Priesthood office is not a profession - says Priest
The Accra Daily Mail
Volume 4 Issue No 430
| Posted: Tuesday, November 04, 2003
http://www.accra-mail.com/story.asp?id=8146
The office of the priesthood or a pastor is not a profession or career for people to aspire and enrich themselves in wealth or material things, Reverend Father John Boye of St Theresa Catholic Church, Kaneshie has said.
"It is a way of living and one must be called out of love by God before one can faithfully and dutifully shoulder the task of building a city for the Lord.
"Material things shall pass away, what is important is to use your time and energy in the high office of priesthood to pursue the things that are beneficial," he said.
Rev. Fr. Boye was speaking at a thanksgiving mass at the St. Paul Catholic Church, Kpehe, organized to crown the ordination of two parish priests from the Church.
The two, Rev. Fr. Joseph Henry Mensah and Rev. Fr. David Arko Amissah who were accepted into the Catholic faith on Saturday, are the first to be ordained from the St Paul Catholic Church. Rev. Fr. Boye urged them to always rely on the God, who had called them and be vigilant and prayerful more, especially in these days when the Church is facing persecutions of all kinds, particularly against pastors and priests.
"For us Catholics, the celibacy you have now chosen is an interior decoration to Christ therefore, your level of maturity would depend on your seriousness," he said. Rev Fr. Boye said as young people, a serious challenge they would face in the Church and outside would test their sense of maturity and patience.
He said as priests, they have been made spiritual contractors to help build the city of God and it would take their selfless and sacrificial love to make it a reality.
The Congregation, before the commencement of the service held procession ceremony from the Social Security Bank at New Town to the Church premise amidst singing and dancing in praise to the Lord.
The young and the old clad in traditional kente cloths, sang and danced to lead the parish priests into the auditorium for the mass to begin.
GNA
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Priest pushes for reforms in Anglican Church
Volume 12, No. 45 - Tuesday, November 4, 2003
The Ghanaian Chronicle
http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/231104/page2i.htm
The Reverend Dr. Victor Atta-Baffoe, a lecturer at the Saint Nicholas Theological College in Cape Coast, has called for radical reforms in the Anglican Church in Ghana to ensure its sustainable growth and development.
He said the time had come for the Church to move away from the priest centred leadership to allow individuals to develop and practice their God-given talents.
Rev. Dr. Atta-Baffoe was preaching the sermon at the ordination of four clergymen into the Anglican Church at the Saint Cyprian Cathedral in Kumasi on Sunday.
They are The Rev. Father Professor Mensah Bonsu and Francis Asafo Adjei, as priests and The Reverend Enoch Duah and Godfried Adjei Nyarko, as deacons.
Rev. Dr. Atta-Baffoe expressed regret that some of the clergy had become hindrance to the development of God-given gifts among individuals and said the church needed to identify and encourage the full realisation of individual gifts of anointing in the areas of healing, miracles and prophesy to ensure the growth of the church.
He said the church needed the skills, expertise and talents of each member to enhance its growth and appealed to the leadership to do away with bureaucracy to encourage individuals to contribute their quota to the development of the church.
Rev. Dr. Atta-Baffoe also appealed to members of the Anglican faith to rekindle themselves and contribute whatever they had to the growth and development of the church.
He urged the new priests and deacons to be steadfast in the Lord to enable Him accomplish His purpose for them.
The Right Reverend Daniel Yinka Sarfo, Anglican Bishop of Kumasi, urged the new clergymen to serve their congregation with joy, build them up in faith and do all in their power to bring them to loving obedience to Christ.
He advised them to pray to God always to enlarge and enlighten their understanding of the scriptures to enable them become stronger and matured in their ministry. GNA
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