Fr. Oppong-Febiri launches Book

Rev. Fr. Thomas Oppong-Febiri of the Sunyani Diocese, recently launched his Book, An Anthropology of Truth-Faith-Hope and Love, at the St. James Parish Hall, Osu in Accra. The 180-page book is a collection of 67 poems laced with his perceptions on Africa. Rev. Dr. Joyce Aryee, President of the Salt and Light Ministry, who reviewed the Book, said it gives a general understanding of who God is, what He stands for and what our relationship with Him should be. She said it is a Christian literature which is a must-read for everyone who wants to have a deep, close and intimate relationship with God and discover His purpose on earth. Rev. Dr. Aryee noted that the Book delivers a clinical and spiritual comfort and redemption for the soul as well as a conscience-stimulating work simply presented for easy reading. She commended the Author whom she said through the combination of poetry and reflections, declares and translates life’s issues into simple solutions carved in the words of truth, faith, hope and love. Rev. Dr. Aryee said the Writer with his mastery of poetry, presents love as a universal language that has functions and features that make life meaningful and complete. The second part of the Book, she said, contains necessary pledges to which all Africans should be committed to make the continent great again. She said the concluding part of the Book speaks about Africa’s challenges and the need for Africans to decide to use God and hard work as the keys to unlock the challenges that confront the continent. Fr. Oppong-Febiri expressed appreciation to all who had supported him and for attending the launch, stating that the desire for poems was implanted in him by his Primary School Teacher who taught him how to recite poems at School and Church. He disclosed that his writing was a contribution to humanity’s quest and strive to understand the meaning of their existence. “I write to inspire and motivate my generation,” he added. The collection, he continued, was to demystify poetry as metaphysical, coded and an esoteric venture reserved for complicated people, adding that he strives to strike a balance between the emotional, rational, natural, supernatural, physical and spiritual dimensions of human’s existence. Dr. Tony Oteng Gyasi, a former President of the Association of Ghana Industries, who launched the Book, noted that the turn of phrases used by the Author depicted him as a natural poet. He described the collection as thought-provoking and intriguing and hoped that it would bring many hours of joy to readers. Chairman for the occasion, Mr. Peter Wireko, Parish Pastoral Council Chairman of the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra, described Fr. Oppong-Febiri as a distinguished Writer and the Book a scholarly work. Fr. Oppong-Febiri, a Law Student at GIMPA, has published poems home and abroad. Some of them are: Soglie, Quarterly Magazine of Poetry and Literary Criticism, V, n. 1-April 2003, Pisa in Italy, The SPIRE Trust 2003 Poetry Competition Anthology, Oxon, in England, Die Brücke, Nr.3/ XXIII, Saarbrücken in Germany, and Caronno-Pertusella Periodica di informazione Comunale, Anno XXX N°2, in Italy, Sottosopra, May 2006, Reggio Emilia in Italy, Gionale del Populo, Switzerland, and some Ghanaian newspapers; The Mirror, The Ghanaian Times, and The Daily Graphic. The Soul of the African Child, 2007 was his first collection of poems.