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9-30-01
Akwaaba - The Ghana Experience - 1 Corinthians 12:1-14
This past summer, I travelled to Ghana, a small country in West Africa, with a group of seminary students, for about three and half weeks. The experience was rich in learning and growing, helping me to better understand both a new culture and my own, helping me to get a true sense of the fulness and diversity of the body of Christ. The people of Ghana pride themselves on a few 'trademark' qualities. In elementary school the teachers emphasize to students that Ghanaians are a peace-loving people who are known for their hospitality. A stranger is treated as a well-known friend in Ghana, invited to share food, homes, and lives with the Ghanaian people. Akwaaba, a word in the tribal Twi language, means 'welcome'. Welcome is the way the people of Ghana made my traveling companions and I feel throughout our stay.
During the third week of our stay in Ghana, we had the opportunity to spend a week with host families, that we might be truly immersed in the culture we were studying. Because I wanted to research the Methodist Church of Ghana, I was assigned to a pastor and his family for the week. I was somewhat nervous at first, because my host family lived two hours away from the rest of the host families, two hours from the capitol city of Accra, in a small community called Akosombo. I was afraid to be so far from the rest of the group. However, my anxieties were soon put to rest. Yes, I was far from my fellow travelers, but my hosts made me feel right at home. I want to share with you some details about the Akosombo Methodist Church, and the lives of the people who make up that faithful community.
The Akosombo Methodist Church is situated in the small city where the dam that provides power for the entire country is located. Akosombo is filled with employees of the Volta River Authority. Members of the Akosombo congregation are primarily working families - dam employees and their families. These people for the most part are not poor - they are have homes, plenty of food, and access to education, health services, and other necessities. But they are lower-middle class families, who work hard to support themselves. The Church has about two hundred plus adults in weekly attendance, and plans are in the works to add on to the current structure. The Church sanctuary is about the size of this sanctuary, though classes and meetings are held across the yard at the Methodist primary school. Currently, some members must sit outside the doors and look in to the service, since all the seats are filled.n Chairs are set up near the entrances, and the doors are kept open, so that the people, eager to worship, can follow along as closely as possible.
The structure of the Methodist Church of Ghana is similar to the structure of the United Methodist Church here. There are bishops, district superintendents, and local pastors with congregations much like this one here in Dover. However, the organization of the church is somewhat different. The Ghana Methoidst Church comes from a branch of the Bristish Methodist Church, as Ghana was once a British colony under Britist rule. Today, the Church still largely uses the class system, a system developed by John Wesley during Methodism=s foundational years. This system entails members of a congregation dividing into small groups, called classes. Classes meet during the week to study the Bible, pray together, and build community. The class system is very strong in the Aksombo Church.
The leadership of the Church consists of the of the class leaders, who meet weekly at the leaders meeting to review the classes. The leaders meeting, like most meetings of church members, is opened with a mini-worship, including hymn singing, scripture, and a short message. After this worship section, regular business is conducted, such as concerns over class meeting attendance. Leaders keep careful track of who is and is not at class each week. At the leaders meeting I attended the leaders also discussed how best to provide for a man who did not want to come to church because he didn=t have the proper clothes. Rev. Dadson, the pastor, tried to keep people on task, calling people back to attention when conversation got off-course. I felt right at home in this very typical church meeting setting.
Music plays a big part in the fellowship and worship of the church. Music-oriented church groups include the Choir, the Singing Band, and a youth music group. These groups perform concerts on occasion, and rehearse more than once a week when possible. There was a big musical celebration during the week I stayed, and music and dancing in the worship service is expected each Sunday. The praise band accompanies the members as they dance up the aisles to place the offering in the collection plate. Of course, I was expected to join in, and made no small spectacle of myself trying to >fit in= with the rhythmic movements of the congregation.
Other church organizations include a Men's Fellowship, Women's Fellowship, Christ's Little Band, the Suzanne Wesley Mission Auxiliary, the Guild, the Youth Fellowship, the Boy's Brigade, the Girls' Brigade, and the Girls' Fellowship. These various groups exist to 'promote Christian Fellowship and organise spiritual growth'. Prayer meetings are held throughout the week, with a similar structure to that of the opening of the Leader's Meeting, and these prayer meetings are held at various times, as early as five o'clock in the morning to accommodate dam workers' schedules. Rev. Dadson invited me to give the message during one such service, translating my English in to the tribal Twi as I spoke, for those who did not understand English.
There is one Sunday Morning worship service at the Akosombo Church. The pastor speaks alternately in English and Twi throughout the service to ensure everyone's understanding. Lay members participate in the liturgy sections of the service. Children have their own church service, in the school across the yard from the church. They come into the main worship service about once a month, in order that they learn about the service, how to behave, and what to expect. The remainder of the time, they have a service led by the youth, the 18-30 year olds. Confirmation takes place around eighteen years of age. The youth meet twice a week to organize the children's Sunday School and worship. They meet on Tuesdays to discuss the 'welfare' of the children and on Saturday evenings to plan the lesson for the next day. I was struck by the dedication of these young members, meeting even on Saturday nights to plan for their responsibilities. At this Saturday meeting, the leader who is teaching the next day presents his/her lesson and listens to critiques from the rest of the youth.
Besides these foundational organizations, the Akosombo congregation has other activities and events. The Christ's Little Band group held a celebration of its tenth anniversary in Akosombo on the Sunday I was there. Plans are underway to see how the schedules and needs of the Volta River Authority employees can better be accommodate. The congregation also visits those who are grieving as a large group after Sunday service, comforting the family, singing hymns, and saying prayers. I followed along as the entire congregation walked down the street after worship in order to comfort the grieving family in their time of mourning. These activities, groups, fellowships, and meetings make up the primary structure and life of the congregation.
I originally intended to study the differences between American Methodism and Ghanain Methodism. There are of course, many differences. But what I found to be most striking was the similarity between our churches. The members of the Akosombo Methodisth Church in Ghana are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They are so dedicated to their church community, so strong in their faith. Their every activity seems to revolve around the church, day in and day out, sunrise to sunset. What I found was a compelling model for faithful living.
The scripture passage from Corinthians reminds us that though we are many - many cultures, many worship styles, many languages, many countries - though we are many, we are one in Christ. We have a common calling to serve God and love our neighbors. We all study the scriptures, pray for peace, and praise God. We use different words, but the messages of our hearts are the same. One of the blessings of this world is that we are so diverse. Each individual is unique, unlike any other. Each country has its own history, culture, and customs. Yet the true miracle is the despite these differences, we are united as children of one God, and members of one body in Christ. Going to Ghana enabled me to better appreciate our many gifts and our many brothers and sisters who belong to Christ's Church. Let us pray: God of many peoples, many colors, many cultures, many children, Help us open our eyes and our hearts to the creative and diverse world you had created for our home. The richness and fulness of your creation remind us that we are all unique and special, yet all made in your image.
Let us pray each day to be united with our brothers and sisters in faith around the world, that we might truly be the one body of Christ. Amen.