Delegation from Pentecostal churches call on President Ramkalawan |16 December 2021

The Pentecostal delegation in a souvenir photograph with President Ramkalawan (Photo: Joena Meme)

A delegation comprising members of the Pentecostal churches locally called on President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House yesterday morning, where they engaged in discussions with the head of state on matters of concern.

The delegation was led by Overseer of Pentecostal churches in Seychelles, Paul H. Freminot, who together with other members shared the church’s constraints and plans with the President.

“We addressed some of the challenges that the Church faces, and how we can work together, the Church and government, towards more advancement. As the Church, we pray for the President, government, the authorities and the country, and one of the important things is that we need to pray as a church. Asides from the spiritual aspect, we can also help socially and help people emotionally to address major challenges,” Mr Freminot said.

“The church faces numerous challenges and one is that there is a misconception about the church. We need to reach out to society to understand our role in society, especially the Pentecostal movement. Moreover, space is also a challenge as the church is not static and keeps growing. When the church grows we require more physical space. At the moment, we make use of various government facilities and private spaces but it is better that the church has its own space whereby it can function in full force. With properties not owned by the church this is not always possible as there is sometimes limited access to certain days, but we are thinking not only of a church, but maybe even a multi-purpose complex, for instance featuring conference rooms. The church forms part of a community and the two cannot be separated but we need to weigh up all the different sides,” Mr Freminot explained.

The movement also channels its efforts towards addressing social ills, reaching out to those in need of a helping hand in society. At present, the target groups are school children, prisoners and recovering addicts.

“We are concentrating our efforts at school, at the prison, as there are many people on drugs and aside from methadone, they need prayers. The majority of things are spiritual and start from the spirit which is why we need prayers to break the forces. When someone abuses substances, drugs, and even alcohol, it is usually to drown their sorrows but they are not tackling the problem, as the roots of the problem are usually spiritual. We focus more on psychology, mental health and the physical but there is a spiritual aspect which is really important,” Mr Freminot added.

In moving forward, the Pentecostal movement would like to have opportunities for regular dialogue with the President.

Laura Pillay