Susanna Wesley Mission Auxiliary mobilises women for devt
The Susanna Wesley Mission Auxiliary (SUWMA) of the Methodist Church of Ghana is an association of female members in the Methodist Church who are committed to cleaning and decorating the church, organising retreats to study the word of God, ministering the gospel to prisoners and participating in all church activities.
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Although the association was formed some 54 years ago, it was initially not accepted by both the clergy and the laity, and it was not until August 1994 that the Methodist Church finally endorsed it as an organisation within the church.
This was during the church’s conference in Kumasi that year at which the church finally accepted the proposals made by the then President of the Methodist Conference, Reverend Jacob Adama-Stephens, and granted the group an organisation status to start full operation in the church.
20th anniversary
Commenting on the 20th anniversary of the recognition and acceptance of the group, the National President, Mrs Juliana Ben-Eghan, said the journey had not been easy but they were grateful to the Almighty God for seeing them through the trying moments.
The celebration is on the theme, “Witnessing to Christ, Teaching for effective Christian Formation, The Role of SUWMA”.
Programmes lined up for the year-long celebrations include prayers and a crusade, a breakfast meeting, a fund raising dinner, presentations to deprived communities and a thanksgiving service.
History of association
According to Mrs Ben-Eghan, the association was first formed in Sekondi by Mrs Attoh Ahumah of blessed memory in the early 1960’s with the support of a few dedicated women within the Methodist Church and was named the Ladies’ Association.
She indicated that the association went through several changes in name, until Rev Adama-Stephens renamed it the Susanna Wesley Mission Auxiliary in the early 1990’s, in conformity with its aims and objectives and also to honour the mother of the Wesley brothers who founded the Methodist Church.
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The aim was to ensure that the church was clean at all times, raise funds to provide refreshment during occasions and also support synod meetings.
Spread of association
The association quickly spread from Sekondi to Kumasi in the 70’s, where Mrs Agnes Afriyea-Amankwah, also of blessed memory, was the head and from there to Accra, before spreading to the other regions in the country, with the opening of local branches.
The President indicated that since 1994, membership of the association had increased to over 17,000, with branches in all the 16 dioceses of the Methodist Church in Ghana and two external branches in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Aims of SUWMA
The main aim of the association is to help clean the church for all occasions, especially during conferences; provide financial and other assistance for the training of ordained ministers of the church; assist the underprivileged in society; and help educate illiterate members of the association, among other objectives.
Achievements
According to the national president, over the years, the association had built chapels for deprived communities, provided pulpits, assisted brilliant needy students from primary to tertiary level, and built libraries and equipped them with books. She said currently, they were putting up a girls’ hostel for the Buipe Methodist Senior High School and a complex for the aged in Kumasi.
She said the association hoped to build a school to train the girl child and equip her with the necessary skills.