Ghana #2: Tamale and the Northern Presbytery

Days 2 and 3 of Our Pilgrimage to Ghana: Tamale and the Northern Presbytery

Rev. Dr. Peter Ziame Chairperson of Northern Presbytery

Presbytery Chairman Peter Ziame and Pastor Joseph of Fooshegu Church

Women's Shea Butter Business Group--Fooshegu Church

by Jeff Ritchie and Carolyn Ueber

We left Accra the next day for four days in northern Ghana. Our first stop was Tamale, headquarters of the Northern Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. We were met at the airport by the Rev. Dr. Peter Ziame, Chairperson of the Northern Presbytery, and other Presbytery leaders, who took us to the Presbytery office for a prayer of welcome and time of refreshment before we checked in at the Guest House of the Tamale Institute of Cross-Cultural Studies (TICCS).

We returned to the Presbytery office Saturday evening for an introduction to the work of the Northern Presbytery, which was followed by a delicious meal of traditional Ghanaian foods cooked by Peter’s wife, Paulina. Realizing our fatigue from having traveled since Thursday, our hosts made it an early evening for us and got us back to the guest house to rest well before our church visits on Sunday.

Two things amazed our group about this first day in Tamale. We were lavished with hospitality from the moment we arrived. Peter and Paulina Ziame simply made us part of their family and hosted us for all the meals we were to take while in Tamale. The second amazing thing was the growth of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana in the Northern Presbytery. In spite of the challenge of young people leaving the rural areas of northern Ghana, the number of Christians has grown almost 50% in the past four years, and the Presbytery cannot keep up with the need for new chapels. The gospel of Jesus is indeed good news to the people of northern Ghana.

The following day was Sunday, and we were informed by our hosts that it was Children’s Sunday for all the congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Carolyn Ueber continues the story from here.

Today we went to Unity Church in the city of Tamale and to Fooshegu Church in a rural area outside Tamale.  At both churches we saw many talented and enthusiastic young people preaching, performing a play of a Bible story, singing, and dancing.  It was wonderful to see their love of God and their devotion.  

At the rural church in Fooshegu, we were also given a tour of the Shea Butter Project of the Women’s Organization. It was so encouraging to see that they have an active women's ministry here in Ghana.