REV. FR. ARTHUR & THE GHANAIAN CATHOLIC COMMUNITY DÜSSELDORF

On the foundation of the Düsseldorf Ghanaian Catholic Church in November 2001, we were confronted with challenges within and outside the group. The community splitted and through the Archdiocese of Cologne, our application for a Ghanaian Priest from Ghana was positively accepted by the Ghana Bishops Conference towards the beginning of the year 2003. Rev. Fr. Joseph Ernest Arthur was sent to us on the 5th of August 2003 to lead our community. On his arrival, he managed to unite the Ghanaian Catholics in and around Düsseldorf. He has since been working hard to maintain an active and interactive Church which is now part of the International Catholic Churches in the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Achievements made under the Service of Rev. Fr. Joseph Ernest Arthur:

On his arrival, he appointed an interim Advisory Board which planned and supported him by the official foundation of the Church and its subsequent recognition by the Archdiocese of Cologne. A year later, he organised an election through which the Church elected an Advisory Board for a period of two years to support his Services. Since then, there have been further Advisory Board elections in November 2006 and November 2008. The Advisory Board meets every first Sunday of the Month after the Mass to discuss matters concerning the welfare of the Church and it’s members and to plan for various activities and other issues of interest. Father Arthur is always present at these meetings and helps and guides the board by their decision making. He worked hard in the vineyard of God (Sacramental Activities) through his numerous Baptisms (from Babies up to Adults), First Communions, Confirmations, Holy Matrimonies and Burials of Germans and unfortunately for two Ghanaian members.

Under Fr. Arthur, the Church has gained a great recognition in various activities in our Archdiocese. He organised our Church Choir very well and supported our Choir Master in the teaching and the polishing of our songs and sacred music. The Choir was performing soon after his arrival so well that we were very often invited by German Parishes in our area on special occasions to accompany their Masses with our songs. We have been singing in Catholic Churches for Weddings, Baptisms, and Ordination of Priest etc to the joyfulness, satisfaction and happiness of the Germans.

We’ve sung on some occasion in the world’s famous Cologne Cathedral. In all these case, we were led to these heights by our dear Priest – Fr. Arthur. Due to his efforts and hard work, our youth and cultural troupe had the opportunity to perform during the World’s Youth Day in summer 2005 in Cologne.

With our traditional adowa music and dance, we accompanied the offertory over a distance of about 300 meters to the Alter. This was transmitted throughout the World. This is the highest achievement of our Church so far.

The Church Choir is being supported by a Band and with his support the Church possesses a professional Band instruments comprising of a Set of Drums, Congas, Keyboard and two sound systems. One is being used for the Mass in the Church and the other System for our gatherings, Baptism/Confirmations and Weddings and other special events in the Entertainment Hall and elsewhere. The Church has also visited on two occasions the SMA Fathers in Cadier-en-Keer in Holland and had also performed in August 2009, on three stages in a town festival in Holland.

On his arrival, he first encouraged the formation of groups or associations within the Church. His policy here was that each and every members of the Church should belong to one group. So he helped to create the following associations; Men’s Fellowship, Women’s Fellowship, Youth Fellowship and the Children’s Fellowship. These groups are given the opportunity to meet once in a month after the Mass in their various rooms of the Community Hall. During these meetings, matters concerning the welfare of the group are being discussed. The group members exchange ideas and experiences in issues concerning their daily routine and plan also for activities of the future.

Through the initiative of Fr. Arthur and the Advisory Board, a Parents Association is founded. Initially other Ghanaian Churches in Düsseldorf were invited to join. However, after some few months, those who joined from the Wesley Methodist Church were not pulling up well, so in the year 2007, the Association was officially founded and registered under the German Laws and entered into the Unions Register of the Administration Court of Düsseldorf. The Association is now called “The Ghanaian – German Parents Association of Düsseldorf.

The Association has joined the Parents Association Network of the Northrhein Westphalia which is mediating between the Ministry of Generations, Women, Families and Integration and the various Non Governmental Parents/Women/Families Associations and Unions in our Federal State.

A member of the Executive Board of our Parents Association, Mr. Ernest Ampadu was elected at the beginning of the year 2009 to the position of a Secretary of the Parents Network NRW.

Through this our Church has been getting first hand information from the Education and Integration Ministries concerning the future and education of immigrants and their families. This enables us to communicate and interact professionally with the schools and the authorities in cases of the abuse of our rights.

The Association has also managed to acquire the Certification of a German Language Integration Course which takes place in our school in the Community centre. Certificates and Reports of this School is accepted by the German System. The school comprises of six books (six classes) over a period of about one year. The first group is now in their third class. In addition to this, the Association organises afternoon care taking classes for Ghanaian students from class one up to class thirteen and also for Vocational and Polytechnic students. An experienced industrialist and teacher takes care of the children and youth who needs educational support, physical and psychological counselling. The premises being used for all these activities of the Church and the Parents Association was made possible through the initiative and organisation of Fr. Arthur. He manages always to convince the German Catholic Community whose Church and recreational centre we’ve been using until now.

He has been a good mediator and ambassador of the Catholic Church of Ghana here for us, whilst also trying to maintain our form of Worshiping God including the tradition and culture in Ghana. He has also done well in maintaining a Ghanaian Catholic Community instead of an African Community which will result in the Ghanaians breaking away to the spiritual churches. To be able to bring the Word of God to the Ghanaian Catholics in Düsseldorf, he formed on his arrival communities in the various suburbs of Düsseldorf as well as some Cities near Düsseldorf like Mönchengladbach, Wuppertal and Cologne. The Community in Cologne has gained grounds and Fr. Arthur travels every Sunday afternoon after the Mass in Düsseldorf to Cologne to celebrate with our brothers and sisters there a Holy Mass. He set up fixed days in the week during which he visits the communities in the evenings at a home of their choice in the area, to pray with them and celebrate with them a Mass. These communities are still in existence but due to lack of time on the part of the church members, these meetings are not well attended. But still Fr. Arthur is always ready to move whenever a community requests for a weekly Mass. Furthermore, Fr. has been rendering a lot of social and beneficial services. He has been driving to various Families and People at even odd times and distant places to help members and Ghanaians in Emergency and very often to help in solving family problems during family crisis. Sometimes he had even sometimes to drive some women to the hospital or accompany people to places to help them clear off some misunderstandings. He has also testified in some case for Ghanaians and has also witnessed for many Ghanaians in Düsseldorf and surrounding in Cases of Passport and Visa matters.

The Church is a member of the Ghana Union Düsseldorf and the Ghana Council NRW (an umbrella Council for Ghanaian Unions, Associations, Churches and individuals in Northrhein Westphalia). Through his efforts and spiritual support, Fr. Arthur has been up to date a member of the Advisory Boards of the Ghana Union Düsseldorf, Ghanaian – German parents Association Düsseldorf, Ghana Council NRW and the Union of Ghanaian Associations in Germany (UGAG). He was also well recognised by the Ghana Embassy in Berlin and he participated several times in meetings and events of interest to the Church in particular or Ghana as a hole.

He visits also African prisoners in the female prisons in Neuss near Düsseldorf every Wednesday and the men’s prisons in Düsseldorf every Monday to share the word of God to them, to pray with them and to boost up their spiritual well being.

On the field of sports, he tried his best to organise the men, youth and women to form teams. Until now he has organised several football tournaments for the Church’s groups, the Ghanaian Churches in Düsseldorf and organised also football matches between our Community and the Italian Catholic Community here. The Church has football teams for Men, Women, Youth and Children. The Church can form teams for all age groups both males and females. The youth has been participating in a lot of Catholic youth sports activities in our area very successfully. The Church under the leadership and training of Fr. Arthur presented 10 teams in all age groups to the recent DJK International Football Tournament held at the end of June this year. To raise these teams, the youth and children of the other Ghanaian Churches in Düsseldorf were included. Our teams placed well in all categories and won three cups, a set of jerseys, footballs and other T-shirts. Our Community won the title of being the Community which presented more teams. Fr. Arthur tried even to organise 15 youth from Ghana to form a team at this tournament. Even though the Integration Ministry and the Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of Cologne were prepared to fully finance this as a youth project, the German Embassy in Accra failed in the last minute to grant the youth the required visa for their trip to Germany in June 2009. As a result of our success at this tournament, Fr. Arthur was contacted by the DJK Cologne on the issue of the formation of a Sport Association for our Community in Düsseldorf. This is also in line with the plans of our community; hence the team was officially launched on Sunday, the 6th September 2009, during a ceremony organised to honour the players who participated in the tournament. The registration of players has officially started.

Fr. Arthur met a splitter Church on his arrival. Due to the struggle for positions and money in the community, the two groups wanted to gain recognition. On his arrival both groups were merged together and after a reconciliation Mass, the Church was united. Fr. Arthur has managed to bring peace and stability in the Church during his over six years stay with us. It has not been easy for him, since there has always been some tension in the Church which is peculiar to most of the Ghanaian Churches in Düsseldorf. We hope that with the call of Fr. Arthur to continue his service in Ghana, our Community may not split up again. We plead with his Eminence to ensure a continuity of our community by replacing him with an experienced, active, energetic, a motivated and forceful Priest, who is spiritually filled like him.

Finally our Church Community extends it´s utmost gratitude to his Eminence and the Bishops Conference of Ghana for the services of Rev. Fr. Joseph Ernest Arthur in the past six and half(6 1/2) years.

May the Lord richly Bless You all.

Yours in Christ,

Mike Yeboah (President)

Ernest Ampadu (Secretary/Cathechist)