PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has appealed to Tanzanians to use Easter celebrations to continue praying for peace, unity, love and solidarity for the prosperity of the country.
Dr Samia also encouraged Tanzanians to uphold professionalism of the highest level in making the country a much better place.
She used her Twitter handle to send the Easter greetings and remind Tanzania’s of the most important act in the lives of human beings –love.
“Wishing you all a very Happy Easter. May the symbol of hope and possibilities that this day carries remind us of our responsibilities to one another and God’s constant call for renewal and reforms in our lives, our families and our country,” said Dr Samia.
In another development, Vice-President Dr Philip Mpango joined fellow Christians at the Saint Maria- Theresa Ledochowska Parish, which is located around the Airport area in Dodoma to mark Easter Sunday Mass.
At the church, Dr Mpango was joined by his spouse Mama Mbonimpaye Mpango, where he addressed the worshippers urging them to protect their children and youth against irresponsible use of mobile telephones.
In line with that, the VP urged parents and guardians to keenly follow up on their children’s all-time endeavors, stressing that they should bring up the children while taking into strong consideration of the country’s good morals.
He cautioned against some of the contents of cartoons aired, saying: “It’s critical that parents become familiar with their children’s friends as well as equip them with the right guidelines rather than leaving them to take control of themselves.”
Equally, Dr Mpango added that “Teachers and instructors from primary to university level of education should strongly condemn the deterioration of Tanzania morals.”
On the other hand, the VP appealed to Tanzania to increase efforts in the protection and conservation of the environment by planting trees in every household along with conducting regular cleanliness in their respective areas.
As such, he called upon parents to guide their children on good principles of conserving and protecting the environment by teaching them in practice on how to plant and maintain trees.
Meanwhile, in celebrating Easter, Christian in the country have been reminded to cooperate in the better upbringing of children, by following them step by step, so that they can hear and live in the word of God.
This, the clerics said will assist the children to make the right decisions in their lives. Delivering a sermon in the Ruvuma Region during the national Easter service at the Episcopal Church of Saint Francis Xavery Catholic Diocese of Tunduru-Masasi, Bishop Filbert Mhasi said it is the utmost responsibility of guardians and parents in the country to righteously raise their children by carefully watching over them to make proper moral decisions.
“Let’s not let children be raised by social media. The government will help you. Society will help you. But as a parent, it is your obligation to monitor your child,” said Bishop Mhasi.
Bishop Mhasi stated that Easter celebration brings about joy, hope, love and peace among other things, urging Tanzanians in general to practice true love.
He said that there are people who have wealth and live a luxurious life, but they have forgotten God, who gave them the wealth, so that they also remember and help the poor.
He added that there are people who struggle because they can’t even afford to eat single meal a day, and there are people who struggle because of despondency, unemployment, and the challenge of drugs.
“As we celebrate this Easter, I invite you to spread joy and love to such people in the community,” he said.
“The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ was meant to redeeming man from all kinds of sins, bring light, joy and love for those who are suffering,” said the Bishop.
In addition, the bishop urged the youth in the country to work hard rather than look for shortcuts to achievements in order to attain real success.
“There is no easy money, so you should devote yourself to work and do not accept being deceived because of money, because by doing so, you will end up getting into trouble and perish,” Bishop Mhasi emphasised.
He added that successful people have gone through hardships to finally reach where they are, thus emphasizing to the youth to put their hope in God to achieve success.
In other hand, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) asked the community to stop justifying sin by hiding in the shadow of human rights, while strongly condemning the issue of same-sex marriages that seemed to be gaining momentum in recent days due to moral decay.
ELCT Bishop for the Eastern and Coastal Diocese, Dr Alex Malasusa said in his sermon at the Easter celebration service held at the Azania Front Church in Dar es Salaam on Saturday that God created man and woman to be His image-bearers.
Dr Malasusa further said the world has become so dark that people have lost sight of God and instead, turn to mental pursuits of enjoyment, which snare them into sins and cause them to grieve God with their terrible deeds. He said that in 2010, the ELCT made a statement against same-sex marriages, and even now it does not agree with it and strongly condemns it.
He wants all Christians to know that the church has condemned same-sex marriages and by God’s creation, the marriages that he knows are only for a man and woman.
“We have to avoid these immoral practices by all means, we also have to keep praying for our country’s prosperity in all sectors,” he concluded.
