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Pastors and Prophets in Winneba, Ghana: their Social Background and Career Development1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

R. W. Wyllie
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Extract

The town of Winneba is situated on the coast of Ghana some forty miles west of Accra and fifty miles east of Cape Coast. It is the seat of the paramount chief (Omanhene) of the Effutu people and was formerly an important seaport providing storage and loading facilities for cocoa produce. Since the construction of modern harbours at Takoradi and Tema, however, Winneba's maritime importance has declined. With a population of over 25,000, its major sources of income are fishing and farming and it also serves as a market centre for the people of the local area.

Résumé

PASTEURS ET PROPHÈTES AU WINNEBA, GHANA; LEUR STATUT SOCIAL ET L'ÉVOLUTION DE LEUR CARRIÈRE

La première cellule chrétienne qui ait été instaurée au Winneba fut l'Église Méthodiste, en 1938. Aujourd'hui il y a dans la ville environ 27 églises différentes; le plus grand nombre d'entre elles (15) relevant de sectes spiritistes (spécialisées dans des rites de guérison). Les différences certaines entre les leader de chaque église et leur origine sont analysées. Plus des 2/3 sont nés dans des families chrétiennes et plus de la moitié sont fils de fermiers ou de pecheurs. En outre, les 3/4 d'entre eux ont reçu une certaine éducation. Quelques-uns de ces leader ont accédé au ministère à la suite d'un ‘appel divin’; d'autres ont quitté leurs églises d'origine pour s'intégrer à une autre église ou en créer une nouvelle. L'Église Méthodiste a joué un rôle important dans l'épanouissement religieux de la moitié de ces leader; il est curieux de constater que cette église, dont les membres s'enorgueillissaient d'etre ‘nes de l'esprit’, est maintenant en train de perdre de nombreux adhérents qui cherchent ailleurs un type de vie religieuse spirituellement plus satisfaisant.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 44 , Issue 2 , April 1974 , pp. 186 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1974

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References

2 Throughout this paper the term ‘church’ is used in the popular sense to refer to an organized body whose beliefs and practices are recognizably Christian and whose members congregate regularly for common worship and public affirmation of their faith. By ‘Denominations’ we mean those bodies whose orthodox doctrines, routinized forms of religious expression, and western ethos, place them squarely in the mainstream of Western Christianity. ‘Sects’ are seen as religious groups whose beliefs and practices involve a rejection of, and opposition to, the orthodoxy of the Denominations. Our classification of sects follows broadly that set out most clearly by Bryan Wilson in his book Religious Sects, World University Library, London, 1970, pp. 36–40Google Scholar.

3 In four major Spiritist sects the pastors receive regular stipends from their respective headquarters. In another the stipend is paid by headquarters after receiving the funds collected in the local branch: if the funds are adequate the pastor receives the stipend, but if the funds are small the stipend may not be paid, or may be reduced in size. In the remaining five major Spiritist sects the pastors receive no remuneration from headquarters.

4 This applies to some extent also to Spiritist pastors, who often acquire personal followings and a considerable degree of independence from sect authorities.

5 The total church membership in Winneba is 2,947, some 2,049 whom are women.

6 The total number of leaders providing information used in this section of the paper was twenty-five. One, the pastor of St. Anthony Healing Power Church, had gone to the north of Ghana and was not available for interview. Another, the leader of Jehovah's Witnesses, declined to provide information on his personal history and career.

7 Of the Evangelical pastors, one had not attended school and the others had attended Elementary schools. Of the seven Spiritist pastors who had attended school one had reached Secondary school, two had been to Middle schools, and two had not gone beyond Elementary school.

8 The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Ghana owed its origin to a widespread resentment of white missionary control of the Methodist Church towards the end of the nineteenth century. Most of the early members had formerly belonged to the Methodist Church and were concerned with creating an African-controlled Methodist Church in Ghana. In doctrine and ethos, however, the African Methodist Episcopal Church remained patently Methodist, although it has an Episcopalian form or organization.