The Joke Of A Church – JMG Write

I remember so well there was this church at the Okponglo bus terminal. It was one of those rainy days in Accra and by the time I finished hustling on Legon campus, it had started raining.

When I got to the bus terminal the heavens opened its gates and the rains poured in. The poor drainage system in Accra soon began to manifest in fantastic style as the streets started flooding… the asphalt of the roads were gone and it looked like the road was the tributary to a river. Almost all cars had parked except the heavy trucks or those drivers who had a death wish.

Sooner than later it was obvious the tiny pedestrian shed could no longer contain my friends and me who were standing there shivering, protecting our books as the rainstorm lashed out in fury at us perhaps in atonement for the girls we chased.
When the floodwaters started rising and soaked up to our ankles, with our shoes wet and chills grinding our jaws, when small cars started floating we knew it was no longer safe to stand there… we turned around and decided to seek refuge at the only place we could think of, which was just behind us… a Church!

We tried opening the big gates and it was locked from inside… That was quite strange to a Catholic like myself who knows from infancy that the doors to the Church are always open! Soon enough we heard the opening of the latch as a young man, apparently, the pastor peeked his head out. We all made to dash into the church to save our souls from the devilish rain! Alas the man raised his hands stopping us.

He asked if we were looking for him and once we said we only needed shelter he said he was sorry! I still remember his face as he told us that! and closed the doors in our faces like a jilted lover. What a betrayal of what Christ stood for!
When Christ said “come to me all who are afflicted and I will give you rest”, He was apparently not talking about our fear of drowning in floodwaters.

I am alive to write this so you should know I didn’t die. But do you know what happened to that church? A year or so later I was passing by that same route when I saw excavators and bulldozers pulling it down! Today that church is now a departmental store and a saloon for boys and girls to go relax and feel free at.

A church that cannot open its doors to people in need has to be uprooted for pawpaw and mango tree to be planted in its place, at least the fruit trees will not refuse you the permission to pluck their fruits once or take shelter under their shades.

Pastors are sitting down waiting for tithe but cannot stand up for their people in need! The hypocrisy of modern-day Christianity! You’ll all face the fury of God like Sodom and Gomorrah!

Yours truly,
James Mawuli Gawu.