The immediate past general superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, has prompted Christians to allot to the construction of the national cathedral.
He motivated the Christians to be modest to God and take the alternative to donate to lifting the cathedral.
He formulated this in Cape Coast where the lead pastor of Cedar Mountain Chapel, Accra, Rev Dr. Stephen Yenusom Wengam was being substantiated as General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana.
Rev. Frimpong-Manso said “If we think that the best belongs to the Lord, do they want us to build the cathedral in a certain corner?
Please the 70% Christians, let us be fair and take the opportunity and contribute. It is doable if everyone will pay Ghc100 a month or less…”
Meanwhile, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has pledged to use the funds raised for the construction of the national cathedral wisely.
He said the funds raised for the National Cathedral will be treated with sacred trust, and clearness strengthening that the government will be accountable to Ghanaians.
Lecturing the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar at the Christ the King Church in Accra, Nana Addo urged the Christian community in Ghana, Africa, and abroad to join the fundraising endeavor for the construction of the house.
According to him, looking through the record of all the great cathedrals of the world, there has never been, what can be called, “an adequate time” to build a cathedral.
He said “The National Cathedral in Washington DC took eighty-three (83) years to complete; it took one hundred and fifty (150) years to build St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and it took one hundred and eighty-two (182) years to finish the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Indeed, the reigning medieval monarchs of the time made significant contributions towards the construction of Notre Dame in Paris, and, in the case of the Basilica, construction began and was completed during the era of the Papacy’s greatest temporal power, again in medieval times.
“When these great Cathedrals were built, the societies that house them had not finished with the satisfaction of their major “development” needs – hospitals, schools, bridges, roads, homes needed to be built, and, I daresay, if one were to consider only those needs, there would never be a good time to build a Church, a Cathedral or any of the great buildings of faith around the world. But, once they are built, they have proven to be instruments that brought people together, and deepened the spiritual and emotional experiences of people.”
“I am fortified by the words of Holy Scripture, in Ecclesiastes chapter eleven (11), verse four (4), which says: ‘If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never sow anything and never harvest anything.’
“I am hoping that the Christian community in Ghana, Africa, and abroad, will rise to the challenge, and join in the fundraising for the construction of the National Cathedral. I do not envisage that this project will take a century to complete like the great historical cathedrals of the world. Technology has transformed building methods dramatically, and I am certain that, if the Christian community accepts the challenge, we shall construct this cathedral and quickly. Once completed, its value will be obvious to all,” he stated.
The government through the Ministry of Finance authorized the release of GH¢25million for the construction of the National Cathedral in Accra.
A letter dated March 31, 2022, inscribed to the Controller and Accountant General Department (CAGD) by the Minister of Finance Ken Ofori Atta said:
“Authority is hereby granted to release the sum of 25million Ghana Cedis as additional seed money to the National Cathedral Secretariat for the construction of the National Cathedral for part payment of the outstanding claim from RIBADE.”
The cathedral has generated concerns among some Ghanaians primarily some Christian factions and the Minority in Parliament.
