was. When I moved to New York City, I attended a Presbyterian church that was planted by Ghanaians to make it easy for those who feel more comfortable worshipping in the vernacular. Eventually I became a member of a small Reformed Church of America church, which was much closer to where I lived.


Akweley Massaquoi grew up Presbyterian in Ghana and joined FPCA after moving to the area from New York.


worship. It’s important family time for us. Our church is also an active community center and gives us an opportunity to come together as a family outside of Sundays for volunteering and other activities. I pledge to help our church continue in this capacity.


When you consider pledging, think about what this church means to you now, what it means to you in the future, what you hope it will mean to you in the future—and let’s make it great.


AKWELEY MASSAQUOI


I was born in Ghana, West Africa, and come from a family of Presbyterians. My hometown is Osu, a section of Accra, the capital of Ghana.


The Presbyterian Church in Osu was established by missionaries from Basel, Germany, and so people, when asked which church they belong to, will simply say Basel. The church is called Ebenezer Presbyterian church, and it is a big church. When I was growing up, it was the only Presbyterian Church in Osu.


Both my parents were very much involved with the church, and so I grew up attending church every Sunday, no questions asked. They


served several terms as elders. My mom ushered for a very long time, and my dad was a leader in the youth fellowship, which was called children’s service. Even though it was a big church, it did not feel that way because people knew who you were and came together when there was a need.


I have very fond memories of the activities of the children’s service. Twice a year, selected children were given Bible verses in English or the vernacular to memorize and recite as part of the adult service. That was scary, standing in front of all those people and reciting your verses and praying that you would not forget your lines.


My parents moved to the outskirts of Osu when I was in grade school, but we still continued to come to Ebenezer to worship. Eventually, other families from Ebenezer also came to live in that neighborhood. As the numbers grew, a decision was made to plant a church in that area. Services first started in a classroom, and every Sunday, one of the pastors from Ebenezer would come and lead the service. My parents were very involved in the establishment of this church, and they offered our house for the church to use for meetings and for storing church items.


I came to the USA as a graduate student and attended many churches in Ithaca, the college town where I


I moved to Allentown about eight years ago and visited a few churches before I visited First Presbyterian. At the time, my sister and her husband were visiting, and so the three of us came together. We were really impressed by the way we were welcomed to the service. We enjoyed the service, including the singing of Presby hymns. We were also impressed by the size of the choir and the anthem they sang that day. My sister and I joked after the service that the choir at First Pres is bigger than the whole congregation in my New York City church.


I liked the way I was embraced by the church. I was contacted by my parish leader, who explained the ways things worked at First Pres and encouraged me to attend the inquirer/membership class. I felt good about what was offered in that class, and so I joined the church. In spite of the fact that the church is huge, I feel like I belong to this church. Why do I say so? Even though I do not always agree with the decisions that are made, I feel that the church is meeting my spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.


But belonging should be a two- way street: I should fit in or feel comfortable worshipping with this body of believers and be connected to others in fellowship, but also I should be able to contribute my gifts and talents to help the church live out its mission. Both of these I have experienced at First Pres, and it is my prayer that First Pres will continue to reach out to others and live out the words of John Oxenham, which actually came from Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians (Gal. 3:28), that in Christ we are all one:


In Christ there is no East or West, in Him no South or North, but one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.


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