A common invitation in Ghana (and sometimes also a roundabout way for women to court men, as I have experienced) is to come to one's church. People often ask us obrunis "when will you come to my church?" The problem for most is that they are not Christian and most agnostics/athiests aren't too keen on spending their Sunday morning in the middle of boisterous praise and worship. Loud noises aren't good for people with hangovers...
Even for myself, a fairly religious and church-going Catholic, churches in Ghana have been a source of discomfort. I like my worship joyful, but also on the more solemn side. However, my roommate Patrick had been asking me for the whole semester when I would be coming to church with him. Leila and Hannah had gone with him a few weeks ago and didn't have much positive to say about the experience. As uneasy as I had been with the idea, I decided that it would be good for both our relationship and my understanding of Ghanaian religion and culture, so I made sure to book this Sunday morning off, got dressed up and took a cab to North Legon...
To preface, Patrick is a member of the Charismatic Evangelical Movement. And that pretty much describes it well. The church was large, expensive-looking and the sort-of-compound that it was in had a number of other construction projects going on. When I entered (Patrick had to go and play on the keyboards), there was a huge choir singing and people were dancing and waving their hands in the air, like they just didn't care. I was also the only white guy in the room, so it took a while to get comfortable...
The basic run down of the service was singing - message from reverend - singing - message from another reverend - singing, etc. People were singing, crying aloud and one guy fell over and fainted. The main pastor, Rev. Steve Mensah, was charismatic indeed. He gave a Castro-worthy marathon sermon about the story of Job and how the Lord will provide for one, if they stick it out long enough.
As you can imagine, this church had a lot of money going into it. They asked for donations multiple times (really, a million cedi - $125 - isn't too much to support the ministry!) and reminded the congregation that the Lord would bless them. Rev. Mensah seems to be a pretty well-off preacher, considering he flew in from Canada last week (and went to South Africa not long before that). He casually mentioned how most pastors these days were in it for the money, but that he started up from nothing, so basically - like Job - he earned what was his (which, I'm told, is a lot). While I won't make a judgement call on it, I will say that I'm glad the Catholic Church maintains the vow of poverty for its priests.
While I had sat there in my chair throughout the entire service (and those three hours flew by suprisingly quickly), I kept my anthropologist's hat on, studying my surroundings. About 2 1/2 hours into it, somewhere between the singing and the preaching and the faith healing (yes, there was faith healing and I was feeling pretty uncomfortable, even in the back) I realized something: while the preachers, congregation and service were all Ghanaian, the service was completely in English, the songs were American-style (even I knew them) and most people dressed in formal Western attire. The whole thing could have taken place in the US, like the ones you see on TV and it seemed like it was completely imported. Not surprisingly, CEM's website identifies its headquarters in London. I'll bet my last 10,000 cedi that they've received large amounts of support from abroad.
While I am not a fan of these kinds of evangelical churches (I have many, many moral and ethical issues), I can see why people flock to them. They are exciting, provide intense religious encounters and probably are the brightest part of the average person's week (Patrick's life certainly revolves around it). For better or for worse, they have become firmly entrenched in Ghanaian society and judging by the presence they have on campus alone shows the influence that they exert. Evangelical Christianity is undoubtedly the fastest-growing industry in Ghana and millions of dollars are being poured into these ministries. One of the best jobs one can find in Ghana is in a church, because the cult of personality is huge. A church in Ghana is as good as its pastor. Hey, if you could be loved by thousands, live well and travel around the world, wouldn't you sign up? I'm not saying that those being "called" to ministry are dishonest, but that this situation requires much critical analysis. Apparently CEM's Archibishop is in some personal hot water that has thrown the church into crisis. Let's see what happens...
Peace, Love and Understanding,
Rev. Obruni
3 comments:
Mike,
I think you have a slight error in your blog today; priests do not take vows of poverty, nuns do. As a matter of fact, priests are not compelled to give up their personal property. Our parish priest in Markham when we were growing up was independently wealthy and while very generous to the less fortunate members of the congregation, he kept every dime. His sister, who was a nun, had to sign her property over to the church when taking her final vows. Nana was his secretary for a while so I know from whence I speak. Nuns are required to take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience; priests don't, at least not the poverty part. So ends the sermon for today...
Y.M.
I agree. Most priests don't take vows of poverty, although there are some orders--like the Franciscans--who still do. Most monks would as well.
Still, I can't say I know a wealthy priest. At my parish in Ottawa, the revenue is too small to support a full-time priest. Our last two pastors have had other jobs: one, a hospital chaplain, and another, a university professor.
To the chagrin of parish councils forced to make difficult cuts to worthy ministries, 10% tithing is no longer the norm.
Which raises the question. You can criticize evangelical pastors who coerce their congreagations, but in the end, why are the poor still more eager to give than the rich?
Ooh! How I love intellectual debate... big punches landed on both sides. That's the double-edged sword with religion, I suppose. Always remember the parable of the rich man who boastfully flaunted his money in donations and the poor widow who gave her last shekels in secret - who is more deserving?
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