A December To Remember

As I count the months before I leave Damongo, each event, each encounter and activity have more significance.

A Carol’s Night

December this year was more memorable than one I had in my first year of mission.  This is especially true of the Carol’s night celebration. My first experience of the Carol’s night was at the St. Theresa’s Parish in 2022. This year (2024), I celebrated the service at the St. Anne’s Girls Senior High School (SAGISS).  While the format is largely the same, I guess the reason I appreciated it more is that now I fully understand the meaning of the activity.  In the first year my focus was on the Christmas Carols being sung by the participants.  This time around, as the night unfolded, I realized that the nine lessons traced the great history of God's redeeming work from its beginning in Genesis until the coming of Jesus as Savior.   

SAGISS celebrated their Carol’s night just before the students went for their Christmas break.  We were joined by Catholic students from the two public schools (Damongo Senior High School and Ndewura Jakpa Senior High Technical School) in Damongo. The singing of the carols and dramatization of the stories of the Gospel highlighted to us the good news of Christ's birth and helped us to connect deeply with the spiritual message of Christmas.

The specific carols sung during the service always change from year to year but the following lesson (Scripture readings) basically remain the same since its inception.

• First Lesson from Genesis 3:8-15; 17-19.  God tells sinful Adam that he has lost the life of Paradise and that his seed will bruise the serpent’s head.
• Second Lesson from Genesis 22:15-18. God promises to faithful Abraham that in his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.
• Third Lesson from Isaiah 9:2, 6-7. The prophet foretells the coming of the Savior.
• Fourth Lesson from Isaiah 11:1-3a, 4a, 6-9. The peace that Christ will bring is foreshown.
• Fifth Lesson from the Gospel of Luke 1:26-35, 38. The angel Gabriel greets the Blessed Virgin Mary.
• Sixth Lesson from Luke 2:1, 3-7. Luke tells of the birth of Jesus.
• Seventh Lesson from Luke 2:8-16. The shepherds go to the manger.
• Eight Lesson from the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12. The wise men are led by the star to Jesus.
• Ninth Lesson from the Gospel of John 1:1-14.   St. John unfolds the great mystery of the Incarnation.

Some traditions never fade; they rather get enriched with time. And so, it was with the Carols Night at SAGISS.  It was truly a night of lessons and reflection.

A Double Wedding

In February 2024, I shared with you the exciting news that before the end of the year, we would have a quadruple wedding. Sadly, the quadruple wedding did not happen. The law in Ghana requires the couple to first celebrate the traditional wedding before any sacramental wedding could be officiated. Eric, our Secretariat driver, still did not have his traditional wedding so he could not have the wedding at the Church yet.  The same was true for Cynthia.

But the good news is that we still had a double wedding before the year 2024 ended. In a solemn ceremony held at the St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Catholic Church in Canteen-Damongo on December 21, 2024, the Bishop of the Damongo Diocese, Most Rev. Peter Paul Yelezuome Angkyier, presided at the sacramental marriage of two couples: Irenaeus Saana and Gaamale Mildred, and Evans Gogu-Nwentieru and Vivian Kuunyem.

The Bishop highlighted in his homily the spiritual meaning of a marriage by utilizing the day’s readings from Genesis 2:18-24, Ephesians 5:2a, 25-32, and Mark 10:2-9. He emphasized that marriage is not only a social contract but a divine institution designed by God as part of His plan for humanity. He urged the newlyweds to see their union as a means of witnessing God’s love to the world by forming a domestic church through their bond of love.

Practical advice for a successful and fulfilling marriage was given by the Bishop to the couples.  These include: trust and mutual respect, fidelity, good communication, patience and perseverance. Concluding his homily, Bishop Angkyier exhorted Irenaeus and Mildred, and Evans and Vivian, to accept their new roles as Christian couples fully and without reservations.

After the celebration of the sacrament, everyone joined the couples at the courtyard of the Church for food, drinks and dancing.  The SAGISS group moved to the Unity Center later in the afternoon to join Evans and Vivian (Vivian was also the Matron for the School) for a few more drinks and bonding.

This day was a joyous occasion celebrated with heartfelt prayers and blessings, leaving all who witnessed the sacred union of two couples, with a lasting memory.