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| Male actor kicked out of church over hair-do |
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| Posted on: 2008-Jun-26 Graphic Showbiz |
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A simple routine visit to church last Sunday, turned out to be quite an unforgettable day in the life of actor Benjamin Kwadey; the young man got booted out of the church because of his hair!
Ben, who has appeared in many television series including Sun City, Kejetia, Taxi Driver and is also the presenter of Campus File on Net 2 Television and sports an afro hair-do and sometimes wears it in a pony-tail, was asked to leave the church by the General Overseer of Pure Fire Ministries, Pastor Enoch Aminu.
Narrating his story to Showbiz, Ben said "Sister Esther, a relative, invited me to church at the Pure Fire Ministries and I complied. When I got there, the place was full so I had to stand throughout the service. After the sermon, it was announced that the pastor was giving 'divine passports'.
"People were to put any amount of money they could afford into an envelope and put it in a basket, after they dropped the money, the pastor then gave them a laminated card with a Bible quotation on it. The pastor was sitting a few feet away from the basket.
"There was a queue and I patiently waited for my turn. But when I got to the pastor, he asked me what I had done to my hair; I had tied it in a pony-tail like I usually do. I replied that I was an actor so I used it to perform. He responded rudely by asking ‘and so what?' He asked me to leave, he told me to go and cut my hair. To add to all of this; he didn't give me back my money, neither was I given the quotation I had paid for."
According to Ben, he was very embarrassed by the pastor's behaviour because "even though he did not speak into the microphone, he made gestures while he was talking to me, so those in the front rows might have seen what happened even if they did not hear the words. When I walked out, I could not look at anybody's face. I went to the church office to ask for a sheet of paper because I had wanted to write a complaint but they told me they didn't have any. I left the office and hung around until the service ended before I left for the house with my sister.
"What has made it even worse is that on Monday, when I went to work a colleague told me that her daughter, who fellowships there said that their pastor had made some comments about someone he had sacked from the church and she had known it was me from the description. She said that the people were laughing when the pastor spoke about me. All of this happened after I left the auditorium.
"I cannot get over the embarrassment because I am an actor so it will be very easy for people to recognise me. Imagine what their reaction will be if they see me and they were in the church."
Ben expressed surprise at the pastor's behaviour because "that was not the first time I had visited the church and I had even spoken to Pastor Aminu on one occasion, meaning he had seen my hair before so I just cannot understand what he did last Sunday".
When he was asked whether there was anything about his appearance to have put the pastor off, Ben replied that he did not think so. "I was not dressed shabbily. I had on a pair of jeans trousers, a batik shirt and shoes. I had tied my hair in a pony-tail the way I usually do. Anybody who knows me can testify that that is how I wear my hair."
For Ben, last Sunday was the first time he had had any problems with his hair. "I have maintained this hairstyle for four years without any stress and that is why I was so surprised," he said.
The issue has compelled Ben to ask questions of the pastor. "Even if I am a sinner and I came to his church, was that the way he was supposed to treat me? I know that Jesus Christ came to save the sinners and not the already saved so the way Pastor Aminu behaved was not right. He should have called me aside and spoken to me privately instead of making me a laughingstock.
"Now he is making me think that the church is not a good place to worship at. I would like to ask Pastor Aminu what he would do if I was the only one who was around to help him should he be involved in an accident. Would he prefer to die because I am the one saving him or he would accept my aid?"
Showbiz was not able to talk to Pastor Aminu because he was out of the country, but Lawyer Sackey, legal counsel for the church, has said that what happened to Benjamin was not an exceptional case.
"Pastor has always been advocating for decency in the church and he makes it a point to address it every time he gives the sermon. He does not take kindly to men who braid their hair, leave afros, have pierced their ears and women who dress to expose parts of their bodies like their breasts so every time he sees people like that he would tell them to go and dress properly.
"Concerning the young man, it is true that pastor asked him to go and dress decently but he was not the first person the pastor said that to last Sunday. Anybody who came in with braided hair among others were all asked to go, dress properly and come back. Besides, just like he had done with all the others, he took the microphone off before he spoke to him, so nobody in the congregation heard what he said.
Adding his voice to the issue, the administrator of the church, Pastor Agyapong, said that "I was sitting very close to Pastor Aminu at the service and I can tell you that I did not hear what he told the man because his microphone was off. So if I did not hear, how could the congregation have heard what went on?" he said.
According to Lawyer Sackey, every institution has its own ethical principles. "You cannot go to court dressed anyhow, you would be asked to leave, I also cannot come to the offices of Graphic Communications Group Limited and smoke. I know I would be turned away, so when one is coming to any place, one should dress accordingly. "
Responding to the issue that it was not the first time the young man had been to the church and he had even spoken to Pastor Aminu personally, Lawyer Sackey said he did not think so. "If he had been there before, he would have heard Pastor address the issue of decency like he always does."
He added that even if Benjamin was not a member of the church, the sister who invited him should have told him about the church's principles. "He should have been forewarned that Pastor does not entertain the kind of hairstyle he had on so that he would have done something about it."
Pastor Agyapong also said that because the issue of decency was very close to Pastor Aminu's heart, measures had been taken to ensure that people complied. "Sometimes during anointing services where pastor lays hands on people, those who have dressed indecently are not anointed. Before people get married in church, we even inspect the dresses of the brides to be sure that what they will wear will not be indecent, like exposing their breasts."
For Lawyer Sackey, Benjamin's case was not exceptional, neither was he singled out. "We have all manner of people who fellowship with us including other actors and actresses so why should we single him out."
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