Date: May, 2009

DEEPENING THE INVOLVEMENT OF MARSHALLAN CHAPLAINS IN THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE NOBLE ORDER

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

April 22nd 2009, will forever be remembered in the annals of the Noble Order’s history. On that day, for the first time ever in the history of the Noble Order about 40 priest-chaplains of our Order congregated at the Marshallan Centre in Sekondi to deliberate on how best they could deepen their involvement in the spirituality of our Order. They came from all corners of Ghana and from Togo and Benin. The Noble Order was represented by the Supreme Director who chaired the meeting, some past Supreme Knights, some Past Grand Ladies, the Supreme Knight, the Grand Lady, and their respective Supreme and Grand Secretaries.

The Supreme Spiritual Director Most Rev. Joseph Osei Bonsu was the main speaker. His talk on the theme, gave some deep insights into what spirituality is, and using examples from the life of Jesus and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, concluded that spirituality is about a life of prayer and social involvement. Helping Marshallans to deepen their spirituality would therefore require that Chaplains focus first, on helping them to cultivate a life of prayer and second, encouraging them to manifest this life of prayer in their social relations, especially towards the poor and needy. He raised issues concerning the spiritual life of the Marshallan outside the Council/Court chamber as in the parishes, in our marriages, on justice and peace and human rights abuses such as found in widowhood rites etc, and wondered what the contribution of the Marshallan spirituality is, to our ability to stand firm in the face of these challenges and speak against them when necessary. After the talk the Chaplains worked in groups to discuss the following topics among others:

• What is the Noble Order’s spirituality?
• Do rituals used at our meetings portray a distinctive spirituality?
• How relevant to the spiritual lives of Marshallans are the prayers used during meetings and do they require a review?
• What is the role of Chaplains in the Order generally and what is their role during meetings?
• Is the recitation of prayers at the beginning and end of meetings enough?

The reports from the group discussions were illuminating. For example, many of the Chaplains confessed a lack of understanding of the rituals as they are often only shown what to read at meetings. They complained about the structure of our meetings which often made little or no provision for their input, a situation which some considered a waste of time which could have been usefully employed to prepare their Sunday sermons. They would like to get more involved in the lives of Marshallans especially in matters relating to their marriages and spirituality outside the council/court meetings. Our initiation ritual came for mention as an area that needs review.

A report is being compiled for discussion by the Standing Committees of the Supreme Council and Grand Court after which decisions on recommendations made would be communicated to all Councils and Courts. In the meantime I wish on behalf or the Supreme Council and Grand Court, to thank all Councils and Courts who supported their Chaplains to attend this all important meeting, the first ever by our Chaplains. Please also convey our sincere thanks to the Chaplains for the sacrifices they made to be at the meeting. Thank you again and God bless you all..

Yours fraternally,
SIR KT BRO EDDIE PRAH
(SUPREME KNIGHT)