Cry, beloved national cathedral

One was told it was a national cathedral in the sense of what one knows cathedrals to be.

It had the primary aim of an interdenominational Christian cathedral, with a design that was going to incorporate and draw inspiration from the Ghanaian culture.

Eight years down the line, one is being told that things have changed.

The acquired nine-acre plot, which was going to be prepared for worship, with parts serving as a Bible museum, a biblical garden and other cultural and heritage spaces, has been turned around to give way for a national cultural centre.

Construction

Casting one’s mind back to 2017, when one was told there was going to be a construction of a national cathedral in the centre of the capital, some of us as Christians hailed the notion.  

Some of us prayed in our hearts and openly at our various churches that the birth of a national cathedral was long overdue for a nation that had over 70 per cent Christians.

Our subsequent prayers were that this noble birth should not be a stillbirth.

The project managers found it needful, and quite rightly so at the time, to seek audiences with key stakeholders, being neighbouring constituents, to do presentations and let them know at first hand the intentions, specific details and subsequent implications in terms of traffic disruptions and road diversions as a result of the construction when it started.

My church, being one of such neighbours, and the leadership of the church, including the clergy, met with the project leaders.

They did a presentation to explain which roads to be blocked and the subsequent diversions for congregants to get in and out of the church.

Before then, the appointed secretariat had adequately prepared the minds of the general public about the project.  

They informed the nation that the cathedral was going to be a symbol of unity, harmony and spirituality for the nation and the design was going to project the Ghanaian culture.  

This fact was clearly endorsed by the billboards that were used to cordon the place and which had beautiful photos of Kente designs and chieftaincy symbols, among others.

Soon after the roads within the nine-acre site at Ridge were sealed off, clearing was commenced in earnest. Months later, excavators moved in.  

There was not the slightest doubt that some serious construction work was going on there.

Was a nation with two-thirds of its majority being Christians at last going to witness its first national cathedral at age 60?

Fundraising

All pointed to that fact, when a board of eminent citizens was put in place to oversee the management of the project. So when a fundraising was launched to kick start, the message fell on “good fertile grounds”.

As believers, some of us were ready to donate our widow’s mite as our one-time contribution and subsequently received acknowledgement for that, hoping that one day, Ghana would have a place where, together, we would meet to offer collective prayers as a united nation to our God.  

After all, despite their numerous sins, God made sweet restoration promises through Ezekiel that He was going to restore Israel, starting with the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem, where He would dwell with His people forever.

Apart from individual fundraising, Churches and organisations also made some contributions towards the national Cathedral fundraising efforts.

Unfortunately, funds quickly ran dry. Controversies set in.

Work stalled and hopes were dashed as the controversies escalated and time was fast running out.

The uplifting news was that those who contributed to the fundraising did not rise up in arms to demand their money.

They kept hope alive, knowing what God could do.

Eight years on, with a change of baton, Ghanaians are being told that the original plan of the cathedral was going to change.

The new idea is to build a National Cultural Convention Centre instead.

This is despite eight per cent of the original plan of a National Cathedral allegedly being completed, having spent a whopping GH¢339 million.

It is at this point that some of us, with hands up on our heads, are crying for a deceased National Cathedral.

As it stands now, one can quite rightly ask, what happens to the contributions of individuals, Churches and organisations who, without looking at political colouration, willingly contributed to the publicly set up fundraising drive for a National Cathedral?  

What one knew and still holds is that the willing contributions made in the past were for nothing but a specific course, in aid of a National Cathedral where Christians were going to offer collective prayers to God for our nation.

May Ghana have a purposeful National Cathedral, with all the cultural additions firmly in place.

That is our prayer.

Writer’s E-mail: vickywirekoandoh@yahoo.com