The last 10 days I have been off my usual beat as I have had the opportunity to be in Ghana. This is a country with a dynamic expression of Christian faith today and I was glad to get some glimpses into what makes it tick.
It is clear that there has been a deep inculturation – a profound encounter between Christian faith and Africa’s primal spirituality. This has been a major focus for the research of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture, founded by the late Kwame Bediako, who were my hosts. Over decades the Institute has carried out a close examination of the way in which Christianity is being expressed in Ghana’s vernacular languages. This reveals the extent to which the interplay between the biblical faith and the vernacular world has yielded a distinctive revitalization of Christianity.
At the same time, great value is attached to the universal nature of the Christian faith. I saw this especially in the pride people take in being Presbyterians. This goes back more than a hundred years to the time during the First World War when German missionaries were deported, and Scots were invited to cover for their absence. The time was ripe for indigenous Ghanaian churches to be formed, and they found that the Presbyterianism that came with the Scots matched their needs. Today both the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church are proud of an identity that connects them with a global communion.
Cherishing their Presbyterian identity, however, does not involve conservatism or inflexibility. There has been transformation at the level of worship as greater opportunities to express African spirituality have been introduced. The governance structures have been modified from time to time to adjust to new challenges. They like to point out that a Reformed church is always reforming. Ghana’s Presbyterian Churches are dynamic movements of faith, confident that the democratic values of Presbyterianism are of value not only for church but also for the nation.
I had the privilege of being in Ghana during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Since the democratic dispensation began in 1994 Ghana has now completed eight peaceful elections that led to an orderly transfer of power. Particularly notable has been the commitment of its Presidents to respect the end of their term of office and step down gracefully. Currently, economic conditions are challenging for many so all good wishes to the incoming administration of John Mahama.
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