing the nation.
He also urged the church to continue assisting the country in sectors such as health, education and agriculture.
Nkhoma CCAP Moderator, Reverend Philip Kambulire, said the church would continue praying for the country’s leadership instead of finger-pointing.
He said, in the past three years when Chakwera and Vice President Saulos Chilima have been in office, there have been some achievements registered in Malawi.
“The challenges we have in our nation are not because of the leaders; they are here [because they had to be here] such that, even if these leaders were not here, the challenges would have been there. Challenges are always there. They are there for us to tackle them.
“The message I was trying to convey is that we need not to point at one another but, rather, come together and find the solutions and then move together,” Kambulire told The Daily Times after the service.
He added that there are challenges that could be solved if human beings unite while other challenges can be solved by God.
The church also preached against plans to legalise same sex marriages in Malawi, arguing that this is “ungodly”.
Reverend Alexander Kambiri was the preacher of the day and his anchor scripture was Exodus 14 verses 1 to 14, which narrate how God saved Israelites from Egyptians.
Chilima and other government officials attended the thanksgiving Sunday service, which lasted for about four hours.
Thanksgiving prayers by Nkhoma CCAP Synod are supposed to be held once every year but there was a three-year break due to the Covid pandemic.
