The Kwahu Presbytery, under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, has launched the 50th Golden Jubilee Anniversary.
At a colourful event on Friday, January, 27, the launching was to propel the year-long activities of the Presbytery to mark its 50 years of existence in Kwahu.
Addressing the congregation at the Ramseyer Presby Church in Nkwatia, Rev. Kofi Obuobi, the Chairman of the Kwahu Presbytery urged the Congregation to continue to be firm in their religious life.
“It is my pleasure and honour to bring to you greetings from the seat of Kwahu Presbytery and to launch the 50years celebration”,
The theme for the celebration of the anniversary is FIFTY YEARS OF GLORIOUS MISSION IN CHRIST, THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE.
“Beloved in the LORD, we have gathered to glorify and thank God for fifty golden treasured years of our Mission as a Presbytery. The Lord has been faithful, guided, helped and strengthened us in our missionary journey. Suffice to say, the journey has not been as smooth as may be expected but with the Lord, in our boat, we shall overcome the storms. This assembly will also grant us the opportunity to make public the doings of the Lord in the Presbytery and raise funds to support the hospitality centre which will be monumental for the Golden jubilee celebration”,
HISTORY OF KWAHU PRESBYTERY (THE PAST)
The Beginning (1875-1890)
The Kwahu Presbytery was born out of several years of missionary work. This missionary work was principally led by Rev. Augustus Fritz Ramseyer and it does not come as a surprise as almost every district in the Presbytery has a chapel christened after Ramseyer. Abetifi which is currently the head station of the Presbytery was the first town in Kwahu to host missionaries in 1876. The Missionary advance into Kwahu was planned and executed from Kyebi. The advance was preceded by a thirteen-day exploratory tour led by Rev. David Asante in March 1875 and the team of E. Werner and H. Wilhem.
Rev. Werner in his report spoke of Kwahu as a healthy and beautiful region with seventeen towns, nine of which they had already seen. He also wrote that they were impressed by the industriousness of the people. The Mission, he wrote, saw the cultivation of rice and cotton, and many crafts such as spinning, weaving, dyeing, carving mat-making and black smithery were engaged by the people.
These reports went to heighten interest in the area of missionary work when they came to be taken in conjunction with Ramseyer’s earlier praise for the people for their hospitality and helpfulness.
On their return, Ramseyer decided to go back to Abetifi to start Missionary work. He chose Okwahu-Abetifi and in January 1876 Ramseyer together with two other European Missionaries E. Wermer, J. Weimer and David Asante arrived there.
Their decision to settle at Abetifi had the blessing of Basel and by the end of 1875 Rev. and Mrs. Ramseyer, Rev. Werner and Brother Jacob Weimer were ready at Kyebi to move to Abetifi.
Rev. David Asante, Eugen Werner and Jacob Weimer left Kyebi for Abetifi on 24th January 1876. They were joined by Ramseyer at Osino in the evening of January 24, 1876. They travelled together the next morning to Anyinam from where they climbed the ridge. Having spent a night in the bush they reached Mpraeso the next day January 26, 1876, where they were offered accommodation and presented with foodstuff. The next morning (i.e. January 27, 1876) they preached to a crowd of about 600 people including the chief and they left for their destination through Obo and Aduamoah, reaching Abetifi on Friday, January 28, 1876, in the early afternoon. It is worth noting that Ramseyer had passed through Abetifi as a captive on his way to Kumasi and he was well treated by the people there. It is said that Nana Yaw Preko, an elder in the town offered him a place to stay in his house with his party.
It is believed that there was a shrine in the house where Ramseyer was accommodated. He and his friends stayed there for some time before they could get a house to rent in the town.
The Birth of Kwahu Presbytery (1900-1973)
By the beginning of the 20th century, the Basel mission in the whole land of Gold Coast was well disposed to do greater missionary work. However, with the onset of the 1st world War, things changed. All Germans were deported from the Gold coast and their activities were handed over to the Scottish. When it came to the naming of the Church, quite a number of the members protested against the new name with the argument that a foster parent cannot rename an already christened child. The mission was reorganized and in 1918 the first Synod of the Church was held at Akropong-Akuapem during which the first Ghanaian Moderator and Clerk were elected. At the fourth Synod which took place at Kyebi from 19th to 21st July 1922, a major decision was taken to re-organize the Church into five (5) Presbyteries to make administration easier. The following Presbyteries were created;
Ga–Dangbe Presbytery
Akuapem–Volta Presbytery
Akyem–Kwahu Presbytery
Agona–West Akyem Presbytery
Asante–Asante Akyem Presbytery
Then, in 1926 at a Synod of the Church held at Abetifi, the Church was named the Presbyterian Church of Gold Coast.
Kwahu came back into the picture in 1972 when the Church decided to re-demarcate and create new Presbyteries. The Synod in 1972 at Tamale, gave approval for the separation of three of the Presbyteries which included the Akyem–Kwahu Presbytery. It was against this background that an emergency Presbytery meeting was held on 27th October 1972 at Anyinam and the Akyem–Kwahu Presbytery was dissolved. Soon after, the properties of Akyem-Kwahu Presbytery were shared between Akyem Abuakwa and Kwahu.
The first Kwahu Presbytery Meeting was held at Nkwatia from Monday, 7th May 11th May 1973
ERECTION OF KWAHU PRESBYTERY 7th 11th MAY, 1973
BY THE SEPARATION OF the Akim-Kwahu Presbytery- which had existed for several years, it became inevitably evident and important that the Kwahu Presbytery should be officially erected.
On Tuesday 8th of May, 1973, the Rt Rev G.K. Sintim Misa, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Rev T.A. Osei, Synod Clerk arrived for the erection ceremony which was overwhelmingly attended by representative members from various congregations as well as important personalities including Nana Atuobi Yiadom, Nana Darfour Sefah II, Akwasihohene, Nana Sarkodie-Obomenghene, Nana Beponhene and the Chairmen of Dangbe-Tongu and Akim Presbyteries. The ceremony ended at 2.00 pm. and Rev. E. Ayamesem Misa, first Presbytery Chairperson and Clerk respectively.
The foundation districts for the Kwahu Presbytery were Abetifi, Nkwatia, Mpraeso and Nkawkaw.
The Presbytery Today
The Presbytery today covers all of the Kwahu South, Kwahu Afram Plains North and South, Kwahu West, Kwahu East and parts of Birim North, Atiwa East and Asante Akyem North and South political districts.
The Presbytery is now made up of 17 Pastoral Districts and 136 congregations and 82 Preaching Points – a good number of the Preaching Points and a few of the congregations are very small with an average of forty members. Currently, the membership of the entire Presbytery stands at thirty-five thousand six hundred and five (35605).
The Presbytery over the years, through evangelism and certain social interventions, has made a lot of strides in making sure the Kwahu area is made better off. Through the preaching of the Word and observance of the Sacraments, provision of health services, social services, Education and agro-related services, the Presbytery continues to offer holistic Ministry to the people under her jurisdiction and beyond.
Agriculture
The Presbytery and the General Assembly Council are revisiting the Tease Agriculture project. A 50-acre maize farm will be cultivated at Faaso this season. A farm Manager has been hired to manage the project. The Mango farm at Abene is doing well. At Mmradan too we have cultivated two acres of yam. A tractor has been secured together with a heavy-duty tricycle to be used to support our farming projects. May I add that any person who requires the services of any of the two farm machinery could come for it at a moderate fee?
Health Services
Donkorkrom Hospital was started by the Government of Ghana as a clinic in 1970 but due to the inability to keep a doctor at the centre it was handed over to P.C.G for management. Through the selfless effort of Dr. Tim Hannah an Australian the clinic grew into a hospital and by 1985 it was a fully-fledged hospital. In addition to the hospital, we also have the Presbyterian Health Centres at Abetifi, Ekye and Tease. The hospital was adjudged the cleanest hospital in Eastern Region last year and the Management and staff there are doing well to sustain their gains.
Prayer Centre
The Atibie Prayer and Healing Centre was also established as part of the efforts to take care of critical spiritual needs of people from all walks of life. We hope to establish additional centres in the Presbytery to avail such opportunities closer to our members. This would in a large extent abate our members from wandering and being cheated by religious charlatans.
Salem Water
The Presbytery intends to secure the franchise from the Church to produce Salem Water. This project was taken over by some patriotic citizens and friends of the Presbytery and we are hoping that they will soon secure the franchise and start the processes of putting the production system in place.
Transport
The Presbytery runs a commercial transport services with two vehicles in its fleet. These are a 33-seater Benz Bus and a 15-seater commuter, all for hiring. Our terms for hiring are flexible. Groups and individuals could contact the office and book a service if the need arises. We also have a wooden boat with an outboard motor attached to the Afram River that plies between Adawso and Ekye Amanfrom. The primary purpose is to use it to evangelise passengers and those on the islands. We have safety jackets for use by passengers.
Schools
Kwahu Presbytery counts itself among the few Presbyteries in the country with schools streaming from kindergarten through to the University. Kwahu Presbytery has a total of one Hundred and Nineteen (119) Basic Schools in her catchment area. Aside from the Basic Schools are two Senior High Schools, one College of Education and one University College at Abetifi. We are grateful to God for such a provision. I am glad to say the Government of Ghana has granted the Presbyterian University College the University Charter and now it is a full-fledged University with the Moderator as the Chancellor.
Training of Catechists
One of the challenges bedeviling the Presbytery is that of the huge number of Caretakers (untrained catechists). Our 2021 report revealed that Caretakers number one hundred and ten (110) as against ninety-eight Catechists. This is absurd as the training institution for catechists in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana is located in our Presbytery. The only cause of this situation is the cost factor as the true cost of training one Catechist is about GHȻ8,000.00. The Presbytery, I am glad to say, having engaged Ramseyer Training Centre on the issue is assisting us to train 50 Caretakers and has further absolve part of the cost as their social responsibility to the Presbytery. We need sponsors to support us in training them since even with the discount given by RTC, we need 311,000 Ghana Cedis to pay for the 50 candidates in training.
Re-demarcation of districts
The pastoral districts were created along traditional boundaries and makes pastoral oversight burdensome. We are in the process of creating sub-districts and re-aligning the congregations for effective administration of the church and enhance evangelistic activities. These sub-districts would be nurtured and be elevated to District status on condition of satisfying the constitutional qualifications. I pray Sub-District Ministers to work harder towards this objective.
Pastoral Stations
Minister to member ratio in the Presbytery is high and makes pastoral care difficult in some circumstances. It is my wish that most of our congregations by now have their own Ministers but the basic problem is non-availability mission houses to accommodate them. May I charge Congregations to put up befitting Manses and prepare themselves to receive Ministers. This must be taken seriously as some of our practices especially the sacraments are performed by Minsters only. The closer a Minister is to a congregation, communing with the Lord becomes easier and our faith is strengthened through that.
THE jubilee project-Hospitality Centre
The Presbytery Office has ten (10) rooms to accommodate guests on transit from the Districts at its office. These rooms are far less adequate as Annual Presbytery Sessions host more than one hundred people. At such times the limited financial resource of the Presbytery is used to rent accommodation elsewhere for these stakeholders of the Church from the Districts. It was thought prudent to put up one which is ongoing but in a snail pace, due to financial challenges.
The Presbytery has set as its main objective the completion of this project by November to commemorate the jubilee celebration.
The Presbytery welcomes support of any kind– building materials, cash – to help her complete the project in good time.
The Presbytery prays that by November when we hope to climax the Golden Jubilee Celebration this structure will be completed and will be the monumental edifice to show for our celebration and as a spectacular achievement.
“Mr. Chairman, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, Beloved in Christ, at this juncture, in the name of God, who alone is, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I declare the 50th Anniversary celebration of Kwahu Presbytery duly launched. God bless us all. Amen”,
