Nigerian Church in Ghana donates GH₵11,500 to national cathedral project

Pentecostal megachurch and denomination founded in Lagos, Nigeria, Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has donated an amount of GH₵11,500 towards the construction of the National Cathedral of Ghana in fulfilment of an annual budgetary allocation towards the project.

The national secretary of the RCCG, Samuel Kofi Anna Wilson, who made the donation to the Secretariat at State Protocols Department yesterday said the Church will continue mobilising funds to support the project.

Receiving the donation, Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, commended the church for its contributions, and affirmed that the essence of the National Cathedral project is not just to promote the Ghanaian Christian faith but that of Africa in its entirety.

“Just as the building of the Temple of Solomon was an epoch-making event not only in Israel, but also in the whole world, we believe the building of the National Cathedral is an epochal event not only in Ghana, but also in the rest of Africa,” he stated yesterday.

Developed as the “Home for African Christianity,” the Executive Director reiterated that the design, described as an “Architectural Expression of African Christianity,” captures the moment when Christianity became a significant force on Africa’s cultural landscape.

He added that the project also includes a Bible Museum of Africa, which will be the largest Bible Museum in the world, with a thematic focus on the role of Africa and Africans in the Bible as well as the history and contemporary place of the church in Africa and the African Diaspora.

Work suspended

Dr. Opoku-Mensah further disclosed that work on the National Cathedral project has stalled because the Secretariat had run out of funds to continue with the construction.

“We have the contractors and their staff on site, but the work has been suspended. We are hoping that within the next couple of weeks, as part of our fundraising and other initiatives, we can begin work again,” he stated.

According to him, “our ability to complete this work keenly depends on Ghanaians supporting it”.

Urging Ghanaians to contribute, Dr Opoku-Mensah said the noble ambition can only be actualised if the populace unites in heart and deed in being part of the mission to complete construction work on the edifice.

“The money might be big in terms of volume but if, indeed, we have 21 million Christians and a million can give us ₵100 a month for a year, we can easily complete this in time. I refuse to believe that we can’t get a million Ghanaians out of the 21 million Christians to support this. I still have faith in the Ghanaian and I am confident that we will do this,” he emphasised.

Rise to challenge

The Executive Director also disclosed arrangements “to engage the Vatican Museum and Library to see whether it would be possible to secure artefacts that would help to make this into a major resource centre for African Christians. The Vatican has been known to provide such assistance in appropriate cases.”

“Let us build our National Cathedral to be the epicentre of our lives, the place for our great celebrations, our thanksgiving, our funerals, and the place for great moments of silence and introspection, the place that symbolises the place of faith in our national psyche,” he stated.

Dr Opoku-Mensah is optimistic that the Christian community in Ghana, Africa and abroad, will rise to the challenge, and join in the fundraising for the construction of the National Cathedral.

“I do not envisage that this project will take a century to complete like the great historical cathedrals of the world. Technology has transformed building methods dramatically, and I am certain that, if the Christian community accepts the challenge, we shall construct this cathedral and quickly. Once completed, its value will be obvious to all,” he stressed.