Christian Council of Ghana
Encyclopedia
The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) is an umbrella group that unites 15 churches in Ghana
. The council has its members from Charismatic
, Pentecostal
, Orthodox
and other churches.
united aiming to work with various congregations on social matters and to speak for the voiceless in society.
Churches
Organizations
The council executives are Rev. Prof. Frimpong Manso (Chairman) and Rev. Dr. Fred Debge (General secretary).
and discrimination
of people living with HIV
/AIDS
. The project trained community members in areas of the country that had high HIV/AIDS prevalence
of 8–9%. The training involved basic facts about HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination among others.
The council has also set up an Interfaith Unit to educate Christian
s on the need for peaceful existence and tolerance among members of different faith
s. The School Dropout Scholarship Programme promotes education among Liberian
refugees in the Buduburam
refugee settlement near Accra
. The programme also identifies the causes and consequences of school dropout among the refugees.
In governance
and nation building, the council monitors the activities of political parties and professional bodies in the country and offers advice to them. In 2005 the council appealed to Ghanaians and professional bodies to put the country's economy nation first and spend more time discussing issues of national interest concerning education, health and poverty. In 2011 the council encouraged political party leaders and their followers to avoid the use of provocative language in their speeches.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. The council has its members from Charismatic
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
, Pentecostal
Pentecostalism
Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
, Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and other churches.
History of the council
The CCG was formed on 30 October 1929. Five churches, namely:- African Methodist Episcopal (AME),
- Zion Church, English Church Mission (Anglican),
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church (then the Ewe Presbyterian Church),
- Presbyterian Church of the Gold Coast (now Presbyterian Church Ghana), and
- the Methodist Church GhanaMethodist Church GhanaThe Methodist Church Ghana is one of the largest and oldest Protestant denominations in Ghana. It traces its roots back to the landing of Rev. Joseph Dunwell on 1 January 1835 in Cape Coast, Ghana. Rev...
(then the Wesleyan Methodist Church)
united aiming to work with various congregations on social matters and to speak for the voiceless in society.
Membership of the council
The council It has been restructured several times since its formation. It currently includes 15 churches and two Christian organizations.Churches
- African Methodist Episcopal ChurchAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchThe African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the A.M.E. Church, is a predominantly African American Methodist denomination based in the United States. It was founded by the Rev. Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816 from several black Methodist congregations in the...
- African Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchAfrican Methodist Episcopal Zion ChurchThe African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, or AME Zion Church, is a historically African-American Christian denomination. It was officially formed in 1821, but operated for a number of years before then....
- Christ Evangelical Mission
- Christian Methodist Episcopal ChurchChristian Methodist Episcopal ChurchThe Christian Methodist Episcopal Church is a historically black denomination within the broader context of Methodism. The group was organized in 1870 when several black ministers, with the full support of their white counterparts in the former Methodist Episcopal Church, South, met to form an...
- Eden Revival Church International
- Evangelical Church of Ghana
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana
- Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana
- Ghana BaptistBaptistBaptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Convention - Ghana Mennonite Church
- Greek Orthodox Church (Patriarchate of Alexandria)
- Methodist Church, Ghana
- Presbyterian Church of Ghana
- Religious Society of Friends
- Salvation ArmySalvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
Organizations
- Young Men’s Christian Association
- Young Women’s Christian Association
The council executives are Rev. Prof. Frimpong Manso (Chairman) and Rev. Dr. Fred Debge (General secretary).
Projects
The council undertakes various projects in Ghana. One of its major goals is the elimination of stigmaStigma
Stigma is a word that originally means a "sign", "point", or "branding mark". It may refer to:-As a symbolic mark:* The Mark of Cain* Stigmata, bodily marks or wounds resembling the crucifixion wounds of Jesus...
and discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
of people living with HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. The project trained community members in areas of the country that had high HIV/AIDS prevalence
Prevalence
In epidemiology, the prevalence of a health-related state in a statistical population is defined as the total number of cases of the risk factor in the population at a given time, or the total number of cases in the population, divided by the number of individuals in the population...
of 8–9%. The training involved basic facts about HIV/AIDS, stigma and discrimination among others.
The council has also set up an Interfaith Unit to educate Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s on the need for peaceful existence and tolerance among members of different faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
s. The School Dropout Scholarship Programme promotes education among Liberian
Liberian
Liberian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Liberia, a country on the west coast of Africa.* A person from Liberia, or of Liberian descent. For information about the Liberian people, see Demographics of Liberia and Culture of Liberia. For specific persons, see List of Liberians.* Note...
refugees in the Buduburam
Buduburam
Buduburam is a refugee camp located west of Accra, Ghana. Opened by the UNHCR in 1990, the camp is home to more than 12,000 refugees from Liberia who fled their country during the First Liberian Civil War and the Second Liberian Civil War , in addition to refugees from Sierra Leone who also...
refugee settlement near Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
. The programme also identifies the causes and consequences of school dropout among the refugees.
In governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
and nation building, the council monitors the activities of political parties and professional bodies in the country and offers advice to them. In 2005 the council appealed to Ghanaians and professional bodies to put the country's economy nation first and spend more time discussing issues of national interest concerning education, health and poverty. In 2011 the council encouraged political party leaders and their followers to avoid the use of provocative language in their speeches.