By Paul Awortwi-Mensah



The Ghanaian Catholic Community in Worcester, Massachusetts is preparing feverishly to enter into the New Year 2011 in style.

As part of the preparation, members of the community have embarked on series of prayer sessions as well as embarking on a community service at the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church where members of the community worship.

The climax of the preparation and celebration will be a special thanksgiving service and a vigil on New Year’s eve, December 31, 2010 at the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church, 570 Lincoln Street in Worcester.

The program for the New Year’s Eve vigil which starts at 8:00pm, will include praises and worship, prayer session, Rosary Prayers, intercessory prayers, confessions, testimonies for 2010, resolutions for 2011 and the night will be crowned with the celebration of the Eucharist to enter into the new year 2011.

Rev. Fr. Francis Kwame Anane, a priest from New York will be the main celebrant.

Throwing more light on the activities of the Community, the President, Nicholas Obeng said Christians should use the period of Christmas and the New Year for sober reflection to seek genuine reconciliation and move the society forward.

He said the birth of Christ was a call to all mankind to offer sacrificial and selfless services to all to make the world a better place.

He said Christmas is a symbol of the birth of Christ and the time for claim and reclaim of all that mankind has lost and to make new strides in life, adding that Christians should call on the Lord for their source of power.

The President said though the birth of Christ has restored hope and salvation to mankind, Christians must remember Jesus Christ as the greatest gift God has given to mankind.

He, said the Church has initiated a measure to give good Christian training to the youth to make them not to depart from their faith in God and, therefore, called on the youth to put their trust in Jesus, who would give them innovative and creative ideas that would lead them to successes.

Obeng appealed to Christians in leadership positions to exhibit exemplary lifestyles for the youth to emulate adding that, "the behavior of some of the leaders in society leaves much to be desired”.

According to Obeng, Christians have the power to change situations where there is suffering if they seek the Lord to intercede on their behalf. The Church, he said, was the power of the Lord and its existence was to deliver and to safeguard the world.

On his part, the Catechist, Anthony Owusu-Boateng said the Community and for that matter the Church would intensify its evangelization to propagate the Good News to the people, especially the unbelievers.



He said the Community will also embark on visitations to homes to spread the Gospel, adding that the Catholic Church ceases to exist if it did not reach the people with good tidings and this could be achieved through evangelization.

He urged parents to pray together with their children at home to encourage them to know the need to pray, adding that “the families that pray together live together".



Owusu-Boateng advised members of the Community to encourage community prayers and meetings to enable them to cater for the needs of the Church members living in their communities.



The Catechist also refuted the notion that Catholics worship Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus and said, "we give due respect to Mary as her status of the mother whose son died to save the life of mankind”, explaining that God prepared her for a special mission, hence her remembrance all the time.

Owusu-Boateng expressed concern about the upsurge of moral decadence in the society and called on people who indulge in anti-social activities to put a stop to it.



He reiterated the need for Christians in leadership positions not to let the power they seek make them to push the youth into indulging in hooliganism, drunkenness and other activities that could retard their spiritual development.



Source: Awortwi-Mensah, Paul