Ecstatic Ghanaian Catholics in Worcester Welcome 2011

By Paul Awortwi-Mensah

Scores of Ghanaians from all walks of life in Worcester joined members of the Ghanaian Catholic Community in Worcester at the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church to welcome the New Year 2011.

The program for the day included praises and worship, prayer session, Rosary Prayers, intercessory prayers, resolutions for 2011 and was crowned with the celebration of the Eucharist.

The occasion also witnessed the blessing of new choir robes and a new organ procured for the Community by Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel Yaw Manu-Gyamfi and Mrs. Mary Boaheng respectively. They are members of the Ghanaian Catholic Community in Worcester.

During the celebration, the congregation prayed and sung to the glorification of God for seeing them through the year 2010 whilst they continued to pray for God’s favors in the year 2011.

A few minutes to midnight, Rev. Fr. Francis Kwame Anane started counting down the minutes and at exactly 12:00 midnight, the whole congregation went into a frenzy mood, clapping, jumping, dancing, and hugging each other whilst singing various Ghanaian rendition songs thanking and praising God.

In his message to the congregation, Rev. Fr. Anane urged Christians to renew their trust in God in the year 2011 in order to reap the benefit of God's love, adding that, 2011 is a year of great breakthrough and explained that the year has much prospects for people who would put their trust in God.

Rev. Fr. Anane challenged Christians to lead exemplary lives worthy of emulation and make God the number one in all their endeavors, explaining that God would do unto them things that they had never imagined.

He, further, explained that the journey of a Christian on this earth is two way; one leading to success and one leading to God and added that “we cannot do this without the help and blessings from God; quoting John 14:6 to substantiate his point.

He pointed out that for Christians to allow themselves to be led by Christ, they should be courageous, be prayerful, read the Bible daily, walk in the faith and live by the word of God.

Rev. Fr. Anane also challenged Christians not to be too complacent with their spiritual lives but to be proactive and forge ahead to attain the bright future being prepared for them by God.

“There are a lot of you who are entering 2011 with tribulations because of what happened to you in 2010 but I encourage you to be more courageous in your faith in God as the years advance and the times become more difficult and tough, rely on God and be good to others for you will receive abundant grace from God and prosper in life” he said.

In his New Year message, the President, Nicholas Obeng called on Christians to put the difficult times they went through in the past year behind them, forge ahead and embrace the New Year with fresh confidence and hope.

He, however, thanked the two families for their generous donation to the Community and also thanked members of the Community for their contribution over the past year which has seen the growth of the Community.