Akwaaba!

Greetings from Cape Coast, Ghana.

I am on pilgrimage with fourteen folks from the Diocese of Atlanta, meeting with our partners in Anglican Diocese of Cape Coast. It is a very special year to visit, because 2019 marks 400 years since the arrival of enslaved Africans from Ghana in Jamestown. Ghana is inviting people to come to Ghana this year to celebrate 400 years of African resilience. We established this partnership in part for purposes of racial healing, so this is a very special time to make this pilgrimage.After two delayed flights out of the US, we were grateful that all of us and all of our luggage arrived safely around 2:30 pm Ghana time (10:30 am Eastern).

Father Theophilus (Theo) met us at the airport in Accra for the drive to Cape Coast. The sign said 133 km. It took about 4 ½ hours. Traffic in Accra is similar to traffic in Atlanta!

At one point along the way, I started to notice that about every other sign along the road was for a church or a church event. I asked Father Theo if it was because Ghana was a religious country or if there was some sort of religious revival going on. He said both. He talked about their work in starting new churches. He said the diocese tries to start a new church every two years. When the church is established, worship is canceled everywhere else so that the whole household can come together to celebrate. He said other churches also get started on their own, meeting in homes with about ten people to begin. He asked how often we start new churches, so I told him about our new Latino congregations in Diocese of Atlanta. He asked why we did not start more. We both agreed there is still plenty of room for people to receive the gospel!

On Sunday, our group will divide up to visit several churches around Cape Coast, which will be a highlight for us all. There are 40 to 45 congregations and missions in the Diocese.

After a delicious meal of stir fried rice, palava with spinach and fish, fish and squid, fried plantain, kelewele, and more wonderful things, we met Bishop Victor Atta-Baffoe and Mother Superior Dorcas and their granddaughter. After giving thanks for safe travel, Bishop Victor prayed that our time together would strengthen the Church and benefit the world. Amen!