Fr Anaman marks Silver Jubilee
The Very Rev. Fr Dr Cdr Alex Abeeku Anaman has marked his 25th Priestly Silver Jubilee with a holy thanksgiving Mass at St Catherine Garrison Catholic Church, Burma Camp, in Accra.
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Rev. Fr Anaman was joined by two of his classmates, Very Rev.Fr Dr Joseph Eshun Benyah and Very Rev. Fr Lawyer Louis Korankye Hammond, both of the Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Coast, to praise God for a successful ministerial life.
Present at the Mass were priests from across Ghana and the lay faithful from military chaplaincies and members of the St Catherine Parish.
Preaching the homily, a lecturer and Dean of Studies at the St. Peter’s Regional Seminary at Pedu in Cape Coast, Very Rev. Fr Dr George Bonnah, called on the priests celebrating their anniversary not to look at their human weakness but reflect on their strengths, abilities and capabilities.
Mission of God
Rev. Fr Dr Bonnah added that that was the only way they could contribute positively to the mission of God, the environment and humanity.
Paraphrasing a verse from scripture, Rev. Fr. Bonnah drew Rev. Fr Anaman’s attention to the fact that he, to some extent, had lost his freedom and had become like Christ who came not to be served but to serve and to lay down his life as ransom for many.
He called on them to follow Christ Jesus, the servant leader, saying, “in all things don’t forget to pray and meditate on the words of God.”
Rev. Fr. Bonnah asked the congregation to pray for Rev. Fr Anaman and his mates so that they would be strengthened and be ready to serve the Lord and His people in truth and in sincerity and succeed in their priestly vocation in the years ahead.
Rev. Fr Anaman expressed his gratitude to all who contributed spiritually or physically to his formation and career.
Fr Anaman with his parents, siblings and other family member
Biodata of Rev. Fr Anaman
Very Rev. Fr Dr Cdr Anaman was born at Elmina on July 10, 1963 to Mr Thomas Kojo Anaman and Madam Elizabeth Kate Amoah both of blessed memory.
He was baptised three months after birth in Abrem Saaman and grew up at Prestia in the Western Region.
While in Class Four, he was sent to Tarkwa to continue his education. From there, he continued to Elmina because his mother, a teacher, had been transferred there. From Elmina, Rev Fr. Anaman continued his education at Saltpond SS Peter and Paul Anglican School. At Prestea, Tarkwa and Elmina, Rev. Fr Anaman attended Catholic Boys’ schools.
From Saltpond, Rev. Fr Anaman proceeded to the Catholic Jubilee Boys School in Cape Coast. He finally completed Middle School Form 4 in Elmina DC Middle School in 1979. Still at Elmina, he entered the St Theresa's Minor Seminary at Amisano in 1979 for his secondary education, where he sat for the Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations.
In 1986, Rev. Fr Anaman entered the St. Peters’ Regional/Major Seminary in Pedu, Cape Coast, where he pursued Philosophy, Sociology and Theology.
He was among five priests who were ordained on July 4, 1992 for the Archdiocese of Cape Coast at the St Francis de Sales Cathedral by Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi, Most Rev. Peter Akwasi Sarpong. This is because the Archdiocese of Cape Coast had no bishop following the death of Most Rev. John Kodwo Amissah who was then the Archbishop of Cape Coast.
After ordination, Rev. Fr Anaman was assigned to the Immaculate Conception Parish at Assin Fosu in the Central Region where he served for four years. There, he took care of 34 towns and villages and by the time he left, he had added four other villages to the parish.
After his service at Assin Fosu, Rev. Fr Anaman was seconded to join the Ghana Armed Forces in 1997.
Commission into GAF
In January 1997, he entered the Ghana Military Academy to be trained as a naval officer and successfully commissioned on August 27, 1997 as a short service commission on the rank of Sub Lieutenant in the Ghana Navy.
After his commissioning and service in the Military for four years, he went on a course to San Diego, California, USA to study Counselling and Clinical Pastoral Education at the Centre for Urban Ministry between 2000 and 2001.
In 2009, Rev. Fr Anaman returned to the United States of America, this time to Chicago, to study for a Doctorate in Theological Studies, especially in Counselling and Cross Cultural Studies. He successfully defended his thesis in 2015 and was awarded a Doctor of Ministry in the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.
Rev. Fr Anaman has also pursued some courses at the Junior Staff College where he received a Junior Staff certificate and also did a certificate programme at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
On peacekeeping missions. Rev. Fr Anaman, after joining the Army, has been on different operations. His first mission was to MONUC Ghanbatt 3 in 2002 in DR Congo and in 2005, he was in UNAMSIL12 in Sierra Leone where the flag of Ghana was brought back to Ghana by closing the mission in Sierra Leone.
From 2006 to 2007, he went on an African Mission in Darfur (AMIS) as a staff officer. In 2013, he was on another mission to Lebanon with UNIFIL Ghanbatt 79.