Memorial 2015 - Mindehøjtiden 2015

Our new congregation meet an important milestone tonight. It was time for our first Memorial of Christs Death as an independent congregation!

We became a congregation 9 months ago and have already had our first Circuit Overseer visit and our first Circuit Assembly (more about that later), but nothing trumps a well done Memorial. Actually from the outside it might look very much like last year, witch is good since I forgot to bring my camera.

Our congregation has no Kingdom Hall so every week we have our meetings in the rough, almost uncompleted structure that makes up the platform and the backstage/assembly offices of our local assembly ground. Most of the time we share this with the tenths and other equipment used for the assemblies and conventions. Around this time we also often share our Theocratic School with swarms of Termites that are attracted to the lights. Fortunately our small congregation is not alone at the assembly ground. We are joined by a quit large Ewe language congregation. So when the Central Congregation asked if we again this year would share in renting the Hall at the Regional Health Training Center we accepted..

The program was much as it was last year. Cleaning in the morning and three meetings in the evening. But instead of one body of elders racing around to take care of three meetings everyone just had to plan for their own meeting. Of course we all help with the cleaning in the morning, but beside that it was much more relaxed and normal this year.

One of my student wanted to attend, but since he couldn't start closing down the shop he is working in before after five o'clock. And after that he had to go to his house to take a bath and get reading for the meeting. Finally he had to go all across town to meeting place. Not surprising he arrived just in time for the closing of our congregations meeting as we started at six o'clock. It was not a big problem because we simply both attended the next meeting for our neighbor english congregation.

It was a strange experience for me. I didn't have to do anything beside being a guest. Even when the light shortly went off I would just sit there and relax with everyone else while the Elders and Ministerial Servants in charge was fixing the problem. I was very happy that my student had made it, but the experience itself was also very interesting.

So how did our memorial go? Well everything went smoothly. Both the English talk was very good even though they where quit different in style. I don't speak Ghanaian Sign Language but it looking at the smiles of the publisher in that field it looked like their arrangements was the most successful of them all. We even had a small surprise when one of the young ministerial servants in the Central congregation took of the emblems. It was quit clear that speaker didn't know that this brother had been anointed by Jehovah's holy spirit at some point since the last memorial.

It is quit interesting to see how this brother work together with his overseers with much humility and respect. At the assemblies he is in my department (the Attendance). he is a true Timothy as he has a well reported of by the brothers in Ho Central and Ho South and also serve as a regular pioneer. I am sure he will be able use his experiences humbly working under overseers with an earthly hope in his future role as ruler in heaven.

But I know that what you really want to know is how many attended?

For our congregation it was about the same as last year. This year it was 109 one less than last year. But since we a congregation we did not have so many supporters from the mother congregation attending our meeting tonight.

The hearing in the Central Congregation was 159 seven more than last year. It is clear that the large growth the last year has been in the Sign Language field. Last year there was only 25 coming from that group, and the majority of these was actually hearing. But this year the attendance was 48 and 30 of these was deaf interested once, some had traveled from distant villages to attend this memorial. My good friend Wisdom could not stop smiling. All six of his students had come from their villages and was at the Memorial!

Since I forgot to bring my camera I don't have any pictures from tonight. But I still want you to see my congregation and our meeting facilities. Below is some pictures I have taken the last two weeks.

But please, if you attended the Memorial, how was it in your area. Please leave a comment for all to read.

Min nye menighed nåede en vigtig milepæl i aften. Det var tid for vores første Mindehøjtid som en selvstændig menighed!

Det er nu 9 måneder siden vores lille gruppe blev til en menighed og vi har i den tid både haft besøg af Kredstilsynsmanden og haft Kredsstævne, Men intet er større end en vellykket Mindehøjtid. Sådan set lidt på afstand er det ikke fordi man ville kunne se så meget forskel på vores Mindehøjtid i år og så den sidste år. Hvilket er meget godt for jeg glemte at få mit kamera med.

Vores menighed har ingen rigssal at mødes i, så vi holder vores møder i den meget pittoresk, for ikke at sige ufærdige, scenebygning/stævnekontor på vores lokale stævneplads. For det meste deler vi rummet med telte og andet udstyr til stævnerne. På denne tid af året deler vi også ofte rummet med sværme af termitter som bliver tiltrukket af det elektriske lys. Men heldigvis er vi ikke alene om at møde i disse landlige omgivelse. En ret så stor Ewe talende menighed har heller ikke fået plads i den overbookede central rigssal. Så da vores engelske søstermenighed spurgte om vi igen i år ville være med til at leje salen på Det Regionale Uddannelsescenter for Sundhed var vi kun glade for at sige ja.

Selve programmet var meget som sidste år. Vi startede tidligt om morgenen med at gøre rent i salen og forberede til mødet. I mit blog indslag fra sidste år er der billeder af hvordan det ser ud. Om aftenen havde vi så tre møder lige som sidste år. Den store forskel i år var dog at det ikke længere var et ældsteråd der stressede rundt for at afholde tre møder. Istedet skulle alle blot planlægge og havde ansvaret for et møde.

En af mine bibelstudier ville gernemed til Mindehøjtiden men han kunne først begynde at pakke sammen i den butik hvor han er ansat efter klokken fem. Derefter skulle han hjem for at blive vasket og gjort klar til mødet. Endelig skulle han så derefter krydse stort set hele byen for at nå frem til vores lejede mødesal. Så I vil nok ikke blive overraskede over at høre at han først nåede frem da vores møde, som begyndte klokken seks, var slut. Det var dog ikke det store problem for vi kunne jo bare gå ind til vores engelske nabomenigheds møde som lige var startet.

Det møde var en mærkelig oplevelse for mig. Jeg behøvede ikke at gøre noget som helst andet end at være gæst og nyde mødet sammen med min ven Christopher. Selv da lyset korvarigt gik kunne jeg bare læne mig tilbage og se hvordan de lokale ældste og menighedtjenere arbejdede hårdt på at løse problemet. Selvfølgelig var jeg mest glad fordi at mit bibelstudie havde nået mødet, men selve oplevelsen af ikke at havde noget som helst ansvar for afholdesen af mødet var meget interessant.

Men hvordan gik vores første Mindehøjtid i den nye menigheder så? Jo, det gik faktisk over alt forventing. Begge de engelske talere var gode. Meget forskellige i deres foredragstil, men begge en fornøjelse at lytte til. Jeg taler ikke Ghanesisk Tegnsprog, men udfra de smilende ansigter på vores venner fra den gruppe så vil jeg tro at det møde var det mest succesfulde af de tre. Vi havde endda en lille overraskelse til sidst da en af de yngre menighedtjenere fra Centrum menigheden tog af symbolerne. Det var ret tydeligt at talereren ikke havde fået at vide at denne bror var blevet åndsavlet af Jehovas hellige ånd siden sidste mindehøjtid.

Det er meget interessant at opleve hvordan denne bror ydmygt arbejder under ledelse af hans lokale tilsynsmænd. Ved vores kredsstævner er han i min afdeling af frivillig tjeneste (Orden og Opsyn). Han er en sand Timoteus da han har et godt omdømme hos brødrene i både Ho Centrum og Ho Syd og tillige med det tjener han også som almindelig pioner. Han vil sikkert kunne bruge de erfaringer han får ved ydmygt at underordne sig tilsynsmænd med et jordisk håb i hans fremtidige rolle som konge i himmelen.

Men hvad I virkelig vil havde at vide er jo hvor mange vi var - Ikke sandt?

For vores menighed var antallet af tilstedeværende cirka som sidste år. I år var vi 109. en mindre end sidst. Til gengæld havde vi som selvstændig menighed ikke de mange "fans" fra modermenigheden som vi havde sidste år.

De hørende i Centrum Menigheden var 159, det er syv mere end sidste år. Men det var helt klart Tegnsprogsgruppen som har haft den største fremgang i det forgangne år. Sidste år var de kun 25 tilstede og flertallet var faktisk hørende. Men i år var der 48 tilstede og deraf var der 30 døve bibelstudier! En del af dem havde rejst langt fra forskellige landsbyer i området. Min gode ven Wisdom smilede over hele femøren - alle hans seks bibelstudier fra forskellige landsbyer kom til Mindehøjtiden i år.

Som allerede sagt glemte jeg at tage mit kamera med her til aften, så der er ingen billeder. Men I skal ikke helt snydes så over den danske tekst kan I se nogle billeder af min menighed og vores mødefaciliteter. Billederne er taget de sidste to uger.

Og hvis I også var tilstede ved Mindehøjtiden i år kunne det da være interessant at høre hvordan det gik der hvor I var. Så hvis I har lyst så skriv en lille kommentar under dette indslag.