From Damian Avevor, Nkonya
Hundreds of Catholics, resplendent in their Centenary cloth, converged at St. Anthony Catholic Church at Nkonya-Ahenkro in the Jasikan Diocese for a concelebrated Mass to climax 100 years of planting of the faith in the Town.
The week–long Centenary, climaxed on Saturday, February 6, 2016 was on the theme: Hundred Years of Catholic Faith in Nkonya Ahenkro: Mercy, Reconciliation and Peace; our future as a Faith Community.
he faith in Nkonya Ahenkro was begun in 1908 when Rev. Fr. Anthony Witte, SVD, approached the elders of Nkonya Akloba to preach and evangelise the people and he was accepted because of the success story of the Missionaries in the areas of education at Nkonya Ntsumuru and Kpando.
The Centenary was supposed to be marked in 2008 but the Church decided to celebrate in this year.
The Mass was presided over by Most Rev. Gabriel A. A. Mante, Bishop of Jasikan and concelebrated by ten Priests including Rev. Msgr. Anthony Kornu, Vicar general of Ho Diocese, who was the homilist; Rev. Msgr. Nsiah, the Vicar General of Jasikan; Rev. Msgr. Vincent Antie, Director of the Formation and Counselling Centre at Nsuta; Rev. Fr. Anselmus Mawusi of Kpandai Parish; Rev. Fr. Daniel Adinkra, Parish Priest of St. John Vianney Parish at Nkonya-Wurupong of which St. Anthony is an Outstation.
Present at the Mass were Chiefs and dignitaries including Nana Nsor Kwabena, Regent of Nkonya Akloba and Krontihene of Nkonya Traditional Area; Nana Yaa Adobea II, Queen Mother of Nkonya Akloba, Nana Owusu Kwarteng II, Dumanfohene, near Mamponteng in the Konongo-Mampong Diocese; Madam Grace Bonuedi, Director of Education, Biakoye District and Mr. Komla Onny, New Patriotic Party Parliamentary Aspirant, who chaired the durbar.
In a homily, Msgr. Kornu noted that God had done many things for the people and the Church over the century and it was time for them to reciprocate what the founding Fathers did for the communities.
He was grateful to God, Priests and Religious and all those who in diverse ways, had supported the Church to develop to this level especially the Missionaries and Catechists, praying that the Communities would be renewed in the love of God.
He added: “ We are assured of a bright future as a faith if we are all determined to leave all negative feelings of the past behind and embrace everyone in love, then we can be sure the Catholic faith in our midst will not be extinguished but rather will grow from strength to strength beyond the celebration of 200th anniversary.”
Msgr. Kornu said the Centenary called for a thanksgiving to God by the people, stock taking and making of firm solutions to ensure a better future, urging the faithful to make prayer their weapon of success, asking them to refrain acts that could retard their spiritual and developmental progress.
He encouraged the faithful to pledge themselves to be positive contributors in shaping the history of the Church, advising them to endeavour to sow concern for the growth of the Church especially those domiciled in the Cities.
The Ho Vicar General entreated the Jubilants to be united as one people with a common destiny to continue to build the Catholic Faith, which had brought them this far.
At a durbar after the Mass, Bishop Mante in a goodwill message, urged the faithful to “critically examine how we have lived and practiced the Christian faith handed down to us by our forebears barely a century ago.”
The Bishop, who hails from Nkonya Ahenkro, noted that it was important that in trying to live out the faith, “We incurred hurts and wounds whose scars we are powerless to erase,” urging the faithful not to allow them to fill their hearts and minds with darkness to enslave and cloud their vision for life as Christians.
He declared: “Anytime we remember them, we transcend, transform and make them serve as moments to liberate ourselves and move on into the light and Glorious freedom of the children of God.”
As signs of our failures in living the faith, the scars of the hurts and wounds we incurred must serve as reminders to reclaim our calling as members of the people of God, he added.
Bishop Mante reminded the faithful of their responsibilities, the need to renew themselves in Christ and to match on unceasingly towards growth.
He lamented that contemporary life was being made messier and worsened by conflicts, wars, social and political crimes as well as religious intolerance and upheavals, noting that in such situations people must look up to Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life.
Mr. Godwin Aboyo-Owusu, President of the Church Advisory Council said the choice of celebrating the centenary after eight years, was due to challenges beyond their control.
He prayed that the belated centenary celebration would bring a real spiritual development to the people, the Church and Parish in the next hundred Years.
He commended the pioneer Priests, Religious and the lay faithful who brought the seed of Catholic faith to Nkonya-Ahenkro.
Activities to mark the week-long Centenary celebration included the consecration of the refurbished Church building, mass wedding for fourteen couples, Confirmation of 37, Health walk, Exhibitions, Recollection preached by Rev. Fr. Frank Offin-Sekyere, clean-up exercise, candle light procession, football gala, fundraising towards the construction of a Rectory and the full furnishing of the Church building.
