Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church celebrates centenary anniversary
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The Reverend Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church started off as the Adabraka Methodist Church in 1919. Mr S. B. Addy laid its foundation stone.
Between 1923 and 1924, the burgeoning church was given an official acknowledgement when the late Isaac Odoi was appointed its very first Catechist.
The membership of the church kept increasing steadily until 1924 when it suffered a momentary setback; the indefatigable S. B. Addy died.
The Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Chapel at Adabraka in Accra
The leadership mantle then fell on Messrs B. S. Okunor and William Coffie at a time when the numerical strength of the church was ballooning and it became obligatory for it to move to a much bigger space, which happened to be the late J. J. Ocquaye’s residence situated along the Tackie Tawiah Avenue (now Otsokrikri Street), Adabraka.
Donation of land
Some members of the church who took part in a clean-up exercise at the Adabraka Polyclinic
The notable gesture that practicalised that dream of ever owning a church, and which promised an end to the itinerant movement of members was a donation of plots of land in 1919 by Mr Samuel Addy and Mr Tetteh Kojoe.
That singular selfless act had a motivating influence as it prompted the members to take a long-lasting decision to build a chapel of their own, and the Adabraka Methodist Chapel became the practical realisation of that decision.
This was during the superintendency of the late Rev. E. W. Ogbarmey Tetteh, the very first Minister. Sad to say, a huge portion of the land has been lost to encroachers, particularly due to the construction of the Shai Hill Street behind the church.
The chapel
A number of industrious and divine-driven brethren took it upon themselves to see to the construction of the chapel. All of them, now deceased, will forever be remembered for garnering financial support to build the chapel to honour the Lord.
These men were: Peter O. Vanderpuije (Society Steward), Emmanuel Tagoe, J. C. De Graft-Johnson, Robert B. Annan, J. A. Aryeetey and others.
The chapel was completed and dedicated in 1930 by Rev. Ernest Bruce whose name was to be permanently tagged to the structure some 41 years on.
The church, from this point onwards, began to experience huge growth and, therefore, many times over, like all human institutions, expansion works had to be carried out to accommodate the numbers.
The clergy and the laity made very huge contributions towards the expansion and refurbishing exercises.
Some professional and technical hands whose effort in the expansion exercise had been documented for special acknowledgement were Messrs E. I. Coffie, I. M. Tettey-Enyo, S. A. Tagoe, L. A. Barnor and W. D. K. K. Hodgson.
Some others like Messrs J. B. Duncan and Dan Nartey enthusiastically formed and inaugurated the church choir in 1934 and they graciously bought the very first organ for the church.
Evangelism drive
To the glory of God, in 1954, the Adabraka Methodist Church gained the status of a full circuit and this was mainly due to the tireless evangelistic drive executed by the then membership.
Many members living outside of Adabraka helped establish 24 societies such as Kaneshie, Accra New Town, Nima, Weija, Gbawe and other places.
Some of the members who contributed immensely in that direction were Mr E. S. Acquah (Kaneshie), Mr E. Ben Dennis (Accra New Town), Ms Elizabeth Kai Nettey (Nima), and Mr E. Antieye Addy (Weija and Gbawe), all deceased.
Other members whose support in the drive for soul winning cannot be glossed over are Bros Antieye Addy (Weija and Gbawe), E. A. Bulley (Kwashieman) and J. A. Sackeyfio (Darkuman).
Rev. Joseph Thomas Clegg, whose formation of FIG (Fellowship-In-God, Jn 1:3) enhanced the spiritual growth of the church, was the very first Superintendent Minister of the circuit.
The Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church has given birth to as many as six circuits and these are Kaneshie (1978), Accra New Town (1991), Kpeehe (1999), Pokuase (2001), Dzorwulu (2001) and Kokomlemle (2012).
To God’s glory, the full-fledged circuits are making progress with their societies. The Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial Church, however, is still continuing with its open air crusades and house-to-house evangelism in and outside of the Adabraka area.
These evangelism activities culminated in the opening of new preaching posts at Sahara (Adabraka Odorna) and Tudu in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
The Centenary Committee members
Children and Youth Ministry
The church, realising how necessary it is to “train up the child the way he should go…”, devoted much time to Sunday school services. Ms Jane H. Ashitey, Ms Mildred Odoi and Ms Valencia Cofie worked tirelessly to build the Sunday school into a solid foundation for the church.
Trained, devoted and energetic young men and women such as Festus Odametey, Eric Amegah, etc. are currently in charge of the strong Children Service.
The Youth Service, previously held at 4 p.m. on Sundays, changed to the first Sunday of the month at 8 p.m. Rev. Albert Ofoe Wright, the first Minister to take charge of this service, caused this to be designed to suit the needs and aspirations of the youth and some adults who wished to participate.
The Youth Ministry has gone through remarkable transformation and is making strides in recent times and in every facet of its mission.
Contribution to education
In the area of education, the Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial Church has indeed paid its dues.
Knowing that the formative years of the child is critical and very crucial to the total build-up of humans, and also the fact that formal education and religious discipline cannot be separated, the church took to focusing first on the child development stage of education in Ghana – the kindergarten.
The church currently has the Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Kindergarten, Primary School and the Junior High School.
Ernest Bruce
The name Adabraka Methodist Chapel gave way to The Reverend Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church in 1971 to honour a man who showed so much humility, selflessness, willingness to accept difficult challenges, commitment, diligence and the enthusiasm to go on even during tough times.
Rev. J. E. Allotey-Pappoe, who also doubled as the District Chairman and General Superintendent of Accra - 1964-1968, recommended that the chapel be named after the indefatigable and illustrious reverend par excellence. Synod and Conference in 1971 graciously adopted the recommendation and blithely ratified it.
This pronounced a paean in his honour, and gave birth to the new and permanent name, Reverend Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church.
Very Rev. Samuel K. Quartey (arrowed) handing over two table-top refrigerators and a flat screen television set to Mr George Boakye Yiadom, the Administration Manager of the Adabraka Polyclinic, after the clean-up exercise
The centenary anniversary
Hopefully the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will be the Special Guest of Honour as the church climaxes its 100 years of existence with a thanksgiving service on September 1, 2019 at the Ernest Bruce Chapel.
The anniversary, which has the theme: ‘A Centenary of Service to God and Mankind’, was launched on April 1, 2018 by the Diocesan Bishop of Accra, Rt Rev. Samuel K. Osabutey, with the support of the Superintendent Minister, the Very Rev. Samuel K. Quartey.
This was followed by a homecoming held on June 30, 2018, which attracted both past and present members for a reunion and a rekindling of the Christian faith.
Other activities were an anniversary lecture on the theme: “The Reverend Ernest Bruce in Perspective”, a revival, a lecture on ‘Justice, Peace and Security in Ghana; the role of the Church and the State’, erection of a foundation stone, clean-up exercises, ‘Ernest Bruce in Worship’ and a float.
The rest of the activities which will precede the main event are a dinner dance, a remembrance service, quiz, singing competition and a centenary lecture.
As part of the celebration, the church has taken the decision to put up a rehabilitation centre at Sahara, Adabraka, a community inhabited by drug users. In addition, the church is putting up a centenary hall complex with a seating capacity of 1,000 that will be put to the use of society.
Superintendent minister’s message
Very Rev. Samuel K. Quartey — Superintendent Minister, Adabraka Circuit
In his message to the congregation and the public on the occasion of the centenary anniversary, the Superintendent Minister of the church, the Very Rev. Samuel K. Quartey, wished all Ghanaians peace, mercy and goodwill.
“On behalf of the Ernest Bruce Congregation, I render our sincere appreciation to God who made it possible for this day to dawn on us, our forebears who initiated and handed over the reins, and to the present generation through whose effort we are celebrating 100 years of existence,” he said.
He noted that the task of evangelisation and discipleship, “as well as making our world a better place is still staring us in the face, but I trust that by His grace, together with our commitment and dedication, we will execute this mandate to the glory of His Holy name”.
Long live the Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial Methodist Church. Long live the Methodist Church Ghana. Long live Ghana
