Cultural Night for Ghanaian Catholics in Worcester

By Paul Awortwi-Mensah

The Ghanaian Catholic Community in Worcester, Massachusetts has joined hands with Young Neighbors in Action (YNIA), a Catholic youth group in the USA to hold a cultural night at the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Worcester.

The night saw members of the community joined by 100 members of the YNIA with 16 chaperons, drawn from St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish, Upton, Resurrection Parish, Hingham, St. Mary’s Parish, Shrewsbury and St. Rose of Lima Parish, Northborough, all in Massachusetts in sharing ideas and exchanging cultures.

The night was interspersed with prayers and worship, dinner in different Ghanaian cuisine, dancing Ghanaian traditional dances as well as dancing to popular and latest Ghanaian High-Life, Hip-Life and Hip-Hop as well as rock and roll. Before the program began, a minute of silent was held for the repose of the soul of the late President John Evans Atta Mills, the ex President of Ghana who dies on July 24, 2012.

Young Neighbors is a Catholic youth program, that engages participants in Catholic Social Teaching and takes a Catholic approach to service, seeking to help participants serve people in real need, to help make a difference in the community.

It also provides direct and indirect service opportunities which are meaningful, allowing participants to learn more about social justice issues and see the effect their work has on changing lives.

In his remarks, Nicholas Obeng, President of the Ghanaian Catholic Community in Worcester called on parents not to relent in their efforts in teaching their children about their cultural heritage.

“Culture is something that you should not forget about, therefore, I urge all of you, both adults and young to take cultural issues seriously so that we can hand it over to generations to come”, he stressed.

Obeng expressed the hope that the youth in the Ghanaian Community will have exchange programs with the YNIA to learn more from them and vice versa so that they can all grow in the spirit of God to ensure that peace and justice prevail in society.

On his part, the Site Coordinator of YNIA, Kevin Browne said building relationships and breaking down barriers are an intentional part of the Young Neighbors program, adding that Young Neighbors in Action is more than just a week of doing service.

Browne explained that Young neighbors program is an intense, week-long service experience that provides the team with a mix of direct service, opportunities for learning and dialogue, cross-cultural sharing, community building, prayer, and recreation.

“Young Neighbors is a service-learning experience. Young Neighbors is about helping participants both deepen their commitment to the call of the gospel, and work for justice in our world today”, he said.

Browne, however, thanked members of the Ghanaian Catholic Community for hosting the cultural night in their honor and said “this experience will always be remembered by members of Young Neighbors”. He also used the occasion to express the condolences of the group to the family of the late Professor Mills and the people of Ghana in general and prayed that the death of the late President will bring continuous and lasting peace to Ghana.