CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

A STUDY OF THE POLICY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF NOT TO ADMIT SPOUSES OF PASTORS INTO THE ORDAINED MINISTRY

PROJECT WORK (LONG ESSAY)

EDWARD ASAMOAH APPIAH

DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY

JUNE, 2019

A STUDY OF THE POLICY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA NOT TO ADMIT SPOUSES OF PASTORS INTO THE ORDAINED MINISTRY

BY

EDWARD ASAMOAH APPIAH (10004407)

A LONG ESSAY SUBMITTED TO CHRISTIAN SERVICE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN THEOLOGY

WITH ADMINISTRATION

DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY

JUNE, 2019

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DECLARATION

I, Edward Asamoah Appiah, do hereby declare that this project work report is the result of my own original research except for sections of which references have been duly made and to the best of my knowledge no part of it has been presented to this

University College or any other institution for the award of a degree.

Sign: ……………………………….. Date: ………………………………… Edward Asamoah Appiah (Student)

Sign: …………………………...... Date: ………………………………….. Mr. John K. Ntsiful (Supervisor)

Sign: ………………………………. Date: ………………………………….. Dr. S.B. Adubofuor (Head of Department Theology)

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DEDICATION

To the glory of God, this work is dedicated to Mrs. Dora Boakyewaa Appiah, Children, my late Uncle Mr. Isaac Adu Gyamfi and my Mother Mary Birago.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Glory be Almighty God. I am thankful to Mr. Kojo Ntsiful for comment, criticism and suggestion have enable me to come this far. Everyone who in any way contributed to my University Education I say may God richly bless you all. My appreciation goes to the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for given me the opportunity and sponsoring me to take this four year degree programme and the lectures at the Theology Department and other departments for imparting me positively. The Ramseyer Congregation – Adum,

The District Minister, Rev. Moses Opoku Agyemang, Samuel Adu-Gyamfi and Rev.

Daniel Bosea Gyinantwi, Rev. Dr. K. Effa Ababio, Rev. Dr. Isaac Fokuoh, Very Rev.

Dr. Sam Prempeh. Finally my sincere gratitude goes to my dear wife, Mrs. Dora

Boakyewaa Appiah and all the family members.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

J. Y - Presbyterian Junior Youth

P. C. G - Presbyterian Church of Ghana

R. P. P. - Regulations Practice and Procedure

CLAN - Church Life and Nurture

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS PAGES

DECLARATION … … … … … … … … i

DEDICATION … … … … … … … … ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS … … … … … … … iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS … … … … … … … iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS … … … … … … … v

CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION … … … 1

1.1 Background to the Study… … … … … … … 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem… … … … … … … 2

1.3 Research Questions … … … … … … … 2

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study… … … … … … 3

1.5 The Scope and Focus of the Study … … … … … 4

1.6 Research Methodology … … … … … … … 4

1.6.1 Primary Sources… … … … … … … 5

1.6.1.1 Personal Observation … … … … … … 5

1.6.2 Research Design… … … … … … … 5

1.7 Literature Review… … … … … … … … 6

1.8 Significance of the Study… … … … … … … 12

1.9 Organization of Chapters… … … … … … … 13

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CHAPTER TWO: BRIEF HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA … … … … … … 14

2.1 Introduction… … … … … … … … … 14

2.2 Hope and Survival … … … … … … … 16

2.3 The Arrival of Jamaicans … … … … … … 17

2.4 The Scottish Mission Factor … … … … … … 17

2.5 Society … … … … … … … 18

2.6 Basel Return… … … … … … … 18

2.7 The Birth and Life of Synod … … … … … … 19

2.8 The Powers and Functions of Synod … … … … … 20

2.9 Preparation for and the Abolishing of Synod … … … … 21

2.10 The Constitutional Review Committee… … … … … 22

2.11 Repeal of the R.P.P, Abolishing of Synod and the Inauguration of the General Assembly … … … … … … … 23

2.12 Women’s Participation in the Church… … … … … 23

2.13 Women in PCG Ministry… … … … … … … 25

2.14 Conclusion … … … … … … … … 27

CHAPTER THREE: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA’S (PCG’S) POLICY NOT TO ORDAIN SPOUSES OF MINISTERS … … … … … … 28

3.1 Presentation of Findings … … … … … … … 28

3.2 Nature of Respondents … … … … … … … 28

3.3 Position of the Respondents on PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of Ministers … … … … … … … … … 29

3.3.1 Presbyters … … … … … … … … 29

3.3.2 Ministers … … … … … … … … 29

3.3.3 Ministers’ Spouses … … … … … … … 29

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3.4 Overall Position of the Respondents on PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of Ministers … … … … … … … 30

3.5 Conclusion… … … … … … … … … 30

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION … 31

4.1 Introduction … … … … … … … … 31

4.1.1 Presbyters … … … … … … … … 31

4.1.2 Ministers … … … … … … … … 33

4.1.3 Ministers’ Spouses … … … … … … … 33

4.2 Overall Position of the Respondents on PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of Ministers … … … … … … … 34

4.3 Conclusion … … … … … … … … … 35

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS … … … … 36 5.1 Introduction… … … … … … … … … 36

5.2 Summary… … … … … … … … … 36

5.3 Conclusion … … … … … … … … 37

5.4 Recommendations … … … … … … … 37

BIBLIOGRAPHY … … … … … … … … 39

APPENDIX … … … … … … … … … 41

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CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The women in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) played and are still playing important roles in the ministry and in the development of the church and communities in which they live. Some women are in some leadership positions such as Presbyters

(Elders), others are marriage counselors, children service and junior youth (JY) teachers respectively. However, spouses of ministers are not allowed to be ordained as ministers.

In this research, the researcher will find out why Presbyterian Church of Ghana took decision not to ordain spouses of ministers. The researcher will also look at the definition of the two key words: namely, ordination and ministry which play very important roles in this decision.

In 1995, at the 66th Synod (now) General Assembly held in Takoradi in the Western

Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (P.C.G). Synod decided that the admission of spouses of ministers into ordained ministry of Presbyterian Church of

Ghana be remitted to the Presbyteries for their views.1

According to J.O.Y. Mante and Aboagye, the rationale behind this issue was in two folds: The first issue was whether two ministers (pastors should be permitted to marry as ordained ministers of the church). The second issue was also whether the spouse of a

1 66th Synod Minutes held in Takoradi (1995), 174. 1 minister should be accepted into the ordained ministry of the Presbyterian Church of

Ghana.2

In 1996 at the 67th Synod held in Kyebi in the Akyem Abuakwa Presbytery this policy was one of the remissions from Presbyteries to Synod and it was referred to workshop

(group discussions) system at the Synod.3 The issue was exhaustively discussed.

In the end, it was decided that spouses of Ministers should not be admitted into the ordained ministry of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. This essay seeks to provide more detailed information on the policy not to ordain spouses of ministers in the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In the area of evangelism and church growth, the contributions of couples cannot be over emphasized. Many Presbyterian congregations were established by couples and even some of the smaller congregations are still worshipping in some couples’ residency.

Several works have done on women’s ordination but not spouses of ministers and it is against this background that this research is being carried out.

1.3 Research Questions

The study examines why the Presbyterian Church of Ghana do not ordain spouses of ministers. It seeks to find answers to the questions.

2 J.O.Y. Mante & Aboagye-Danquah, 4 Synod Decisions and the Rationale behind the Decision (: SonLife Press, 1975-2000), 117. 3 66th Synod Minutes held in Takoradi, 174. 2

1. What is the genesis of ordination of spouses of ministers of the Presbyterian

Church of Ghana (P.C.G.)?

2. Is the policy not to ordain spouses of ministers biblical?

3. Theologically, is this policy not an impediment to somebody’s call?

4. What impact (positive or negative) did the first generation of ordained spouses

had on the church?

5. What was the main factors that contributed to the challenges of the church’s

administration that took the decision not to admit spouses of ministers into the

ordained ministry?

1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The main objectives are:

1. To find out theologically if the policy has an impediment to somebody’s to the

pastoral ministry.

2. To find out if the policy has a biblical basis.

3. To find out the genesis of ordination of spouses of ministers of the Presbyterian

Church of Ghana.

4. To find out the impact (positive or negative) that the first generation of ordained

spouses had on the church.

5. To find out the main factors that contributed to the challenges of the church’s

administration that took the decision not to admit spouses of ministers into

ordained ministry.

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1.5 The Scope and Focus of the Study

This research is a study of the decision of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana not to ordain spouses of Pastors into the ordained ministry. The study covered the period between 1976 and 2019. The year 1976 is significance as the church took decision to ordain women ministers in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. This research discusses some of the issues raised against the ordaining spouses into the ordained ministry of the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG).

1.6 Research Methodology

Saunders, Lewis and Thomhill defined methodology as the theory of how research should be undertaken, including the theoretical and Philosophical assumptions, upon which research is based and the implication of these for the method or methods adopted. Methodology is the description of the way which data is collected for a research project.4

Leedy and Ornmord further defined methodology as a way someone found to be effective in solving a problem or reaching an objective: in getting a task executed or a job done. Methodology refers to the entire systematic method through which a research is conduct, in relation to how, which, where and what the researcher entails.5

The main methods used under primary sources were personal observation, administration of questionnaires and personal interviews. The secondary sources involved examination and synthesis of documentary evidence and newspapers.

4 M. Saunders, P. Lewis & A. Thomhill, Research Design 3rd edition (London: Prentice Hall, 8 Publication, 2009), 7. 5 Leedy & Ornmord, Methodology (Michigan: Zondervan Publications, 2005), 72. 4

1.6.1 Primary Sources

1.6.1.1 Personal Observation

I undertook personal observation of the work and activities of the ordained women ministers including that of Rev. Dora Ofori Owusu, first woman to be commissioned as a minister of the P.C.G. Observations were also made from other works of Rev. Dr.

Anokye Nkansah, the current Asante Akyem Presbytery Chairperson and General

Secretary of the National Ministers Conference and Rev. Dr. K. Effa Ababio, former chairperson of Asante and West Brong Presbyteries from 1995 – 2001. Attention was also given to the works of some single female PCG ministers including those of Rev.

Elizabeth Bekoe Omenako and Rev. Dories Juliet Attafuah.

1.6.2 Research Design

Research design according to Creswell, are plans and procedures for research that extend the decision from broad assumptions to detailed methods of data collection and analysis.6 It involves the intersection of philosophical assumptions, strategies of inquiry, and specific methods. The overall decision involves which design should be used to study a topic. With respect to the type of data to be collected research designs can be categorized into qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods.7The researcher used the mixed method, thus both qualitative and quantitative.

The researcher will use quantitative approach to assess information need from congregational Sessions, Church groups and other church members. Qualitative research is concerned with perceptions and behaviour i.e. phenomena relating to or involving quality or kind of such study of reasons of human behaviour (i.e. why people think or do certain things) such study often termed as “motivation research.”

Motivational research is an important type of qualitative research.

6 J. W. Creswell, Research Design 3rd Edition (2009), 233. 7 F.D. Azumah, Research Methods (: KNUST, 2011), 14. 5

1.7 Literature Review

Literature review is studying the accumulated knowledge about a question to find out what is already known about it before attempting to answer it.8 Grace Sintim Adasi in her PhD Thesis “Ordained women ministers in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana:

Roles and challenges” mentioned how women contributions were overlooked in the

Church and the society at large. She traced the history of the Basel missionaries as follows: the first group of Basel missionaries to come to Ghana landed at Osu on 18th

December 1828. They were made up of Karl F. Salbach, Gottlieh Holzwath, Johnanes

Henke, who were all Germans, and Indians, Gottliels Schmidt, a Swiss.

Judging from the names above, one can clearly deduce that there were either no women minister in the Basel mission let alone, going on mission in another country as the four men did. She said that women could be assigned roles such as household chores that were insignificant to Christian Ministry.

However, the records have consistently displayed a certain pattern, the omission of the contributions of women to the establishment of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana’s mission in Ghana.9

In supporting women’s contribution Rt. Rev. Anthony Antwi Berko, traced history of the West Indian Christians who set sail on 7th February, 1843, and landed on the shores of the Gold Coast on 17th April, 1843.

They were:

Mr. & Mrs. John Hall, and their son – Andrew, Mr. & Mrs. John Rochester, and two children – Nana and John, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Miller and three children – Rosina,

8 CSUC Department of Theology Research Manual (2019) 9 Grace Sintim Adasi, Ordained Women Ministers, Challenges and Roles (Accra: University of Ghana Press, 2012), 28. 6

Robert and Catherine, Mr. & Mrs. James Gabriel Mulling and their children Elizabeth,

Mr. & Mrs. John Edward Walker, Mr. & Mrs. James Green, Mr. & Mrs. Alexander

Worthy Clerk, Mr. David Robertson and Mr. Jones Hosford.10

Unfortunately, the contributions, toil, and roles played by these women are omitted in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana records.

Adasi mentioned that, there are many factors that influence gender roles in the

Ghanaian societies and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Ghanaian women, for example, are prevented from occupying certain hierarchical positions because of sex and also due to the socio-cultural situations in which they found themselves.

She explains that the roles assigned to women are very much related to the cultural and historical tradition that try to place women in the domestic domain that they are supposed to be home makers and nurturers of the family including husband and children.11

According to Adasi, the problem facing the Presbyterian Church of Ghana ordained women ministers who are wives is the ability to efficiently perform their roles of being wives which demand cooking, washing, nurturing, making sure food is ready and cleaning the house. With the role of women ministers which includes preparing sermons, preaching and visiting literally being on duty on 24 hours as a minister. I wonder whether this justify PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses! This is one side of the coin.

10 A. A. Berko, The Trial Blazers (Accra: Afram Publishers, 2004), 34. 11 Grace Sintim Adasi, “Gender and Marriage; the Case of the Ordained Women” EBSU Journal of Social Sciences Review (Source: Field Data 2011): 3, 5. 7

To Peter A. Schweizer, the history of women in the Basel Mission was a rather painful one, “suffered and fought for.”12 Again, according to Haas, who is a present-day mission worker, talks about the struggle of women for acceptance into the rank and file of the organization. She reminds us of a dry comment by the formidable Inspector

Josenhans that “women are a burden for missionary work.” This quote may have been a slip of the tongue by the man who had directed the mission during the quarter century

(1850 to 1875) of its most dynamic expansion, but the dispatching of women did certainly pose additional problems for the management. If women could in fact assume position of their own in the mission strategy, it was chiefly as wives of missionaries.

More precisely, they were seen as mission brides and – wives, thus representing virtually the collective property of the mission.

Of course, there was also a need for professionally trained women. This became evident, when the mission launched its first campaign to educate girls in India. Under the given cultural circumstances of that country, the education of women could only be handled by female teachers. How to properly integrate women in the missionary roll call as wives on the one hand and as professional mission workers on the other was a thorny issue indeed.

In essence then, the mission had to deal with two sets of considerations: those concerning the missionary wives and those concerning unmarried female missionaries.

Both appeared to the male dominated world of the 19th century as problematic.

The leadership was therefore interested in promoting spouses who could themselves handle missionary work. Naturally, such prospective joint missionaries had to be

12 Peter A. Schweizer, quoted from English title translation of a book recently written (in German) by Waltraud Ch. 8 screened and selected by the bosses in Basel. This meant that in practice, a missionary could not freely choose his wife.

According to Schweizer, some mission workers even lost their jobs for having married without permission.13 My understanding of Schweizer’s point of view, was that couples and married people were part of the missionary work from the beginning and the Basel

Mission was facing problems with couples among them. But my interest is not the problems associated with the Basel Mission and the married couples, but my interest is why the policy of Presbyterian Church of Ghana not to ordain spouses of ministers into the ordained ministry?

According to Michael Kpughe Lang, the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon (PCC) took over from Basel Mission in 1957 and the pulling down of the custom banning women from the ordained ministry and the empowerment of women in general has been a long route of struggle. The ordination of women had to be preceded by their training at the

Presbyterian Theological College in Nyassoso. But it took seventeen years for the church to start admitting women into the theological college. As a matter of fact, opposition to the ordination of women for religious leadership persisted after 1971.14

Grail E. Murphy-Geiss, in his journal on “Married to the Minister” considered clergy spouses as unpaid partners in two-person single careers. His study surveyed more than

3,000 United Methodist Clergy spouses to assess the status of that role, focusing especially on gender, age and region of the United State.15

13 Peter A. Schweizer, Survivors on the Gold Coast, The Basel Missionaries in Colonial Ghana 2nd edition (Accra: Smartline Publishing, 2001), 31. 14 Michael Lang Kpughe, The Long Trip to the Front Atta: Women in the Ordained Ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, 1957-2010 (2014/2015), 1, 17, 18. 15 E. Grail Murphy-Geiss, Journal of Marriage to the Minister: the Status of the Clergy Spouse (2011), 1, 3. 9

Geiss described the clergy spouses’ work as “uncompensated but highly demanding position in which a wife serves as a kind of professional assistant was first conceptualized as part of a “two person single career.”16 The article assessed the status of the contemporary pastor’s spouse. After half a century of second and the third wave feminism, the growing acceptance of the ordination of women, and now the normative working woman, what has changed in the highly traditional role of pastor’s spouse? In that article, she focused on a phenomenon found in many occupations of that period, in which middle class women who were married to professional men participated in a combination of formal and informal roles related to their husband’s employment, through which the women’s own occupational aspirations and skills were challenged, and from which they derived a sense of satisfaction, albeit vicariously through their husband’s work. Grail raises some challenges facing spouses of ministers that sometimes transfer of the ministers collapse spouses’ profession. The researcher wants to find out if transfer is one of the factors that led to “Not ordaining spouses of ministers in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. In 1920, the General Assembly of

Presbyterian Church of United State of America (PUSA) appointed a committee chaired by Dr. S. Hall Young, to study the status of women in the church. The committee concluded that “the scriptures do not forbid either women elders or women preachers” but that evidence from other Reformed denomination indicated that there was support for women elders but not for women ministers.17

The ordination of women already has a longstanding tradition in the Reformed family.

The Congregationalists have been ordaining women ministers since 1853, when

Antoinette Brown became the first women congregational minister. The Cumberland

16 Murphy-Geiss, Journal of Marriage to the Minister, 12. 17 D. Douglas Brackenridge & A. Lois Boyal, Journal of Presbyterian History (1962-1985) (2019), 9. 10

Presbyterian Church ordained Louisa Woosley in 1889, but no other Presbyterians followed for many years.

Findings from Adasi, G.S. indicates that the challenges of the ordained women in their marriages and in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana are closely linked with some of the various issues that were raised during the debate on women’s ordination. Some of the negative issues used against the women have become challenges in their marriages and ministry affecting, to some extent, the roles assigned to them. At the 47th Synod held in

Sunyani in 1976, the delegates agreed on women’s ordination but they insisted that initially the ordained women should be restricted to the roles of chaplains in institutions such as hospitals and schools and they were not allowed to be in charge of congregations like their male counterparts.18

In Southern Africa Ordination of women in the Anglican Church can be described as “a long hard journey.” According to Rev. Nancy Charton, in 1979, at the Provincial Synod of the then church of the (then) province of Southern Africa, a resolution on women ordination was taken off the agenda without debate by the (then) Bishop Desmond

Tutu.

Sintim Adasi continued that in 1985 the Provincial Synod requested the Archbishop to set up a commission to deal with the ordination of women to the priesthood. When

Desmond Tutu was elected Archbishop in 1986 the ordination of women priests was on his list of priorities. A motion was brought before the Provincial Synod in June 1989.

Declared a controversial motion, it needed a two-third (2/3rd) majority to pass. It failed by 13 votes. The 1989 Synod asked the bishop to keep the issue under the review in a time of study, reflection and debate. The issue gained visibility and exposure beyond

18 Sintim Adasi, “Gender and Marriage; the Case of the Ordained Women” 9. 11 the church leadership into the pews. It emerged as a major focus. This all took place in the context of the tumultuous ending months of apartheid in South Africa.

At the 1992 Provincial Synod, after over four hours of debate, the meeting voted 79.2% in favour of the ordination of women.19 The struggle of the ordination of women’s clergy in Southern African Anglican Church indicates that not only Presbyterian

Church who struggled for women ordination but other denominations also faced the same challenges. But my interest is on, not ordaining spouses of ministers in the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

1.8 Significance of the Study

According to Penguin English Dictionary, significance is the quality of being important.20 In the view of Creswell, the significance of a study conveys the importance of problem for different groups that may profit from reading and using the study. It might also include why the study adds to scholarly research and literature in the field, about how the study helps improve practice and why the study will improve policy.21

1. This research is very significant to contemporary advocacy for the spouses of

Ministers and the youth who want to respond to the call into the ordained

ministry in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana that the policy has become an

impediment.

2. The study will also serve as a document to give information to the younger

generation the reason why the Church took that decision.

19 Bishop Purity Malinga, Women in God’s Image Journal No. 8, (April 2002), 20. 20 Penguin English Dictionary (3rd edition page 1310) 21 Creswell, Research Design, 32. 12

3. Lastly, it will also serve as a petition to the General Assembly Council to

reconsider this decision. This is because in a way, this decision is having

negative effect on some of our female ministers who are singles.

1.9 Organization of Chapters

The chapter one will consist of introduction, background of the study, research question, aim and objective, the scope and focus of the study, research methodology, literature review, significance of the study and definition of terms. Chapter two contains the historical background of the study; chapter three will contain the presentation of the main issues of the field research work, chapter four will have the analysis of data and interpretation presented in chapter three and the chapter five will contain summary, conclusion and recommendations.

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CHAPTER TWO

BRIEF HISTORY OF PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the researcher will give the brief history of the Presbyterian Church of

Ghana and her constitutional journey from Synod to General Assembly. According to

Beeko, the missionaries who set foot on the soil of our country to sow the seed of the gospel to yield a Christian fellowship which later on came to be known as the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana were those of the Basel Evangelical Missionary

Society.22

Twelve years after the founding of the Basel Seminary Institute, the Basel Mission

Society sent out four missionaries to the Gold Coast. According to M.A. Kwamena-

Poh, the first batch of four missionaries arrived on the Gold Coast on December 18,

1828. Under the leadership of Johan Philip Hencke, a German, Karl F. S. Salbach,

Gottlieb Holzuwarth, they passed through to be ordained by the Bishop of

Sealand before setting forth via home after a year’s study (1827-1828) in Denmark sponsored by the Danish authorities.23

Kwamena-Poh recorded that, the missionaries were given the following carefully thought-out instructions: firstly, they were to learn to adapt themselves to the climate; secondly, they were to take time to select a site for a permanent mission station; thirdly, they were to master the local language at all cost; finally, they were to present the

Gospel with love and patience. In this way, the instructions concluded, they would be able to heal the bleeding wounds, which “greed of gain and the cruel craftiness of the

22 A.A. Beeko, Something to Live on (Accra: Smartline Publications, 2000), 278. 23 M.A. Kwamena-Poh, Vision Achievement of Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 1828-1978 (Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 2011), 33, 35-36. 14

European have caused.24 Very unfortunately, they all died within a short span of three years.

Andreas Riis, Peter Peterson Jagar, both and Christian Frederich Heinze, a doctor from Saxony were sent to replace the pioneers. Hardly had these missionaries started work when Jager and Heinze died. Riis the only survivor remained because he was cured of malaria by a native herbalist.25 Shocked and almost disappointed, the

Basel Mission Committee which sent the Missionaries to us wondered if the missionary enterprise in the Gold Coast was not to be abandoned. It is here that we find the courage, tenacity of purpose, and zeal for the gospel in . When Riis was consulted, he sent the reply that the mission attempt was to continue. It was this momentous decision that encouraged the Basel Mission to continue what it had started in our country. Had Riis said no, the evangelical work in our country would have been aborted.

Beeko said, for many years it looked as if the effort of these devoted Christians were going to end in smoke because the missionary enterprise presented a rhythm of all kinds of discouragement and hardship caused by sickness and death, disappointment and interruption.26 For the next three years (1832 – 35), Riis struggled not only with death but also with the Danish authorities at Osu to release him for missionary work in the Akuapem hills.

Riis entered in 1836 and was welcomed by Nana Addo Dankwa I. This was indeed a hopeful sign. After Riis had explained the purpose of his visit, the

Okuapemhene promised to allow him to stay and work in Akropong if the Danish

24 Beeko, Something to Live on, 278. 25 Beeko, Something to Live on, 279. 26 Kwamena-Poh, Vision Achievement of Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 41, 48, 51. 15 authorities at Osu would confirm that he was a persona grata.27 In 1840 He (Riis) returned to Basel. What he left behind in the Gold Coast was neither group of

Christians nor school children, but the graves of seven ministers of the Christian religion.

2.2 Hope and Survival

Some members of the Home committee obviously criticized the mission for undertaking the Gold Coast mission. There had certainly been a great loss of lives; and they argued that the mission has failed and should be abandoned.

But the new inspector, Wilhelm Hoffman, decided, after some considerations with his colleagues and guidance from God through prayer, that the mission should be started again. This crucial decision became possible because Andreas Riis and other missionaries who were in Seminary training in their home countries volunteered to come to the Gold Coast with the Gospel.

The committee selected three new missionaries from the seminary to assist Riis: two were to go with him to the West Indies and hence to the Gold Coast together with the volunteers they would get there; the third was to proceed to the Gold Coast directly from Basel. Those who accompanied Riis to the West Indies were the Rev. Johan

George Widmann, and George Peter Thompson. In 1842, Riis, Widmann and

Thompson were met by him in , where the former was of invaluable assistance in selecting the volunteers.28

27 Schweizer, Survivors on the Gold Coast, The Basel Missionaries in Colonial Ghana, 51. 28 Beeko, Something to Live on, 279. 16

2.3 The Arrival of Jamaicans

In 1843 Riis, Widmann and Thompson arrived at Akropong, accompanied by six West

Indian families and three bachelors, all of African descent. The latter group comprised

24 adults and children, whose family names were Clerk, Greeme, Hall, Hasford (or

Hosford), Miller, Mullings, Robertson, Rochester and Walker. Their last homes had been in Jamaica, except for Hosford, who hailed from Autigua. With the same group came also a young teacher, Catherine Mulgarve. Catherine had been kidnapped from

Angola as a small child, but was fortunate enough to be taken in by the British

Governor’s wife. Lady Mulgrave, who educated her. This young teacher later took over the school for mulatto girls at Christiansburg.29

2.4 The Scottish Mission Factor

In December, 1917, the noble army of Basel Missionaries was deported because of the

1st World War. The Gold Coast was a British Colony. Some parts of Gold Coast were for the Germans and it was considered unwise to have citizens of an enemy country in her territory. This was a big blow to the infant church, because far – reaching religious and social changes had been initiated through the areas where the mission had worked.

Moreover, the Basel Mission had been the single agent to contribute to the agricultural, medical, commercial and educational development of the country. With the exit of the last Basel Missionary in December 1917, a chapter closed, but another one was opened with the arrival of another crop of devoted and efficient band of Missionaries, the

Scottish Mission.30

29 Kwamena-Poh, Vision Achievement of Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 263, 269. 30 Anthony A. Beeko, From Synod to General Assembly (Accra: Smartline Publishing, 2000), 10, 13. 17

In January 1917, the Rev. Dr. A. W. Wilkie, his wife and the Rev. John Rankin – all working in Calabar, in modern South Eastern Nigeria – were sent to the Gold Coast to report on the work done there by the Basel Mission Society.31

2.5 Basel Mission Society

Between 1916 and 1918 the following steps were taken: Firstly, a united Synod in place of the former district Synods was called on August 14, 1918. It consisted of the new

(Scottish) missionaries, eleven in all, twenty – eight African pastors and twenty – four presbyters. This Synod, the first ever of the whole Mission Church, which was constituted as the Supreme Court of the Church, sat from August 14 – 17, 1918. It deliberated and decided to establish a Synod committee, choose a Moderator and a

Synod Clerk and set up lower courts of the church, namely sessions and Presbyteries. It also created Mission Council.

The second main function at the first Synod was the choice of a moderator and a Synod clerk. The Rev. was elected the first Moderator and the Rev. Nicolas

Timothy Clerk as the first Synod clerk.

2.6 Basel Missionaries Return

In 1925, a limited number of Basel Missionaries were allowed to return to the Gold

Coast; The Bremen missionaries had been re-admitted much earlier (1923). Their coming necessitated a firm decision on the re-naming of the mission church, a problem which had engaged the attention of various Synods since 1918. Furthermore, between

1918 and 1925 the Basel Mission Church had become known as the Scottish Mission

Church; though the form of church worship as well as the established rules in respect of

31 Beeko, From Synod to General Assembly, 24, 25. 18 church membership and discipline was in the Basel Mission tradition. The Synod Clerk toured the various Presbyteries to receive their suggestions on the renaming of the church. At Christiansburg and the name suggested was Ga-Dangbe and Akan

Church, at ‘Ga and Twi Church. Another suggestion made in an attempt to translate the word Presbyterian into Twi was “Mpanyimfo Asafo” (that is, elders or

Presbyters’ Church). They were all found unsuitable.

It was not until 1926, when the Synod at Abetifi succeeded in finding a suitable name.

The mission church was solemnly renamed, the Presbyterian Church of Gold Coast.

According to Beeko, this decision marked an important step forward in the awareness of relationship to the two missionary bodies, namely, the Basel and the Scottish missions.32

2.7 The Birth and Life of Synod

With the exit of the last Basel Missionary, a vacuum was created. Missionaries of the

United Free Church of Scotland were formally invited by the colonial government to take the place of the Basel Missionaries. The new set of missionaries led by the Rev. and Mrs. Wilkie arrived in January, 1918.

The Rev. Dr. Arthur Wilkie gave himself the task of organizing the church as a self- governing Presbyterian Church. On 14th August, 1918, the Synod of the whole church met at Akropong Akuapem. This comprised the new missionaries, twenty eight African ministers, and twenty four presbyters. The Synod was constituted as the supreme court of the church.

32 Beeko, From Synod to General Assembly, 9, 10, 13. 19

The Rev. Dr. Wilkie made it clear that the Scottish Mission was to continue the work of the Basel Mission without a change of method except as Synod desired.

The first Synod appointed an Executive Committee composed of eight African

Ministers and three missionaries. The Rev. Peter Hall was appointed moderator, and the

Rev. Nicholas T. Clerk, Synod Clerk.

At the time, when the church attained independence in 1918, there were eleven pastoral districts in the whole country. As members multiplied, it was found expedient to organize the church into presbyteries. This decision was taken on 21st July, 1922, at the

Synod at Kyebi. The first Presbyteries were:

i. Ga and Adangbe

ii. Akuapim and Anum

iii. Agona and Kotoku

iv. Akyem and Okwawu

v. Asante and Asante Akyem

The constitution drafted by Dr. Wilkie worked adequately for thirty years.

2.8 The Powers and Functions of Synod

These were clearly defined:

i. The Synod as representing the whole body of the church constitutes a bond of

union, mutual confidence and love amongst all the congregations and

presbyteries.

ii. It is the organ for the expression of the judgment of the whole church, and in

obedience to that will to lead the church into fuller life and service.

20

iii. The Synod seeks through its meetings to discover the will of God for the whole

church, and in obedience to that will, to lead the church into fuller life and

service.

iv. Synod has the oversight of all the activities of the church. It deliberates on all

matters which concern the whole church in doctrine, in worship, in discipline

and in government; and declares the mind of the church and legislates there up.

v. The Synod receives and disposes of petitions and appeals.

In 1929 the Regulations, Practice and Procedure (RPP), was completely revised. This was indicative of the fact that while the Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast was in

“historical continuity with Basel Evangelical Mission Church” it was then responsible for the ordering of its own life. In 1930 the Synod committee became the legal trustees for all items of property of the church.33

2.9 Preparation for and the Abolishing of Synod

In November 1993, the Synod Committee at its meeting at Abokobi appointed a panel comprising: the Rev. A. A. Beeko – Convener, the Rev. Dr. Kwame Bediako –

Member, Mrs. Justice Doris Owusu Addo – Member and Mrs. Grace P. Nartey –

Member to prepare a new draft of the Regulations, Practice and Procedure (RPP). As the Rev. Dr. Kwame Bediako was due to travel to the UK to fulfill some academic engagements, the Rev. Dr. K. Effa Ababio was asked to take his place.

Members of the panel met on two occasions at the Ramseyer Training Centre (RTC),

Abetifi, from 10th – 13th January and 2nd – 5th August 1994, and presented the report found below: “In compliance with the directives of the Synod committee, we had

33 Beeko, From Synod to General Assembly, 11, 12. 21 before us copies of the drafts prepared by the Rev. A. L. Kwansa and his group, and another by Mr. B.S.K. Kwakye and the Rev. A.A. Beeko.”

2.10 The Constitutional Review Committee

When the Rev. A.A. Beeko was elected Moderator, it became necessary for the R.P.P.

Review Committee to be reconstituted and renamed. The 66th Synod held in Takoradi from 19th to 24th August, 1995, enlarged the committee and saddled it with the responsibility to continue the work of the previous committee and draw up proposals for the General Assembly System to be adopted by the church. The membership of the new committee, which was renamed the constitutional review committee, with power to co-opt, comprised the following: The Rev. Dr. Kofi Effa Ababio – Chairman, The

Rev. Dr. Benjamin A. Ntreh – Secretary, The Rev. Dr. Sam Prempeh – Member, The

Rev. E. S. Mate-Kojo – Member, Mr. B.S.K. Kwakye – Member, Mrs. Justice Doris

Owusu-Addo – Member, Mrs. Asie Allotey – Member/Drafter and The Rev. Peter

Maugbi Kodjo – co-opted member. According to Beeko, having accepted the report and recommendations after exhaustive discussions in the Presbyteries, the stage was set for the establishment of the General Assembly.

Berko says that, at the Synod held at Abetifi in 1923, where the name, the Presbyterian

Church of Gold Coast was adopted, a new constitution came into force. Synod was abolished, and was replaced by the General Assembly.34

34 Beeko, From Synod to General Assembly, 24, 25, 27. 22

2.11 Repeal of the R.P.P, Abolishing of Synod and the Inauguration of the General

Assembly

After authenticating the New Constitution, the moderator, Rt. Rev. Dr. Sam Prempeh made the following declaration to inaugurate the General Assembly: “Pursuant to the resolution you have just passed, I hereby declare that Synod as constituted under the

R.P.P. which existed immediately before the adoption of new constitution stands dissolved and abolished as a court of the church. I further declare that in accordance with article 8, clause 1 of the new constitution, a General Assembly is now established as a supreme court of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.” All the people responded.

AMEN!35

2.12 Women’s Participation in the Church

The arrival of the missionaries and their wives brought a change in the lives of

Ghanaian wives and in their homes as well. The wives of the missionaries gathered the wives of the converts and started teaching them handicrafts, knitting and memory verses from the Bible. They taught them how to pray. The learning of Bible quotations was done in groups and on individual basis. This good job was continued by the generations who came after the first converts.

This training was not nationwide but centred at Akropong, , Odumasi, Agogo,

Abetifi and Awisa where the missionaries resided. In 1930 some girls were trained to become teachers’ wives and also leaders for the women’s classes. When many locals accepted the women’s class idea, they named the class after the leaders.

In 1937 ladies from Scotland who were stationed at Aburi, Awura Moir, Esther Suttlerl and Beveridge went to Krobo Odumase and saw that the girls in the area lacked formal

35Beeko, From Synod to General Assembly, 24, 25, 27. 23 education. These ladies established the Krobo Girls School to train the girls in order to help the women in the church especially the illiterates. After the establishment, the ladies handed the school to the churches. Leaders were usually trained for 3 months before they were sent to the church to lead the groups.

The Scottish ladies helped the women in various way. When they saw that the intelligent quotient of the women was low, they sent Mrs. Regina Addo to Scotland for training. The church authorities did not take this teaching kindly. They thought they were brain washing the women and so fought the Scottish for eight years. In 1942, the

Very Rev. S.S. Odonkor returned from overseas tour and at a meeting with the church authorities, he explained to the members at the meeting how women were involved in the church work over there.

In 1942, the church agreed to bring all the local women classes under one umbrella.

Thus, the formation of the women’s work central committee. The first committee members were as follows: Very Rev. S. S. Odonkor-Convenor, Lady Catherine Moir-

First Secretary Krobo Odumasi, Lady Annegret Guggenbuhl-(Agogo), Rev. J.P. Kofi- members, Lady V. Atta Baidoo-Member. After the formation of the Women’s Work

Central Committees (W.W.C.C.), some ladies were appointed as visitors who went round to visit the local groups. The first 12 visitors were sent to Krobo Odumase to be consecrated and commissioned. They were mainly teachers’ wives. The visitors were helped financially by the Locals they visited. This is how the women in the church learned the art of giving which had been part of the policy in the fellowship.36

36 Presbyterian women’s work central committee 50th Anniversary Brochure (1993), 93. 24

2.13 Women in PCG Ministry

The issue of the training and consecration in the ministry of Presbyterian Church of

Ghana was one that occupied the attention of the church for some time. The question of the ordination of women was a particularly thorny one. In 1972 when the question was put before the Synod held at Tamale, it was rejected after a heated debate.

According to M.A. Kwamena-Poh, it all began in 1971 when the Rev. A.L. Kwansa presented a very interesting paper to Synod on the need for ordaining women. After that, the Rev. Ruth Epting, member of the Home Board of the Basel Mission and Tutor in Theology, Nyasoso Theological College, Cameroon, was allowed to address Synod on the same subject. Basing his argument on four main factors – Theological, sociological, psychological and cultural as well as the attitude of other churches and great churchmen all over the world and the role of women in church and state, the Rev.

Kwansa posed the question:

“If some women ably fulfill the requirements of the ministry, what then hold them out from the regular ministry of the church? The Rev. Ruth Epting also stressed the roles which women could play in the ministry of the church. She enumerated the following three roles:

i. Pastoral counselling

ii. Work among lay members of the church,

iii. Fostering co-operation between men and women.

She concluded by saying that, in Europe this need for co-operation has already been realized. Therefore, the churches have allowed women to be ordained. Kwamena-Poh says that, the matter was referred to the presbyteries. He referred the minutes of 1972 when the 43rd Synod assemblies at Tamale, with the exception of the Asante

Presbytery, all the other seven presbyteries held that “the question of the ordination of 25 women into the ministry was to be suspended indefinitely.” A heated discussion, however, ensued and Synod voted on the issue: 145 voted for the suspension of the ordination of women, 37 were against suspension and 13 obtained. The view of Synod in 1972 was that “It was premature to ordain women into the Holy Ministry, and that the matter was to be suspended until the Synod committee found it necessary to consider the matter again for discussion.” When the question was put again in 1976, it was unanimously accepted. The first woman to be commissioned was Dora Ofori

Owusu. Born at Berekum, Brong Ahafo, on December 17, 1939, Miss Dora Ofori

Owusu received her early education in the Primary School at her hometown and at

Agogo Presbyterian Girls’ School from 1946-1955. She then trained as a teacher at the

Tamale Women’s Training College from 1957-1960 and thought for sometime before proceeding to the Ramseyer Training Centre, Abetifi, in 1963 to train as a deaconess. In

1964 when she completed her courses, there she was transferred to the North where she worked in the Mission Field at Bolga, Sandema and Bawku for three years. In June

1966, she was granted scholarship to study theology at St. Colm’s College in

Edinburgh and Kingsmed College, (one of the Selly Oak College) in Birmingham, both in the United Kingdom. She returned to Ghana in 1969 and was stationed in Kumasi as a Chaplain in charge of higher institutions, while at the same time assisting as deaconess for the Ramseyer (Presbyterian) Church. In 1974, she was again awarded a year’s scholarship by the Christian council to study rudiments of Christian Education in

Richmond College in the United States. She returned home in 1975 to continue the fight, which had engaged her attention since 1963, that is, to become an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church.

But at the Synod held at Sunyani in 1976, not far away from the hometown of Dora

Ofori Owusu, the ordination of women into the ministry of the church was

26 unanimously accepted. Synod committee was asked to work out the practical details involved.

These details came before the Synod held in 1977 at Kyebi. It was decided there by 115 votes to 56 that “for the time being women ordained into ministry should not be employed as district pastor, but should serve in institutions including vocational institutions, and in hospitals and prisons.

Meanwhile, on February 8, 1977, Dora Ofori Owusu became a minister of the

Presbyterian Church, the first woman to be so commissioned. Dora Ofori Owusu was fully ordained on her return from USA in 1979.

2.14 Conclusion

This chapter dealt with the history of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the arrival of

Jamaican, the Scottish mission factor, the Basel mission society, the return of the Basel missionaries, the birth and life of Synod, the probation for, and the abolishing of

Synod, the new constitution review, the inauguration of the General Assembly, women’s participation, the ordination of ministers, women in Presbyterian Church of

Ghana. Ministry and how women struggled before they were accepted to be ordained.

The researcher’s aim is to bring all these into fore but his main aim is to explore the policy of why the Presbyterian Church of Ghana stopped ordaining spouses of ministers into the ordained ministry.

27

CHAPTER THREE

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA’S (PCG’S) POLICY NOT TO

ORDAIN SPOUSES OF MINISTERS

3.1 Presentation of findings

This chapter presents the research findings of the data obtained from the interviews

(questionnaires) of 60 people but 44 responded throughout and beyond geographical location of the Asante Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

All the information’s presented is based on the 44 respondent.

3.2 Nature of Respondents

The total number of people who responded to the interviewed using structured questionnaire was 44. This comprises 30 Presbyters [68.18%] of 17 males and 13 females.

Ten Presbyterian Church of Ghana Ministers representing [22.73%] of eight (8) males and two (2) females.

Four (4) ministers’ spouses (wives of ministers) representing [9.09%]. Thus, in terms of sexes or gender, 25 male respondents representing 56.82% and 19 female respondents representing 43.18% answered the questionnaire.

All the 44 respondents indicated that they had received one form of formal education or the other. The respondents’ age ranges from 25 to 77years. The experience of respondents in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) ranged from two (2) to

60years. More than 90% of the total numbers of respondents were married.

28

3.3 Position of the Respondents on PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of

Ministers

The various positions have being presented below as received from the 44 respondents on the question: “Should PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of Ministers be changed or reviewed?”

3.3.1 Presbyters

With the 30 (100%) Presbyters, nine (9) representing 30% responded “YES” and thus indicating that the PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses of Ministers needed to be changed or reviewed.

However, 21 representing (70%) out of the 30 Presbyters thought otherwise and thus responded “NO” indicating that the status quo be maintained.

3.3.2 Ministers

Among the ten (10) Ministers interviewed, only one (1) representing [10%] out of the two (2) female ministers interviewed said “NO” and thus wanted the General Assembly to abolish the policy not to ordain spouses of ministers. Her rationale stems from the fact both men and women can equally serve God whether married or unmarried.

To the other nine (9) [90%] ministers interviewed, they wholeheartedly endorsed the

PCG’s policy not to ordain ministers’ spouses.

3.3.3 Ministers’ Spouses

Ironically, all the four (4) [100%] ministers’ spouses randomly interviewed for this research happened to be women (wives). They all responded “NO” indicating that the policy of PCG not to ordain spouses of ministers was perfect and as such the status quo needs to be maintained.

29

3.4 Overall Position of the Respondents on PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of

Ministers

Among the 44 (100%) respondents, 34 respondents representing (77.27%) says “YES” and thus wanted the status quo of PCG not ordaining spouses of Ministers be maintained and they supported their stance with the rationale that the ordination of spouses of Ministers has no biblical basis. Again, they stated that there was no an early church document or historical antecedents to favour the otherwise of the current policy.

Majority also opined that ordaining spouses of ministers would also impede the proper nurturing of the children of such couple if they happen to be parents. Some also asserted that doing proper parenting and ordained ministry require adequate time and attention and engaging a minister and his or spouse in such activities would impede their effectiveness and efficiency in both fields of parenting and doing ministry.

Posting, making transfers for and promoting a couple who both are ordained in the ministry could pose some administrative and logistical challenges such as the provision of accommodation at some of the PCG Congregations, Stations or Locals.

Ten respondent however representing (22.73%) said “NO” and therefore wanted PCG to rescind its decision or review its policy that spouses of Ministers would not be ordained.

3.5 Conclusion

This chapter seeks to conclude that spouses of ministers of the Presbyterian Church of

Ghana are not to be ordained. Such spouses in ministerial work should be allowed to do so under the power of the Holy Spirit in other areas such as the children, Junior Youth, youth adults, aged, prayer music, counseling etc. that they feel called by the Lord.

30

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with analysis of data collected from the field of weather Ministers spouses should be ordained or not to be ordained.

4.1.1 Presbyters

With the 30 Presbyters, nine (9) representing 30% responded “YES” and thus indicating that the PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses of Ministers needed to be changed or reviewed. Those respondents’ rationale was that, no one has the power to prevent one from responding to the LORD’s invitation to work in the ordained ministry. They further argued that we have all been created equally by the LORD and since we’re all children of God, why should one spouse’s calling prevents the other spouse from responding to his or her own calling?

Rev. Dr. (now Prof.) Emmanuel Martey was an avowed supporter of the idea of ordaining spouses of minister, for him, no human nor any human institution have the power and the right to be an impediment to the ordination of any person.

He made the first motion that spouses of ministers of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana be admitted into the ordained ministry. The article six (6) of the Constitution of the

Presbyterian Church of Ghana says these about the minister:

31 i. The church shall train, commission and ordain ministers who shall be answerable to the General Assembly through the Presbyteries in which they are located.37 ii. Qualification. The Constitution goes on to say, the minister shall conform to the first schedule to this constitution, have a good academic background: be physically and mentally capable of discharging his/her duty, and not be less than twenty three and more than fifty years of age at the time of entry for training38. Looking at the provisions of the Constitution, the policy was silence about gender admission in to the ordain ministry but rather focused on the character of the candidate, his or her academic background and the mental status to be able to discharge their duties effectively. There is no-where in the constitution that says spouses of ministers should not be ordained.

However, 21 respondents (70%) out of the 30 Presbyters thought otherwise and thus responded “NO” indicating that the status quo be maintained. They argued that when the policy is implemented would bring some logistical challenges to the Congregations, should the status quo of PCG not ordaining spouses of ministers be changed or reviewed. They pointed out that challenges such as lack of accommodation and financial obligation cannot be met. They were also very particular about the family life of ministers and wondered how if the policy not to ordained spouses of ministers is changed, the implications it would have on the life of such couple!39

37 Presbyterian Church of Ghana, constitution, Waterville house publication,2016,12. 38 Presbyterian Church of Ghana, constitution, Waterville house publication, 2016, 12. 39 Presbyterian Church of Ghana, condition of service for ministers, Presbyterian press limited, 2016, 13- 21. 32

One disturbing trend that was discovered among not only the Presbyters but some of the other respondents was their ignorance or lack of knowledge about the genesis of the

PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses of ministers.

4.1.2 Ministers

Among the ten (10) Ministers interviewed, only one (1) representing [10%] out of the two (2) female ministers interviewed said “NO” and thus wanted the General

Assembly to abolish the policy not to ordain spouses of ministers. Her rationale stems from the fact that both men and women can equally serve God whether married or unmarried.

To the other nine (9) [90%] ministers interviewed, they wholeheartedly endorsed the

PCG’s policy not to ordain ministers’ spouses. They opined that spouses regardless of their level of anointing could still be behind their respective spouses in their own unique ways. They also pointed that it post challenge on the transfer and posting of

Ministers.

4.1.3 Ministers’ Spouses

Ironically, all the four (4) ministers’ spouses randomly interviewed for this research happened to be women (wives). They all responded “NO” indicating that the policy of

PCG not to ordain spouses of ministers was perfect and as such the status quo needs to be maintained. Their main rationale was that “doing proper ministry is very laborious and as such every minister needs to have a very supporting spouse who would also do his/her best to be-in-charge of an aspect or some aspects of married life such as nurturing of children and undertaking a well-paying job other than doing ministry so as

To meets the family’s financial obligations.

33

4.3 Overall Position of the Respondents on PCG’s Policy Not to Ordain Spouses of

Ministers

Among the forty four respondents, 34 respondents representing (77.27%) says “YES” and thus wanted the status quo of PCG not ordaining spouses of Ministers be maintained and they supported their stance with the rationale that the ordination of spouses of Ministers has no biblical basis. Again, they stated that there was no an early church document or historical antecedents to support such current policy. Majority also opined that ordaining spouses of ministers would also impede the proper nurturing of the children of such couple if they happen to be parents. Some also asserted that doing proper parenting and ordained ministry require adequate time and attention and engaging a minister and his or spouse in such activities would impede their effectiveness and efficiency in both fields of parenting and doing ministry. Posting, making transfers for and promoting a couple who both are ordained in the ministry could pose some administrative and logistical challenges such as the provision of accommodation at some of the PCG Congregations, Stations or Locals.

Ten respondent however representing (22.73%) said “NO” and therefore wanted PCG to rescind its decision or review its policy that spouses of Ministers would not be ordained, they were of the view that the current policy tends to either diminish or destroy the calling of some spouses of ministers who genuinely may have been called by the LORD into the ordained ministry.

From the above, it is safe to conclude that since marriage requires compromise and readjustments, it would be better for ministers’ spouses to support, augment and compliment the activities of their respective husbands and wives so as to increase their effectiveness and efficiency on the LORD’s vineyard or ministry.

34

4.4 Conclusion

This chapter concludes the underlying challenges that the church’s administration was facing concerning the couples whose spouses were also ministers before in the church’s own wisdom came out with this policy.

35

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

In this chapter, a general summary, conclusion and set of recommendations based on the research findings are presented.

5.2 Summary

This study sought to find the collective position of Presbyters, Ministers and Ministers

Spouses on the PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses of Ministers. Sixty (60) people interviewed but forty four (44) respondents were in the geographical space of the

Asante Presbytery and beyond.

It was also found out that 34 (77.27%) out of the 44 respondents were in favour of

PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses of ministers. To the respondents, this policy would help ministers and their spouses to properly serve God in a balanced way that would neither jeopardize with their worship and service to God nor the nurturing of their own biological and adopted children. All the four (4) ministers spouses who were interviewed during the study were totally in favour of the maintenance of the status quo. Only 10 (22.73%) comprising of three (3) females and seven (7) were against the

PCG’s policy not to ordain spouses of ministers and they wanted it to be immediately reviewed to permit those ministers who have found it necessary to marry their fellow minister. The “opposes” of the Church’s policy were of the view that allowing such a policy to operate would impede or be hazardous to some people’s calling by the LORD.

36

5.3 Conclusion

The fact that majority of the 44 respondents indicated that they did not know the genesis of the PCG’s policy not ordain spouses of ministers is a clear sign that such respondents to some extent were very ignorant about the polity and administration of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. This calls for proper Christian Education during forenoon and other avenues that could be created for teaching on such matters to take place.

With regards to the 44 respondents interviewed for this study, 10 (22.73%) comprising three (3) males and seven (7) males posited that the PCG’s not to ordain spouses of ministers should be abolished. They buttressed their point with statements such as operating such a policy in the house of God is discriminatory, impedes some peoples genuine calling to serve Yahweh in the ordained ministry. However, majority of the respondents, 34 (77.27%) out of the 44 comprising 22 males and 12 females wholeheartedly supported the current policy of PCG not to ordain spouses of ministers.

They based their argument on the fact, ordaining spouses of ministers has no biblical basis and has also no historical antecedence from the days of the early church fathers.

This study therefore concludes that spouses of ministers should not be ordained. Such spouses interested in ministerial work should be allowed to do so under the power of the Holy Spirit in other areas such as the children, Junior Youth, Youth, Prayer, Music,

Counseling etc that they feel called by the LORD.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study as captured in chapter 4 of this thesis, the following recommendations are worth given:

37

A) There is a need for a further research at an advanced level to be carried out on the topic increasing the sample space to include an equal number of male and female ministers’ spouses.

B) There is a need for proper Christian Education syllabi to be designed by the

Church’s leadership, more especially by the Department of Church Life and Nurture

(CLAN) based on PCG’s General Assembly, the erstwhile Synod Decisions and the

New Constitution. This must be systematically taught in our Churches, Schools and other PCG’s higher institutions.

C) The General Assemble need to permit the review of the Presbyterian Church

Constitution.

38

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Azumah, F.D. Research Methods. Kumasi: KNUST, 2011.

Beeko, A. Anthony. From Synod to General Assembly. Accra: Smartline Publishing, 2000.

Beeko, A.A. Something to Live on. Accra: Smartline Publications, 2000.

Berko, A. A. The Trial Blazers. Accra: Afram Publishers, 2004.

Creswell, J. W. Research Design 3rd Edition, 2009.

Kpughe, Michael Lang. The Long Trip to the Front Atta: Women in the Ordained Ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, 1957-2010. 2014/2015.

Kwamena-Poh, M.A. Vision Achievement of Presbyterian Church of Ghana, 1828- 1978. Accra: Waterville Publishing House, 2011.

Leedy & Ornmord, Methodology. Michigan: Zondervan Publications, 2005.

Mante, J.O.Y. & Aboagye-Danquah, 4 Synod Decisions and the Rationale behind the Decision. Accra: SonLife Press, 1975-2000. 1 66th Synod Minutes held in Takoradi, 174.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & A. Thomhill, Research Design 3rd edition. London: Prentice Hall, 8 Publication, 2009.

Schweizer, A. Peter. Survivors on the Gold Coast, The Basel Missionaries in Colonial Ghana 2nd edition. Accra: Smartline Publishing, 2001.

Sintim Adasi, Grace. Ordained Women Ministers, Challenges and Roles. Accra: University of Ghana Press, 2012.

BROCHURES / CHURCH MANUALS

66th Synod Minutes held in Takoradi, 1995.

67th Synod Minutes held in Kyebi, 1995.

Conditions of Service for Ministers. Accra: Presbyterian Press, 2016.

PCG. Constitution.

Presbyterian Women’s Work Central Committee 50th Anniversary Brochure, 1993.

39

JOURNALS / ARTICLES

Brackenridge, D. Douglas & A. Lois Boyal, Journal of Presbyterian History (1962- 1985) (2019): 9.

Malinga, Bishop Purity. Women in God’s Image Journal No. 8, (April 2002): 20.

Murphy-Geiss, E. Grail. Journal of Marriage to the Minister: the Status of the Clergy Spouse (2011): 1, 3.

Sintim Adasi, Grace. “Gender and Marriage; the Case of the Ordained Women” EBSU Journal of Social Sciences Review (Source: Field Data 2011): 3, 5.

The Daily Dispatch, Tuesday edition, 20th November, 2018.

INTERNET SOURCE

Grace Sintim Adasi, Gender and Marriage, The Case of the Ordained Women in [email protected], 122, 123.

40

APPENDIX I

QUESTIONNAIRE

A STUDY OF THE POLICY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA

NOT TO ADMIT SPOUSES OF PASTORS INTO THE ORDAINED MINISTRY

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR CHURCH MEMBERS

Please share with me some of your background information in terms of:

Sex: ……………….. Age: ………. Education: ………………………………………

Marital Status: ………………………

1. For how long have you been in the church in terms of years?

2. Do you know the genesis of ordaining of spouses of minister in the Presbyterian

Church of Ghana? Yes [ ] No [ ]

If yes how did it come about?......

If no, why? ………………………………………………………………………..

3. Do you know the impact (positive or negative) does the first generation of

ordained spouses had on the church? Yes [ ] No [ ]

If yes, share your experience……………………………………………………...

If no, what is your opinion? ………………………………………………………

4. What were the main factors that contributed to the challenges of the church’s

administration that make the church to take the decision not to admit spouses of

ministers into the ordained ministry? Yes [ ] No [ ]

If Yes, give reasons, ……………………………………………………………...

If no what is your opinion ………………………………………………………..

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5. Theologically, is this policy not an impediment to somebody’s call? (According

to Matthew 20:1-10). …………………………………………………………….

Give reasons for your answer……………………………………………………..

6. Does the policy have any Biblical basis? Yes [ ] No [ ]

If yes, give your explanations …………………………………………………….

If no, give your suggestions ……………………………………………………...

7. Do you want the church to revisit this policy? Yes [ ] No [ ]

If Yes, give reasons, ……………………………………………………………...

If no what is your opinion ………………………………………………………..

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APPENDIX II

A STUDY OF THE POLICY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA NOT TO ADMIT SPOUSES OF PASTORS INTO THE ORDAINED MINISTRY

INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR SENIOR MINISTERS AND SPOUSES IN THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF GHANA (ASANTE AND ASANTE AKYEM PRESBYTERIES)

Please share with me some of your background information in terms of:

Sex: ……………….. Age: ………. Education: ………………………………………

Marital Status: ………………………

1. For how long have you been in the church in terms of years?

…………………………………………………………………………………….

2. Do you know the genesis of ordaining a spouses of ministers in the Presbyterian

Church of Ghana? Yes [ ] No [ ]

3. Do you know the impact (positive or negative) that the first generation of

ordaining spouses had on the church? Yes [ ] No [ ]

4. What was the main factors that contributed to the challenges of the church’s

administration that took the decision not to admit spouses of ministers into the

ordained ministry? ………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………….

5. Theologically, is this policy not an impediment to somebody’s call? According

Matthew 20:1-10. Yes [ ] No [ ]

Explain or give reasons for your answer …………………………………………

6. Does the policy have any Biblical basis? Yes [ ] No [ ]

7. Do you want the church to revisit this policy? Yes [ ] No [ ]

…………………………………………………………………………………….

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APPENDIX III

RELEVANT PICTURES

Ramseyer congregational session members (Majority of them support the policy not to admit the spouses of minister into the ordained ministry

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Ministerial Probationers (2009 year Group) the majority of them say that the policy should be maintained

National Ministers spouses at their national conference.

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Dr. (now Prof) Emmanuel Martey was an avowed supporter of the idea of ordaining spouses of ministers

One of the Synod Proceedings. In a similar fashion the Synod voted for the adoption of the new constitution and manual of order for the PCG.

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Rt. Rev. A. A. Beeko (Moderator of the synod of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana) 1995-1999 whose tenure of office that the decision of this policy was taken.

Rev. Dora Ofori Owusu The first female Pastor to be commissioned in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana who started the fight for female ordination.

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