From Maxwell Ofori, Saltpond
The 70th Anniversary celebration of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was, on Friday, 4th August, 2017, marked in grand style on the land of its birth, Saltpond, in the Central Region.
The anniversary celebration was kick-started with a Memorial and Thanksgiving Service at the Wesley Methodist Church.
At about 9:30am, when this reporter arrived at the event grounds, Ghanaians from all parts of the country had converged at the Wesley Church, awaiting the arrival of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who had been scheduled to arrive at 11am.
Decorated in white colour, the church could not contain all the people who had come to mark the 70th Anniversary of the UGCC, compelling the organisers to mount canopies outside the building.
The UGCC was one of the early political movements that helped in the struggle for independence from British colonial rule.
Noted for his discipline towards time, President Akufo-Addo made it on time to allow the church service commence.
Amidst morning showers, the atmosphere at Saltpond was cold and fit for an event as the commemoration.
The Memorial and Thanksgiving Service began with an opening hymn from the Methodist Hymn Book 313: “To God be the glory, great things he hath done,” followed by intercessory prayers.
President Akufo-Addo delivered the first scripture reading from Isaiah 40:25-31, which verse 31 reads: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
The Acting Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddy Blay, took the second reading from Philippians 4:6-9, to end the scripture readings.
To this end, a sermon hymn, as per the liturgical order of the Methodist Church, needed to be rendered to sanctify the auditorium and prepare the congregation for the homily.
Sung from the MHB 402, the hymn, “Faith of our Fathers”, tells of the struggle our forefathers went through till they succeeded.
The hymn said the faith of our fathers was living still, in spite of dungeon, fire and sword, adding that their descendants would be true to them till death.
“Our fathers, chained in prisons dark, were still in heart and conscience free; and blest would be their children’s fate, though they, like them, should die for thee,” the second stanza read.
The former Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Most Rev. Emmanuel Asante Antwi, delivered the sermon.
Preaching the sermon, Rev. Antwi said God promised in Isaiah 30 and 31 that he would give strength to our forefathers, and He did, thus the celebration.
He continued that the celebration should guide the country to be on the right path, and the path, he explained, was to wait upon the Lord.
The Bishop urged the youth in the NPP, and descendants of the UGCC party, to be law-abiding citizens.
Whilst condemning the activities of political vigilante groups, he, particularly, mentioned the Invincible Forces.
He counseled politicians to be decorous in their words and pronouncements, and also respect and honour our forefathers, whose struggle gave the country independence.
Rev. Antwi also touched on plans to build a National Cathedral, and urged Ghanaians to lend their support to make the church a success.
Dr. J.B Danquah, on August 4, 1947, with the support of Edward Akufo-Addo, Emmanuel Obetsebi Lamptey and other lawyers, academicians, and traditional leaders, with funding from merchants like George Alfred Grant, established the UGCC at Saltpond to push for the country’s independence.
In December that year, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, upon the recommendation of Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, was invited from Liverpool, England, to become the General Secretary of the party.
Meanwhile, in disagreement over the direction of the independence movement, Dr. Nkrumah segregated from the UGCC and went on to form the Convention Peoples’ Party, and later, became the first President of the country.
The establishment of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS), the first political organisation that led organised opposition against the colonial government, was also 120 years on the 4th of August, 2017.
It is believed that the sustained effort of the ARPS laid the foundation for political action that, eventually, led to Ghana’s independence from colonial rule in 1957.
The service was attended by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, ministers of state, members of Parliament, traditional rulers, among other dignitaries.
From Maxwell Ofori, Saltpond The 70th Anniversary celebration of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) was, on Friday, 4th August, 2017, marked in grand style on the land of its birth, Saltpond, in the Central Region. The anniversary celebration was kick-started with a Memorial and Thanksgiving Service at the Wesley Methodist Church. At about […] Read Full Story
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