My dear Brothers and Sisters,
For the seventh time in the history of our Noble Order, and by the Grace of God, we shall gather at the University of Ghana, as one family under the Chairmanship of our Supreme Director Sir Kt Cdr. Vet Dr. E.S.K. Kwaw to celebrate the 7th Marshallan Re-union Conference. The Conference will take place from the 1st to 3rd August 2008.
From all indications this will be one of the biggest gatherings of the Marshallan family from Ghana, Togo/Benin, Liberia and London. We shall gather as people of diverse educational backgrounds, political inclinations, languages and dialects, age profiles, officers and non-officers of our Order but united under the common banner of our Marshallan fraternity and spirituality and faith in the Catholic Church. As the name of the Conference implies, it will be a time when we shall be provided with the opportunity we get once every five years to experience the beauty in the rich diversity of our fraternity, to pray together, to share fellowship and reflect on the Conference theme “The Marshallan – A disciple of Christ in the 21st Century”. During the conference we shall be encouraged to share experiences from our Courts and Councils and also network on the sidelines if possible. Thus the conference will provide us with many opportunities to learn new things, spur us on to enhanced spiritual growth, broaden our circle of friends and from networking possibly increase our business opportunities.
Many eminent personalities including the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Agyekum Kuffour, the First Lady, Madam Theresa, a Marshallan, the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Badikebele, Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson and a host of Archbishops and Bishops from Ghana and Togo, the President and Secretary General of The International Alliance of Catholic Knights and many Catholic Ministers of State, Parliamentarians and Diplomats will join us at this year’s conference. Apart from these august guests, the whole of the University campus will be filled with our image in many ways. We shall therefore expect all participants to put up their best behaviour in terms of punctuality to scheduled programmes, obedience to orders and directives, use of language, and general comportment as Christian ladies and gentlemen.
The Planning Committee has put in a lot of work, spent hundreds of hours of their personal time at no cost to the Order to ensure the success of the Conference and comfort to all who will be present. They have not planned for failure in any aspect of the programme. But the Committee is human and for that reason may not be 100% successful in every aspect of their organisation. That is why I urge all to be patient if some aspects of the organisation do not meet our expectation and to ask that if we have to criticise, please do so in a charitable and civil manner. Let us understand that the Committee has not planned to create problems for anyone but rather planned to give us the best for this re-union conference.
There is excitement all over the place about the 7th Re-Union conference. Our Brothers and Sisters in the Greater Accra Region are leaving no stone unturned to make our participation a memorable and enjoyable one. Come, let us join in the excitement and have a great time.
I pray that the Lord will bring all of you safely to Legon, allow His Spirit to guide proceedings to His Glory and at the end, bring you back safely to your families.
Yours fraternally,
SIR KT BRO EDDIE PRAH
(SUPREME KNIGHT)