-As Pathways to Healing a Divided Liberia
BREWERVILLE, MONTSERRADO COUNTY – In a address before clergy, worshippers, and national leaders on Friday, Bishop Kortu K. Brown called on Liberians to confront the moral and spiritual fractures undermining the nation, insisting that true healing requires not only prayer but a collective turning from wrongdoing and a commitment to inclusiveness.
Speaking at the 143rd National Fast and Prayer Service, held at the historic Old Providence Baptist Church under the theme “Heal Our Land, Lord,” the former President of the Liberia Council of Churches offered an exhortation grounded in humility, repentance, and national reflection. The service was organized by the Council in collaboration with the Body of Christ in Liberia.
Citing 2 Chronicles 7:14, Bishop Brown reminded the congregation that divine healing is conditional. “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their land,” he quoted, before posing a pointed question: “Can we turn from our wicked ways? Can we truly humble ourselves?”
The Bishop acknowledged that while Liberians do not lack prayer or desire for revival, modern attitudes—including resistance to correction and a growing deficit of humility even within the church—have become obstacles to national transformation.
An important portion of his message focused on the human need for inclusion, which he described as a central but often overlooked driver of Liberia’s social tensions. “Part of the reason we experience strife and contention in our country is because people feel excluded,” Bishop Brown said. “Every human being has the natural desire to be included, and when that is denied, it creates division.”
He urged government officials, institutions, and citizens to foster a spirit of unity and inclusiveness, warning that national healing cannot occur without addressing those underlying fractures. True repentance, he said, must be reflected not only in personal conduct but in how Liberians treat one another.
The service, which drew participants from across sectors, concluded with prayers for national direction. “God has given us the formula,” Bishop Brown said. “The question is—are we ready to follow?”
