One of the most important schedules on the academic calendar of Presbyterian University College, Ghana is the celebration of the Chaplaincy Week. It is a period when the University Community reflects and deepens it relationship with God in the academic setting. This academic year’s celebration was under the theme ‘Dare to be Different: Know God and Make Him Known’.
The week celebration was launched by the President of Presbyterian University College, Ghana Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Adow Obeng at the Okwahu Campus on 15th April, 2018.
Delivering the sermon on the theme “Dare to be Different, Christ Open our minds”, the President said the suffering of Jesus Christ was a divine necessity in fulfilment of God’s designed plan for saving all creation. But only when He opened the minds of the disciples that they understood and could become witnesses of Him.
Rev. Prof. Adow Obeng stated that in order not to lose the promises of God as Christians, prayer, and the daily reading and reflection on the word of God must be done continuously. In this way we will know and could manifest God to others by being examples unto them.
Some students at one of the services
Rev. Gabriel Nugba, a Minister in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana gave an exposition on the theme “Dare to be Different: Know God and Make Him Known” from the Monday to the Wednesday in the week of the celebration, based on Ephesians 4:17-24 and Philippians 3:1-21.
Particularly, hanging on Eph. 4:20, Rev Nugba strongly admonished we dare to be different since PUCG’s approach to education is not the way other universities do it.
Rev. Nugba spoke on what it means to know God. It involves making Christ the host of our lives; for, ‘it is possible to walk with him, talk about him and yet never know Him.’
He posited that making God known is not about casting out demons (good as it is), and even not just preaching the word to others. Rather to make God known requires first putting the world aside and allowing God to be the Lord that transforms our lives.
Testifying in various ways to this encounter, the experience of his transformation work in us affirms our knowledge of and constitutes making him known.
Rev. Gabriel Nugba delivering an exposition on the theme
Rev. Gabriel Nugba explained that God is too big to be known within a day and that He can only be known through constant relationship and divine encounter with Him. ‘Only then,’ he said ‘can we get to know Him and make him known to others so they can also encounter Him.’
To be more interactive and pragmatic the week celebration included a panel discussion on challenges facing the youth in their attempt to know and make God known. This was under the topic “The 21st Century Christian Youth and The Contemporary World”.
The panellists – David Nmetteh, Mr. Martin Nortey, Mr. Amoah Karikari and Mr. E. Ako-Gyima – responded to related questions from the students. These questions included: ‘Do we have a Christian and a born again Christian?’ ‘What does it mean to encounter Jesus?’ ‘What is the difference between Christian and a disciple?’
The others were ‘The youth of today is lazy, disrespectful and not ready to go the extra mile, how true is this statement?’ ‘If I do not believe in Christ but do good to people, can I go to heaven?’ And ‘Is it right for a Christian youth or an executive member of a Christian youth group to attend parties or date on campus?’
The panellists at the discussion
A significant aspect of the spiritual deepening and Christian personality development of the University is encouraging students’ interaction and sharing of practical love with the communities in which the campuses are located.
Thus after a prayer and worship night on Friday towards this year’s community involvement mission, the students went out the following day, Saturday, for community evangelistic witnessing at Kwahu-Aduamoah, led by the University Chaplain. Over ten (10) souls were won for the Kingdom of God.
In addition, the group crowned the day’s activities with a mission visit to an orphanage at Kwahu-Nkwatia where they made donations of cash, bags of rice, drinks, milk, toiletries, soft drinks and clothing to the children.
The director of the orphanage Rev. Jeremiah Yeboah thanked the group for the visit and implored them to visit the orphanage regularly and engage the children in various activities that will help their development.
Some of the children at the orphanage
The week celebration was climaxed with a thanksgiving and communion service. Thirteen (13) students comprising six females and seven males were confirmed by the university chaplain, Rev. Dr. E. Y. Blasu.
Similar celebrations went on at the Asante-Akyem and Akuapem campuses. At Akuapem, the assistant chaplain, Rev. Christine Armachey launched the week celebration. The campus focused on the sub-theme “Leading to attain the expected end” (Judges 8:22-23), to suggest godly leadership as a great opportunity to make God known.
These ideas were further developed and expounded during the week by Rev. Joshua Owusu Ansah, the Associate Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana at Calvary Congregation, Abiriw. He emphasised the need to remember our call to lead in any capacity as God’s knowledge and expectation of us to demonstrate his character to those we lead.
A debate between the departments of Rural and Community Development and Environment and Natural Resources saw the former carrying the day that ‘Contemporary fashion has compromised on the sacredness of Christian worship.’
In his concluding remark as chairman of the panel of judges, the University chaplain, Rev. Dr. E. Y. Blasu observed that: ‘The debate awakened us to the fact that being God’s vicegerents who are to make God known through leadership, fashion that compromises the sacredness of our calling needs be attended to with Christian concerns.’