In Ho Christianity is true, and it works
By Jasmine Chandra
Life-changing examples of hospitality, rejoicing, and giving as well as deep and trusting faith are some of the most vivid memories I have of our recent trip to our Companion Diocese of Ho. Religion is no abstract thing in this part of African society; it is concrete. People there used to ask if Christianity was true. Now they ask “does it work.”
As we drove through a poor community with Bishop Matthias he told us that Jesus really makes a difference in people’s lives here, that people who become Christians are happy and freed from fear. Many people in the villages in Ghana practice a fetish tribal spirituality where sacrifices are made on a fetish shrine. Through this form of spirituality people often curse other people, sometimes even cursing them to death. So people live in fear, but not Christians. So for many Anglicans in Ghana Christianity isn’t just true — it works.
There is no financial aid component to a Companion Diocese relationship, but while we were in Ho, one of the poorest dioceses in Ghana, we saw their vision and mission at work, and we also saw their needs. We could not help but be moved.
In their churches both giving and receiving are done in a spirit of great rejoicing. The people literally dance their offering up to an offering box at the centre of the church. I would suggest that any help we have to offer them should not be given because we pity them because they have less than we do, nor should it be offered out of an outdated sense of colonialism. Rather, it should be taken to our brothers and sisters in a spirit of rejoicing, in thankfulness for the work of the Father that they fulfil in powerful ways, and in the joy that comes from having our hearts knit together in one Spirit, even though we are miles and worlds apart.
I am still processing all that Archbishop Miller, his wife Sharon, Heather Miller, chair of the Companion Diocese Committee, and I saw, heard, smelled and tasted in Ho last November.
Ghana is like a different world for us, rather than just a different country. These differences really cannot be explained, they need to be experienced. But even though I have experienced the differences, I still can’t say that I understand them.
As North Americans we really have no idea what it is like to live as the people of Ghana do. I often stared out the car window at the many street vendors and I wondered what it would be like to carry merchandise on my head from six o’clock in the morning until midnight each day, with just the occasional break to return to my shack and cook or sleep.
Our primary response is to wish we could fix everything. We want all the people there to have the same benefits and amenities that we enjoy. Some of them do want that, and a few even have it — every once in a while we would see a huge private mansion surrounded by high walls.
As we think of the aid that has gone into African countries since the 1950s, however, we are reminded that in many instances our way of ‘fixing’ Africa has not worked. North America has not been the best influence on that culture.
In many small, remote villages their way of life is stable and dependable, even though they live in mud huts and on small farms. Most of these villages enjoy a sense of stability we wish could be imported into our lives. At the same time, however, we cannot remain ignorant of their needs.
One parish had a water pump installed last May in great rejoicing, access to clean water makes a huge positive difference in their lives.
Although there are no official costs for education, parents are required to pay school fees in order for their children to attend. Not everyone can afford them.
We saw some lush and green areas in Ghana, but some crops that grew without fail from the beginning of time are unreliable in this time of climate change.
And what is it like to live in a mud hut with a grass roof during a rainstorm?
Our visit convinced us that if the Diocese of Fredericton is going to sponsor a project in Ghana, it must be one that will help make them self-sufficient, rather than dependant on us.
While we were in Ghana we learned (or at least we tried) to let go of schedules and relinquish a bit of control and we came home anxious to support the people there in ways that are good for them. We are praying about this, and we hope you will too. Perhaps our hearts will be filled with joy as theirs are, and maybe some day we will dance our offerings to the altar as they do.
The Rev. Jasmine Chandra is assistant curate in the Parish of Rothesay.
Diocesan Communications
05 January 2010
