Community Holds Interdenominational Service
Atlanta, GA, March 4, 2007 – A delegation of Ghanaian community leaders and members of the Ghana@50 committee led by its chairperson Dr. Robert Andoh was guest at Atlanta city hall as the city council proclaimed March 6, 2007 Ghana Day.
Andoh enlightened the council on the presence of Ghanaians in the Southern city and the contributions of Ghanaian nationals in the city. As well, he highlighted the recent agreement between Ghana Atlanta and Kumasi as sister cities. The event marked one of the weeklong programs to celebrate the Ghana’s Golden jubilee celebrations, which began with a interdenominational church service held at the Horizon Sanctuary, across the street from the historical Ebenezer Baptist where Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., the civil rights icon was pastor.
Reflecting on the historical significant of the location of the service, Rev. Ofosu Appiah, Senior Pastor of All Nations Church who gave the sermon noted, “What better place that this historic church, where Dr. King championed the cause of the African American, for us as Ghanaians to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” he said.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the guests who attended the ceremonies to mark Ghana’s independence celebration on March 6, 1957. In his book ‘The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.,’ Dr. Martin King wrote, in Chapter 11, under Birth of a New Nation: Ghana has something to say to us. It says to us first that the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. You have to work for it. Freedom is never given to anybody. Privileged classes never give up their privileges without strong resistance. He also recounted his experiences in Ghana: “The minute I knew I was coming to Ghana I had a very deep emotional feeling. A new nation was being born. It symbolized the fact that a new order was coming into being and an old order was passing away. So I was deeply concerned about it. I wanted to be involved in it, be a part of it, and notice the birth of this new nation with my own eyes. The trip, which included visits to other countries of Africa and several stops in Europe, was of tremendous cultural value and made possible many contacts of lasting significance.
”Struggling had been going on in Ghana for years. The British Empire saw that it could no longer rule the Gold Coast and agreed that on the sixth of March 6 1957, it would release the nation. All of this was because of the persistent protest, the continual agitation, of Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah and the other leaders who worked along with him and the masses of people who were willing to follow.
“So that day finally came. About midnight on a dark night in 1957, a new nation came into being. That was a great hour. As we walked out, we noticed all over the polo grounds almost a half million people. They had waited for this hour and this moment for years.”
Fifty years later Rev. Ofosu Appiah, echoing the sentiments of the hard-won independence struggle noted that “Great men and women laid down their lives that their fellow human beings will live in freedom and dignity in their own land,” and exhorted the mixed congregation of Ghanaian, African Americans, and friends of Ghana, not to forget the sacrifices made on their behalf. “We must not forget where we came from. Those who forget history are bound to repeat them. When history repeat itself it charges a higher price,” he said.
The large crowd that turned out for the service was made up of congregations of Ghanaian churches as well as African Americans from some local churches.
Rev. Ofosu Appiah said God has blessed Ghana but recalled the country’s glorious but often painful history. “God has blessed Ghana, and we became a beacon of hope for the whole of black Africa. We started on a good note with a lot of hope and aspirations. But, our dream became a nightmare because the people forgot God,” he charged. “But I believe that the underlying reason was that at a point Ghana forgot God. The God that made us who we became, we replaced God with politicians and personalities and reaped a whirlwind of decline over the years.”
Nevertheless, he believed that “regardless of what we have been through, I believe, as a nation, we have every reason to celebrate. After all, how many African nations have been through 50 years without civil wars?” he asked. “Yes, we may not have the best economy but we have our nation, a nation of peace, a united country that has given the world Kofi Annan. We will not postpone our happiness and celebrations because everything did go perfect. We want to shout today that,” he stated.
He said the years ahead are brighter. He however challenged the audience to “renew our thinking. I believe the years ahead are brighter. They are loaded with potentials and possibilities. I am not saying it is going to be an easy ride. No, because the path to greatness and impact is never an easy road. “We must determine to make the most of the years ahead with and indeed champion African excellence. The sad fact is that if there is any thing that has strained the African, it is the tolerance for mediocrity. We must never tolerate it. It is a new day for Ghana, a new day for the African where excellence in all we do must be evident to all,” he said.
On Tuesday, March 6, the community celebrates the Ghana Day at City Hall at 6pm. On Wednesday, there will be a Symposium at the Auburn Avenue Research Library. The final event a banquet will be held at the Gwinnett Marriott on March 10, at 6.pm.
Community Holds Interdenominational Service
Atlanta, GA, March 4, 2007 – A delegation of Ghanaian community leaders and members of the Ghana@50 committee led by its chairperson Dr. Robert Andoh was guest at Atlanta city hall as the city council proclaimed March 6, 2007 Ghana Day.
Andoh enlightened the council on the presence of Ghanaians in the Southern city and the contributions of Ghanaian nationals in the city. As well, he highlighted the recent agreement between Ghana Atlanta and Kumasi as sister cities. The event marked one of the weeklong programs to celebrate the Ghana’s Golden jubilee celebrations, which began with a interdenominational church service held at the Horizon Sanctuary, across the street from the historical Ebenezer Baptist where Dr. Martin Luther King, jr., the civil rights icon was pastor.
Reflecting on the historical significant of the location of the service, Rev. Ofosu Appiah, Senior Pastor of All Nations Church who gave the sermon noted, “What better place that this historic church, where Dr. King championed the cause of the African American, for us as Ghanaians to celebrate our 50th anniversary,” he said.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the guests who attended the ceremonies to mark Ghana’s independence celebration on March 6, 1957. In his book ‘The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.,’ Dr. Martin King wrote, in Chapter 11, under Birth of a New Nation: Ghana has something to say to us. It says to us first that the oppressor never voluntarily gives freedom to the oppressed. You have to work for it. Freedom is never given to anybody. Privileged classes never give up their privileges without strong resistance. He also recounted his experiences in Ghana: “The minute I knew I was coming to Ghana I had a very deep emotional feeling. A new nation was being born. It symbolized the fact that a new order was coming into being and an old order was passing away. So I was deeply concerned about it. I wanted to be involved in it, be a part of it, and notice the birth of this new nation with my own eyes. The trip, which included visits to other countries of Africa and several stops in Europe, was of tremendous cultural value and made possible many contacts of lasting significance.
”Struggling had been going on in Ghana for years. The British Empire saw that it could no longer rule the Gold Coast and agreed that on the sixth of March 6 1957, it would release the nation. All of this was because of the persistent protest, the continual agitation, of Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah and the other leaders who worked along with him and the masses of people who were willing to follow.
“So that day finally came. About midnight on a dark night in 1957, a new nation came into being. That was a great hour. As we walked out, we noticed all over the polo grounds almost a half million people. They had waited for this hour and this moment for years.”
Fifty years later Rev. Ofosu Appiah, echoing the sentiments of the hard-won independence struggle noted that “Great men and women laid down their lives that their fellow human beings will live in freedom and dignity in their own land,” and exhorted the mixed congregation of Ghanaian, African Americans, and friends of Ghana, not to forget the sacrifices made on their behalf. “We must not forget where we came from. Those who forget history are bound to repeat them. When history repeat itself it charges a higher price,” he said.
The large crowd that turned out for the service was made up of congregations of Ghanaian churches as well as African Americans from some local churches.
Rev. Ofosu Appiah said God has blessed Ghana but recalled the country’s glorious but often painful history. “God has blessed Ghana, and we became a beacon of hope for the whole of black Africa. We started on a good note with a lot of hope and aspirations. But, our dream became a nightmare because the people forgot God,” he charged. “But I believe that the underlying reason was that at a point Ghana forgot God. The God that made us who we became, we replaced God with politicians and personalities and reaped a whirlwind of decline over the years.”
Nevertheless, he believed that “regardless of what we have been through, I believe, as a nation, we have every reason to celebrate. After all, how many African nations have been through 50 years without civil wars?” he asked. “Yes, we may not have the best economy but we have our nation, a nation of peace, a united country that has given the world Kofi Annan. We will not postpone our happiness and celebrations because everything did go perfect. We want to shout today that,” he stated.
He said the years ahead are brighter. He however challenged the audience to “renew our thinking. I believe the years ahead are brighter. They are loaded with potentials and possibilities. I am not saying it is going to be an easy ride. No, because the path to greatness and impact is never an easy road. “We must determine to make the most of the years ahead with and indeed champion African excellence. The sad fact is that if there is any thing that has strained the African, it is the tolerance for mediocrity. We must never tolerate it. It is a new day for Ghana, a new day for the African where excellence in all we do must be evident to all,” he said.
On Tuesday, March 6, the community celebrates the Ghana Day at City Hall at 6pm. On Wednesday, there will be a Symposium at the Auburn Avenue Research Library. The final event a banquet will be held at the Gwinnett Marriott on March 10, at 6.pm.
