The Asante Presbytery on Sunday 1st May 2022 honoured some individual personalities who have contributed immensely to the growth of the Church in the Asante area. Among them were the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante and the former Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Very Rev Dr. Sam Prempeh. They were presented with citations.
This formed part of the Centenary Celebration of the Presbytery. The ceremony which took place during the Thanksgiving Service of the Centenary Presbytery Session at the Ramseyer Congregation, Adum Kumasi brought together people from all walks of life to thank God for the survival of the Church in the Asante area.
It should be noted that creation of Presbyteries of the PCG began on July 21, 1922 Synod at Kyebi in the Eastern Region where five Presbyteries were created. They included the Ga and Dangme, Akuapem and Anum, Agona and Kotku, Akyem and Okwahu and Asante and Asante Akyem. Currently, there are 21 Presbyteries both home and abroad.
The Gospel came to Asante through Rev. Fritz Ramseyer, a missionary who initiated the missionary enterprise for the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in the Asante Kingdom came to Kumasi as a prisoner of war in chains. He was arrested by the Asante Army and presented to the then Asantehene but the arrest could not take away his main vision of sending the Gospel to the people of Asante; it was through him that Presbyterianism came to Asante.
Addressing the gathering the Moderator of the Moderator, Rt. Rev Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante paid growing tribute to Rev. Fritz Ramseyer and all other people through whose efforts the Gospel survived in the Asante area. He commended the Asante Presbytery and described it as one of the strongest Presbyteries in the PCG added that the Presbytery after 100 years has nurtured some other Presbyteries, which include Asante Akyem, Brong Ahafo, Sekyere, Asante South and Sefwi Presbyteries.
He said the impact of the Asante Presbytery could be seen been seen in areas such as education (basic, second cycle and tertiary), health service delivery, hospitality services, support to the needy, Christian education, sound spiritual development healing and deliverance ministries, cultural transformation, inter-faith relations and mission to the palace.
The Moderator advised Christian leaders to be content in their quest for power.
“Why is Christianity growing in this country, yet clouded with greed, foul talk, pride and corruption? Some so-called men of God have devised means of extorting money from their church members. They keep on getting richer while their members become poorer. What is all this!” he lamented.
“As Chairman of the Christian Council, anytime we meet people in the public space, the non-Christians chide us. They wonder why over 71% of Ghanaians are Christians but there is more corruption. The greed amongst us even shocks me! We want every material thing for ourselves. We hoard heaps of items in our houses and garages. Where are we going with all this? Can’t you ever say it’s okay?” he quizzed.
The Chairperson of the Asante Presbytery, Reverend Benson Osafo Kantanka, in his address wants the government to make judicious use of revenue generated.
“E-Levy will be a source of revenue generation. The problem is how to make good use of the money. The money should be used judiciously to build the country. We demand amenities, but the government on its own may not be able to provide them. We will then have to work for it, so the government can deliver,” he said.
The Presbyterian Media
