Ghanaian Catholic Laity Council Retreat 2015 To Be Held in New Jersey

By Paul Awortwi-Mensah

The Ghanaian Catholic Laity Council of New York, New Jersey and New England will hold its 2015 Convention/Retreat at Newark, New Jersey.

For the first time in the history of the Laity Council, this year’s retreat will be for three days, starting from Friday, August 14, 2015 and ending on Sunday, August 16, 2015.

The Ghanaian Catholic Community of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Newark, New Jersey will host this convection at the Essex County College, which would bring together about 600 Ghanaian Catholics from seven apostolates, which constitute the Laity Council.

Attending are representatives from St. Mary’s Apostolate - Newark, New Jersey, St. Catherine of Genoa Apostolate - Brooklyn, New York, St. Benedict the Moor Apostolate-Queens, New York, St. Joseph’s Apostolate from Bronx, New York, St. Mary’s Apostolate from East Hartford, Connecticut, the St. Joan of Arc Apostolate from Worcester and the St. John’s Apostolate from North Chelmsford, both in Massachusetts.

The convention, under the theme “Cast into the deep for a catch” would afford delegates the opportunity to pray for peace and unity among all Catholics and Ghanaians, as well as sharing in their faith.

The Laity Council was formed in 1998 to foster unity and cooperation among Ghanaian Catholic communities in the tri-state of New York, New Jersey and New England, as well as to coordinate the activities of various Ghanaian Catholic apostolates.

It also promotes Ghanaian Catholic presence in the local areas/dioceses, and serves as a link between Ghanaian Catholic Communities in the United States of America and local churches in Ghana with the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference serving as the pillar between this link.

The Chairman of the Council is Anthony Boadu.

Explaining further the rationale behind the convention, Boadu said “as Christians, there is the need for us to meet from time to time to take stock of our lives, our relationship with Christ and with society”.

He said Christians should let their lives be symbols of peace and love, devoid of discrimination and uncontrolled craving for wealth. These, he said, divert their focus from faith to worldly adventures that are of no use to humanity.

Boadu also explained that the convention would afford the delegates an opportunity to dedicate themselves to prayer as a means to solidify christian morality.

Rev. Fr. John Kyere, who is the Chaplain to the Council advised all Christians to join hands in spreading the good news about salvation and further urged church leaders to put people in touch with God who is the light, truth and pure love and to nourish their belief in God.

He gave the assurance that by the end of Retreat, delegates will adopt good community relationship to enable them live in peace with society.

Rev. Fr. Kyere, further, urged Catholics to regard the church as a family of God and work hard to ensure its growth and stability through God’s blessings, reconciliation, justice and peace.

Nicholas Obeng, who is the President of the Ghanaian Catholic Community in Worcester, Massachusetts said the Laity Council is not only seeking the welfare of Ghanaian Catholics in the USA but has also extended a helping hand to the Catholic Community in Ghana.

Obeng admonished Christians to fulfill the mandate to bring peace and liberty to humanity, and to nourish their belief in God.