The maiden Joint International Chaplaincy Programme aimed at improving chaplaincy services in Ghana was officially opened today (March 11, 2019) at the Pentecost Guest House, Gbawe.
The 6-day training programme, which is the first of its kind to be held in the country, is being held by the Ghana Prisons Service in conjunction with The Church of Pentecost.
Present at the event were: Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi (General Secretary, The Church of Pentecost), Mr. S. K. B. Brako (Deputy Director-Operations, Ghana Prisons Service), Mrs. Josephine Fredua Agyemang (Deputy Director-General –Administration & Finance, Ghana Prisons Service) and Apostle ADP James Teye Tetteh (Chaplain General, Ghana Prisons Service and a minister of The Church of Pentecost).
Also in attendance were the 3-member international training team of consultants from Missouri USA, namely; Rev. Dr. Manuel Cordero, Rev. Dr. Michael Reagan and Rev. Daniel Orden.
Addressing the gathering, Apostle ADP James Teye Tetteh, expressed gratitude to The Church of Pentecost for accepting the invitation to partner the Ghana Prisons Service to hold the Chaplaincy Training Programme.
He also lauded the Church for its continuous support to the Prisons Service and expressed optimism that this long-standing partnership would “surely yield fruitful results.”
Apostle ADP Tetteh noted that the Chaplaincy training course aims at building the capacity of Chaplains by modifying their attitudes and skilled behaviour to enhance chaplaincy services in the country.
In her remarks, Mrs. Josephine Fredua-Agyemang stated that the role of the Chaplain in the spiritual life of any institution is very paramount and therefore demands that chaplains are trained to be professional in their output and conduct to equip them to meet the exigencies of the institution they serve.
“The fact that every institution has its own needs and aspirations as well as its way of doing things, calls for training and constant training for key functionaries such as Chaplains, whose services cuts across every fabric of the institution,” she said.
On his part, Rev. Dr. Manuel Cordero, the leader of the International Training Team of Consultants, was hopeful that the training programme would help to improve Chaplaincy services in the country. He assured participants that the training programme would be contextualized to meet the prevailing challenges of chaplaincy services in Ghana.
He also added that participants would be awarded an internationally-recognized certificate in Chaplaincy after the end of the course on Saturday, March 16, 2019.
To climax the programme, the Training Consultants were each presented a locally-designed shirt made by inmates of the Ghana Prisons Service.
Participating in the training course are Chaplains, Chaplaincy Assistants and Volunteer Clergy of the Ghana Prisons Service and Prisons Chaplaincy/Ministry as well as Chaplains and ministers of The Church of Pentecost.
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