Bunkpurugu, Ghana

Our Lady of Hope Parish
25th anniversary

The 3rd to 5th January 2006 marked the special time ending the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Our Lady of Hope Parish, known as Bunkpurugu parish. We had a time of reflection, prayer and especially the opportunity to ponder on what we have been witnessing and experiencing. “Where do we come from? Where are we? And where are we going?”

Our Jubilee Theme was: “Unity and Hope”. It reflects the circumstances of joy, and the resolving of conflicts between two tribes, the Komba and Bimoba, which has now become history because of the great efforts contributed by the people of God. The Catholic Church in Bunkpurugu is remembered for the special role it played in bringing the people together. The unity we enjoy cannot be taken for granted, but celebrated, hoping that God will always bless us with peace and understanding.
What I want to share with you may create awareness of our diverse mission. We are in the Northern Region of Ghana, in Navrongo/Bolgatanga Diocese. Catholicism may be considered as a quarter of the Christian presence in the Northern Regions and we are soon to celebrate its Centenary.

Lukas Abadamloora, Bishop of Navrongo-Bolgatanga

Our Jubilee was graced by many people who came to pray, interact, and build up a strong family spirit. We had sports and many educative talks. We celebrated life together with songs, dances and drums. The climax on the 5th January was graced by the presence of our Rt. Rev. Lukas Abadamloora, Bishop of Navrongo/Bolgantaga. Priests from Togo and Ghana, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, Daughters of Charity Sisters, and people from far and near the parish attended. Indeed, unity brings hope.

In our involvement in conflict resolution, we see our presence as a sign of hope. We have trained prayer leaders, opened prayers centres, and in Binde, one of the centres, there is a hospital opened by a confrere. Many groups are thriving: Christian Mothers, Catholic Youth Organization, etc. We pray that greater love for people will help us to move forward even to the more interior villages, were there is a need to share our life in Christ. All the same, we are in the front lines of the mission and we hope the Society trusts us enough to send us to such an important mission. We thank God for that. We struggle in all our work as a team, but at the end of the day we smile and praise God.

Clenerius Mutale Chimpali, M.Afr.