Chrism Mass Celebrated at the Sacred Heart Parish Bolgatanga -UER

Rt. Rev.Bishop Alfred Adjenta
The Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese has observed the Sacred Chrism in Bolgatanga with a call on the clergy to rise up to their pastoral responsibilities. The Catholic Bishop of the diocese, Rev Bishop Alfred Adjenta who made the call observed that the pastoral responsibilities are laid on his shoulders by divine but the invaluable contribution of the clergy has advance the cause of the church. He however, reminded the clergy of the task ahead in caring for the people entrusted to their care.

The Chrism Mass is the only period in the catholic calendar that unifies and creates a common platform for priests and the Bishop to celebrate mass. Chrism Mass is an integral part of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and ordination. Named after Jesus Christ, the Chrism bestows a share in Jesus’s own anointing with the Holy Spirit.

Following the Chrism Mass, the sacred oils are distributed to representatives of every parish in the diocese. The oils are normally received by the parish in a simple rite prior to the Mass of Holy Thursday. It is an occasion where the baptized are anointed on the crown of the head signifying royal dignity and renewed call to holiness.

Moreover, when a bishop ordains a man to the priesthood, following the imposition of hands and the prayer of consecration, he anoints the hands of the priest with the Sacred Chrism. It is against this backdrop that the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese under the leadership of Rt. Rev. Bishop Alfred Adjenta and Priests celebrated the Chrism Mass.

Speaking to Radio Ghana, Rt Rev Bishop Adjenta further explained the significance of the Chrism Mass in the Catholic faith.

About 50 priests including reverend sisters and brothers and lay faithful attended the Chrism Mass.

It is celebrated by the Catholic Church all over the world once every year during the holy week before Easter.

Rt. Rev Bishop Adjenta gave more insight into the celebration of the holy mass.

For his part, the Vicar General of the diocese Father Gabriel Atidoo said the celebration of the Chrism Mass strengthen his life as a priests, especially when he sees all his colleagues gather together in unity.

Father Augustine Abasi, chaplaincy of the University of Development Studies on the other hand said partaking in the celebration of the Chrism Mass, makes him feel part of the universality of the Catholic Church in celebrating the euchararist.

They both share their feelings with GBCONLINE 
Throughout the Bible, various references indicate the importance of olive oil in daily life.

Oil was used in cooking, particularly in the making of bread, that basic food substance for nourishment, as a fuel for lamps, and healing agent in medicine. 

Moreover, with oil the Jews anointed the head of a guest as a sign of welcome, beautified one’s appearance and prepared a body for burial.

All these underscore the relevance of the Chrism oil.

Story by;GBC's Correspondent  Emmanuel Akayeti

NEDCo Advice Public to Conserve Energy during Heat Season -UER

The heat season that is often experienced in the Upper East Region every year is with us once again, but this time much earlier than expected.

The heat season comes between March and early May each year. It is normally associated I with warm air, hot and sunny with varied temperatures around 38 to 42 degree Celsius depending on the day.

At night, people find it difficult to sleep.  It is believed that the heat season is necessary and must come as it induces rainfall for the impending farming season.

However, people are advised to conserve energy because during this season, there is excessive use of energy as people often resort to the continuous use of fan and air conditioners throughout the day.

Research has shown that about 30 to 40 percent of energy purchased go waste due to inefficient use of electricity.

Leaving electronic gadgets on while not in use contribute greatly to energy loss. Energy conservation therefore saves the consumer money. 

The Upper East Area Manager of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company NEDCo, Ms. Lucy Perbi-Nyarko who disclosed this to Radio Ghana in Bolgatanga said, as the heart season approaches, normal consumption of electricity of every household will change due to the constant use of electrical appliances.

 She cited for instance that an air conditioner of about 1,500 watts will consume one unit of electricity in 40 minutes and a fan of 70 watts will consume same in 14 hours due to the prolong use of these appliances during the warm period as compared to the harmatthan season.

She stated that energy conservation should be seen as a way of life and practice consciously and continuously in order to save energy.

Ms Perbi –Nyarko further advised consumers to switch off electrical appliances when not in use. She said they consume between 15-25 watts when gargets are left on standby alone, even phone chargers consume power when left unplugged after charging.

She moreover advised consumers to replace their old bulbs with energy saving ones, purchase energy star appliances, iron in bulk, keep fridges doors closed, and totally avoid the use of coiled heaters as it consumes about 850-1500 watts of electricity, which she noted  was a recipe for fire disaster.

Ms Perbi-Nyarko however, explained that the benefits of conserving energy during the warm season, will save households money and improve the economy, the environment and national security.

She observed that energy efficiency enhances the quality of life and for those using pre-paid meters, it is advisable for them to desist from buying more than they need within a month because of the tariff structure and the notion that purchasing units on the first of every month gives more.

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Zuarungu Celebrates 19th Ndaakoya Festical in Bolgatanga-UER

An apeal has been made to the sons and daughters of the Zuarungu traditional area, both home and abroad to bury their differences and accept the political diversity prevailing in the area.

The Chief of Zuarungu Naba Ceasar Abanga Afegrah who made the appealed explained that the current dynamic political system in the area is characterised with opportunities.

This include varied ideas from members of political parties,  talents and experiences needed to facilitate development in the area and Ghana.

The Chief was speaking at the 19th Anniversary celebrations of the Ndaakoya festival in the Zuarungu community of the Bolgatanga MunicipaAlity of the Upper East Region.

Ndaakoya literally  means a thanksgiving to the gods for a successful farming season. It is an annual festival celebrated by the chiefs and people of Zuarungu traditional area.

This year' s celebration was under the theme "Uniting People for Participatory Sustainable, Development.

This festival celebrations was aimed at mobilization and uniting the people in order to promote active participation for the transformation of the community.

Speaking to Radio Ghana, Naba Abanga   indicated that since the establishment of the festival 21 years ago, it has facilitated numerous development initiatives in the area.

This include  renovation works on the community clinic, initial seed capital that paved way for the construction of the University of Cape Coast distance satellite campus.

 He said, steps are being taken to streamline Ndaakoya administration to a workable document devoid of deficiencies.

He explained that the annual Ndaakoya celebration offers an opportunity as a people, to evaluate and reassess their needs.

 He was grateful to the government for elevating  Bolgatanga East constituency to a district with Zurungu as the capital and other projects given to the area.

 

He appealed that  ongoing projects should be fast tracked.Naba Abanga also appealed  for more projects for the infant distric.

 The Chairman for the occasions Bon-Naba Salifu Alemyarum said as much as festivals espouses and teaches the youth our traditional and cultural values, they should be used as a development tool to build  communities.

The  Upper East Regional Minister Hon. Rockson Ayine Bukari emphasized that the celebration of festivals reawakens our consciousnesses, traditional African beliefs such as respect for our elders and leaders which existed long before the advent of our colonial master

Hon. Bukari stressed that His Excellency Nana Addo's desire is to build one Nation with a common destiny and urge all Ghanaians to be part.

Prominent among the dignitaries to grace the occasion was the Over-Lord of the Mumpurug traditional Kingdom Nature Naa Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga.

Workshop on African Governance Architecture Organized By Action Aid Ghana UER

Youth participation in governance is deemed critical for Ghana's democracy. In this direction, a youth group called "Activista" has been launched at Bolgatanga,capital of the Upper East Region.

The launch was part of a workshop organized by Action Aid Ghana. It was under the theme "Good Governance". The African Governance Architecture is inspired by the constitutive Act of the African Union.

The Act empress's the AU's determination to promote and protect human rights consolidated in Democratic institutions.

It also ensures good governance and the rule of law. It is based on these and the aim of increasing awareness of AGA and its framework that Action Aid Ghana Global platform organized the 7 days training workshop.

The 38 participants were therefore taken through Action Aid's objectives,guiding principles, normative and institutional framework, the African Charter on democracy, elections, governance and youth activism.

Speaking on the theme for the workshop, the Municipal Youth Director, Mrs.Clare Maar, said good governance creates an enabling environment and equal opportunity for the youth.

This helps them to have easy access to the resources and services that are essential for their successful development and well being.

In an interview with, GBC online the Programme Manager of Action Aid Ghana, Alhassan Sulemana indicated that, looking at the current dispensation now, countries are trying to go multi-party democracy and it cannot thrive if the people don’t actually understand what it entails.

He said, the youth are a segment of society that would need to play an active role in whatever governance we find ourselves in. Action Aid Ghana’s strategy now at women and the youth.

These two groups form the core of development in any community or society within this country. It is therefore time to get the youth participate in our community, district and at the national level.

The training officer of Action Aid Global platform, Mr.Daniel Nii Ankrah, said there is the need for African citizens especially the youth to understand their role in the participation and enhancing of governance.

Mr. Ankrah explained that, due to patriarchal structures, ages and norms, these youth groups are often left behind in governance decision making spaces.

Hence the target to enable them understand their rights and engage meaningfully in the decision making spaces in promoting AGA which Ghana has signed into and ratified by the AU. Some participants who spoke to Ghana Today expressed their satisfaction about the content of the workshop.

A section, explained that the various topics taught them have given them enough exposure and knowledge on how to design their own action plans in their respective communities for advocacy.

Meanwhile the main aim of the youth "Activista" is to mobilise and educate young people to engage in advocacy and campaigns.

Using social media tools such as whats app. These campaigns expected to be embarked on by the youth are expected to ensure social justice.

Action Aid will also collaborate with the youth to implement their action plans on advocacy especially in the area of the African governance architecture.  

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