St Paul-On-The-Hill Anglican Church honours 50 distinguished members
The St Paul-On-The-Hill Anglican Church at North Suntreso in Kumasi has honoured 50 distinguished individuals for their contributions to the church's growth and development over the years.
The inaugural awards, dubbed “The order of Damascus award,” honoured members of the clergy, catechists, past wardens, harvest committee members, server’s guild and other outstanding members of the church.
The honourees were presented with a citation, a certificate and a medal in recognition of their tremendous efforts towards the progress of the church, which is arguably the second most vibrant church in the Kumasi diocese.
Notable names among the awardees were Venerable George Bodu Boateng, first Archdeacon of Suntreso, Rev. Canon ADP P.K. Ansah, long-serving priest and Catechist Emmanuel Awuku, long-serving catechist.
Others were Asamoah Bonsu, Johnson Asante, Margaret Buadooh, Cynthia Carr Owusu, Eric Antwi Agyei, Frederick Thompson Quartey, Opanyin Aba Fynn, John Kwadwo Mensah, among others.
The awards ceremony held during a thanksgiving service climaxed the annual week-long St Paul’s week celebration of the church on the theme: “Repositioning of the church for spiritual and financial growth.
In attendance was the Bishop of the Kumasi Diocese, Rt Rev. Oscar Christian Amoah, who delivered the sermon.
Activities during the celebration included a patronal feast mass, a talk on the theme, a restoration hour, a health talk, a worship-and-testimony night, a food bazaar, games among others.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Priest’s Warden, Paa Yaw Kwaa-Boateng, said the church, since its inception many years ago, has not had such an award to recognise members who have played and continue to play instrumental roles in its forward march.
He said the clergy, together with the Parochial Church Council (PCC), the church’s highest decision-making body, considered it wise to institute the awards to honour well-deserving members of the church.
“I can say on authority that the awards ceremony has come to stay and it will be held annually to reward hardworking members, including distinguished members of the various societies within the church”, he stated.
He noted that many members deserve to be honoured, but not all can be rewarded at once, stressing that “we will gradually honour all deserving members with the institution of the awards”.
Motivation
Mr Kwaa-Boateng used the occasion to urge the honourees to be motivated by their awards and to continue working towards the physical, spiritual, and overall growth of the church.
“Having received the award should not make you rest on the laurels achieved, but rather you should continue to work even harder towards achieving the church’s vision”, he said, adding, “as a church, we continuously need your services and support in our development trajectory”.
He mentioned that presentation of the awards would motivate the younger generation to come out of their shells to emulate the shining examples of the awardees, saying, “undoubtedly, this will encourage others also to work hard to be recognised”.
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