KEYNOTE ADDRESS DELIVERED BY HER WORSHIP SISTER PORTIA MOLLY ANAFO – SALIA ON THE THEME “50 YEARS OF THE LADIES OF MARSHALL IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE: THE WAY FORWARD” AT THE CLIMAX OF THE 50TH YEARS CELEBRATION OF THE LADIES OF MARSHALL AT KUMASI ON THE 26TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2020.
Sir Knight Brother Chair, Grand Lady, Supreme Knight, My Lords, Archbishops, Bishops, Reverend Fathers and Sisters, Past Grand Ladies, Part Supreme Knights, Sir Knights, Worthy Brothers, Respected Ladies, Noble Ladies, Grand Knights, Sisters and Brothers of the Noble Order, Distinguished Invited Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen, all Protocols duly observed.
Introduction
It is one of the greatest opportunities to be called upon this morning to address you on the topic: “50 Years of the Ladies of Marshall in Christian Service: the way forward”
As implied in the topic in question, we the ladies wing of the Order have come from somewhere to be at where we are today. And we are further challenging ourselves with what we can do to advance the Noble Order to the next level.
The way forward as mentioned in the topic, for me is synonymous to the future; and the future, per my own definition Brother. Chair, ladies and gentlemen, is “the time after the present.” Hence the way forward start the next minutes after our celebration. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist can be categorized as either permanent, meaning that it will exist forever, or temporary, meaning that it will end. It is on this note that this talk takes off.
The Ladies of Marshall the women’s wing of the Noble Order grew from three separate Catholic Associations, based in Ghana and Togo, namely The Thais Lodge of Ghana, Catholic Daughters of Ghana and the Noble Ladies of ST. Anthony of Togo.
It was duly and legally established on the 20th day of December 1969 with nine (9) Courts consecrated on same day. Our Noble Order has 149 Courts with the latest consecrated Court at the Sacred Heart Parish, Tamale on the 12th day of September, 2020 with its corresponding increase in numerical strength. These Courts are located in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Liberia, Burkina Faso, La Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom with its headquarters in Kumasi, Ghana. This no doubt is a great achievement and we need to applaud ourselves having chalked this success.
The Noble Order was formed on the back of social, educational and religious service especially to girls living in small communities. Our Noble Order was therefore formed to promote service to humanity on the principles Christ taught. In 50 years, I am proud to say that our noble organisation has left an indelible mark on the face of many communities in which the 149 courts operate. We have tirelessly demonstrated our commitment to serving others in our various communities. Now, it is time to renew such raging commitment to serving others. 50 years is a time of reflection and an opportunity to forge ahead even stronger than before.
The fundamental principles of the Noble Order based on Unity, Charity, Fraternity and Service are still relevant. Looking back to fifty years ago, we can confidently say that we have fully embraced these tenets to the benefit of ourselves, our Church, our Communities and various operating Countries.
As a Noble Order, we will carry on and endeavor to espouse the fundamental tenets as championed by our Thirteen Founding Fathers in honor of their memory.
Going digital with the Order
In forging ahead, we need to have more hands to the plough. We would need more ladies to join the ranks of our Noble Order, who are dedicated to spreading the service of Christ in their own various corners. Ladies who would be the light on the hill and salt in their various communities to spread the glory of Christ. To achieve this, we would need to have our public relations strategy put together to dispel any negative conceptions that may plague the good image of the organisation. In a digital world, this would be easily rendered with YouTube videos detailing our success and direction, as well as exposing our organisation in good light to the public. Other forms of social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are necessary to put ourselves out there, making ourselves easily accessible through the information we carry about our Noble Order. 50 years of doing service in the shadows is enough. Now is the time to take Christ to people in every way possible. Our digital game must be strictly focused on Christ.
In this way, I believe that the unpleasant notions people have formed about this noble organisation in the past would be quelled in favour of the truth about who we are. But most importantly, at our 50th anniversary, these misconceptions, and more, should lead us to take an in-depth look at the four guiding principles which direct the course and hold down a strong foundation of our Noble Order.
Our Guiding Principles – Our Motto
Unity. Charity. Fraternity Service. Four words that guide this Order and anchor her purpose in our society. And four words that we would continually echo in our communication to the outside world. These are words that Jesus Himself asked us to live before He went to the Cross. After the Cross, your Christianity is called to question if you fail to live with the consciousness of these words. And it is worse, if your life has no grounding whatsoever in Christ; when you live as the world has conscientized you to live. Our motto reminds us of what is important – not ourselves, but others. We were never made to have our lives revolve around ourselves; we were made for God, and God loves people. In unity with one another, we take the focus off ourselves and we care about the well-being of others; we are called to admonish one another and encourage one another in the faith. Charity puts the focus on the needs of others. Service ensures that God enjoys our worship in forms that glorify Him. Our lives were never made for us – but for God. When we love God, we automatically love people in unity, through charity, fraternity and in service.
As we ponder 50 years of the order’s service, we cannot forge a way forward if we do not revisit our guiding principles and what these entail. We cannot serve without unity. We cannot serve if we are uncharitable or if we are without love for others. We cannot live in an island and we must fraternize. We cannot serve, if we have not Christ as our focus. Service is giving to God. Let us not forget, that we are called to love.
On Unity
Individually, we are called to a purpose. Matthew 22:14 tells us that many are called. Our calling, our purpose is only stipulated by God, and not by our own desires or inklings. When we appraise ourselves, we find we are diverse, endowed with different gifts by the same Holy Spirit; 1 Corinthians 12 shows us how diverse we are. Verse 20 of the same chapter points out to us that as it is, there are many parts but one body; one body of Christ. Our diversity works in unison for God’s purpose – the spread of His Word to the ends of the world. We have a special kind of unity, one which does not force conformity but embraces our diversity in working as one under Christ. We flourish individually when we sup together in Christ.
But what is the unity of the body, its perfect functioning, without the head? Christ is the head of our body.
Colossians 1:18
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
Ephesians 1:22
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
Colossians 2:10
And in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
Without the head, there is no body. There is no such thing as a body without a head. It is unthinkable and unimaginable. For us Christians, it is no different. There is no such thing as the body of Christ without Christ Himself as the head. The body conforms to what the head directs. The body obeys the head.
We are the body who take our instructions from Christ. That is how He designed things. We run individually with whatever instructions He has given: the legs walk or run and the hands do different things. But in our different instructions, our different mandates unite perfectly to see the end of our goal – doing what Christ has sent us to do. We need all parts of the body on deck to achieve this.
The Bible gives us another reality of our unity. Jesus is the vine and we are His branches:
John 15:5
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
We are all branches of the same vine who is Jesus. Our connectedness is sustained by drinking sap from the Vine itself. Any branch that refuses sap, or which cannot drink sap, is dried off and cut off. Our lives are sustained by our unity in Christ, and not just by unity simpliciter. With unity without Christ as the focus, we may benefit one from the other, the different things we have to offer each other, but such unity places Christ out of focus. It is not borne out of love for Christ but out of selfish desires to live as friends with benefits. It means therefore that where there are no benefits, there are no friends or brothers. But we are better than this; there is a better way to live beyond what the world would teach about being united and its purpose. The better way to live is Jesus, being active branches of this wonderful and abundantly supplying Vine. We would never lack any benefits if we are all connected to Him.
Apostle John relates one of our most pivotal principle in the way it is designed to be lived. There is no unity if there is no Christ. We cannot provide for one another what the person needs if we are not receiving from Christ what we were created to provide:
Ephesians 4:16
16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
In other words, our unity can bear no fruits if we do not receive from Christ. It is for our own lives and the continuance of it, that we rely on Him to provide us with sap so we can bear fruit. Bearing fruits is inevitable where vines are concerned. What do you do to a tree that has no fruit? Jesus showed us:
Mark 11:14
14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
The Master, who is Jesus, requires fruit of us at every time and not just in season. We were not made to be in and out of season. We were made to constantly be fruitful. Imagine the head sends an instruction to the body to harvest yams, the legs carry everyone there, the right hand holds a hoe but when it gets to the left hand to uproot the yam from the ground, it tells the rest of the body and the head, “I am out of season. Wait until I come in season and then I will do my part.” What is going to happen? There will be yams, but the right hand has to do double the work. Mind you, the right hand was not made to do double the work. The rate of productivity will be halved. The Head cannot get the yams early enough. The stomach will go hungry. Soon, the right hand would be weary and would need to rest, without food because the yams are not ready. The right hand alone cannot peel the yam if it is successful in harvesting it alone. The legs were not made to peel yams. All the while, the annoying left hand is hanging on the body, doing nothing in its so-called out-of-season state, leaving the whole body hungry. What do you think would happen? In Christianity as Christ has taught us, that left hand would either have to function, or be replaced so that a better one comes to do the work anytime the head calls upon it. In Christianity, there is nothing like a damaged hand or leg; it may be accepted by the world to have a freeloading part of the body for whatever sake. But it is preposterous to Christ. It frustrates the flow of work, and upsets His schedule for how things should occur. Unimaginable that the left hand would be cut off and replaced, some would think, but let us not forget that for Jesus, even stones can be made to offer worship where humans fail:
Luke 19:40
But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”
The verse I just quoted should remind us that the fact that we do not have certain realities in the world which men have created does not suspend God’s principles and He works by His principles, not by man’s.
Without fruits, we would have no identity. One should ask, how are Christians identified in the first place? Jesus once again provided the answer for our benefit:
Matthew 7:16
You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Our unity must provide what is needed so that we all can bear fruit. But we cannot get what is needed from one another if we are all not connected to the Vine, who is Jesus.
We must realise that every aspect of our lives must fit into a whole. It is a whole not pictured by man but designed by God and set in motion by His Word:
Colossians 1:16-17
16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
We cannot live out of Him. He is the whole in whom we all fit and that ensures the purpose of God is lived by Christians because we would look to God for the details of bringing that design He made into fruition. Our unity in Christ cannot be without fruit. That is why Jesus tells us to remain in Him and He in us. This is the essence of communion. We cannot have communion if we are not in Christ and He is not in us.
Our communion with one another is only complete in Christ:
1 Corinthians 10:17
17 For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.
We become one body in Christ. He unites us. Our purpose is to live for Him and by Him. There is no selfishness where living for His concerned. For this reason, we give: it is what Jesus has required.
On charity
Charity is rendered in the Strong’s Greek dictionary as one of the translations of agape. Agape is defined as love, affection or benevolence. In addition, it is a brotherly love, affection, good will. Apostle Paul makes us understand how crucial charity is to us:
1 Corinthians 13:1
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
In another translation 1 Corinthians 13:1 is rendered as follows:
1 Corinthians 13:1
I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.
Love in this sense, lives for others. Living for others means we are giving to them. Love gives without fail, such that love would lay down their life for a brother. We cannot achieve unity in our Order if we do not have this love. We will fail to give to others if we have no love.
What is love? When you look at the Strong’s Greek dictionary, love is used in relation to Christ. It is agape (aga-pay). Christ’s definition of love is to obey His Word:
John 14:15
“If you love me, you will obey my commandments.
Apostle John in 1 John 4:7 encourages us all to love because God Himself is love. Whenever we fulfil scripture in obedience to Christ, we have loved. And when we love, we are even transformed much more into the image of God who made us. Because as I said, God is love. Love is the state of being God.
In our Noble Order, we show love, or charity, by giving. We are told to give by Christ. As Christians, we are directed to take care of the poor or the less fortunate. We have spent over a GHC100 million on acts that are deemed charitable in the past decade. This to any human mind is whopping and suer impressive. The question going forward when we do such acts of kindness is whether we do it out of obligation to our Noble Order, or whether we do it out of devotion and love for Christ, so much that we want to see people smile because of Him. Are we being nominal in our commitment to seeing Christ in the lives of others through us? Or are we concentrated in making Christ pleased that He is the focus when we give to others?
At the age of 50, we have many more years to go. What sustains our organisation is unity. But what sustains unity is love for one another. We cannot unite in Christ if we hate each other. It is out of this love that we must shell out so much to give to the less fortunate in society through diverse projects, making them appreciate Christ and have a desire to get to know Him personally. These are the works we do so that Christ is lifted up. Our giving out of love should not be giving in itself, but should have a heartbeat who is Christ, so that men are drawn to Christ rather than to us. From this day forward, our giving should be geared at making men praise the Christ in our organisation rather than praising our organisation alone. It is from Christ being happy with praise that we become content with our life’s work.
On Fraternity
As sisters in the Noble Order we are formed around common goals and aspirations we have to make commitment to each other for life. Galatians 6:1
Employs us to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Our positive response to the call of Unity and Charity will, no doubt, promote fraternal relations in our Noble Order and in our communities. As sisters we have to be pathetic to the misfortunes of others and stretch a finger of help. Whilst we carry out our charitable works in institutions for the vulnerable in society, equally important as Ladies of Marshall, we have to look within and support our own sisters in distress. As scripture says: Mathew 25:40: that whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers you do unto me.” 2nd Corinthians 9:7 also encourages us to give what we have decided to give as sisters in our heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves the cheerful giver “You will be made rich in every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
On Service
Jesus told his disciples that the greatest among them must serve:
Matthew 23:11
The greatest among you will be your servant.
But what does it mean to serve? Especially to serve in unity? Foremost, our service should be given to God, and not to man. Our service should do with the condition of our hearts. What is the condition of our hearts? In our respective lives, we are revered people in society. Some of us may have big jobs, or money or wealth which the world respects and by which we are esteemed. But these count for nothing where God is concerned. For some people, the worldly possessions get into their heads and they think they are important. We are important, but are our hearts submitted to God? Do we live with our hearts wholly given to God? True service comes from a heart wholly attached to God. This is why Apostle Paul told us in Colossians:
Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
It means anything we do, in any place we find ourselves, we must do it as if we are doing same for God. In our homes, on the streets, on any assignment, in work; it does not matter where we find ourselves. We represent God and He is our master so we work for Him even if it is upon the instruction of our bosses or president or anyone else. Having attained 50 years, our Order’s service going forward will be best achieved if individual members have made service to God a lifestyle in our respective closets. And service to God is achieved through service to people.
Many of us think that Christian service means going into the priesthood, being a nun or a reverend sister or brother, being a monk, among others. We seldom think about the smaller or the least things. We hardly think that service as Christ described entails washing the feet of others, just as he washed the feet of the disciples, literally making Himself lower than them. It is no wonder that He is the greatest – through His death, He served humanity. He made Himself of no rank or reputation and lived on earth as a normal man, displaying the power of God where ever He went, and not forgetting to serve. To God, service is dear. However, He appreciates service that have Him as the focus and not human beings.
Service to God is worshipping Him. This is why it is dear to Him. Service proves our devotion to God. When we love God and we are devoted to Him, it shows in society – we cater for the less fortunate, we endeavour to clean the streets, we wait on our clergy, who are God’s representatives, we do our respective jobs excellently because we no longer have men as the focus, but God, we give differently because we see each as Jesus, for this is how we entertain angels unknowingly. Service that stems from a heart submitted to God truly impacts. For our organisation to reap the benefits of true service, each member should have it as a lifestyle – giving each moment and task as if it is being done for God.
Going Forward
As ladies of Marshall we must have an agenda like agenda 2024, 2028 etc to propel the society to greater heights. We have targets and some may have been achieved, no doubt since we need to set out goals that are achievable and time bound. Whether we like it or not, we are a force to reckon with in Ghana and in particular in the Catholic Church. We have carved a niche for ourselves. Therefore we need to live and carry ourselves as such.
The great Kwegyir Aggrey once said: “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a nation” This should be our focus as a ladies society to promote education be it girl or boy child as part of our outreach programme and to monitor the young ones in our fold.
Ladies of Marshall should be at the fore front in women empowerment in this 21st century. Let us have programmes for women emancipation and to propel and enhance their capabilities to lead roles in our communities, societies, the church and the country at large. Though we are A Political but our roles could positively affect our young ladies to take up political positions.
Grooming our young ladies to take up leadership positions should be paramount as an organisation. In our fold there are variety of professionals namely medicals, lawyers, judges, magistrates, lecturers, businessmen and women etc. whose influence could assist our ladies into various institutions with a well – thought out courses, relevant for our society. Our influence and social network could gain employment for our ladies who are unemployed and have difficulties in meeting their financial obligations in the Order. This in my opinion could reduce the challenge of delinquent or erase it totally. Our ladies who are initiated must have the joy of sisterhood and stay and be useful forever in the Order. Leadership must show the way and not to be temperamental as same could negatively affect the Order.
Further and as the way forward, we need to form a Committee of diverse interest and profession to be responsible for grooming our young ones. They should assist as a research group responsible to create the profile of our members to assist in diverse ways.
Let us put in place some support systems, rally round our ladies to occupy high and influential positions. Again creating insurance schemes to support ourselves especially the young ones in the form of scholarships. We have the numbers. A token as a form of subscription to finance these activities is not out of place.
The Covid 19 Pandemic has brought in its wake some innovations and has now become the norm in almost all spheres of life; meetings are now held via Zoom or virtual. We held our meetings by Zoom until now. There is nothing wrong if occasionally we have virtual meetings. There are challenges though, but with time and constant practice we shall overcome it. Some sister are still apprehensive, some have underlying medical conditions and may not physically be present at meetings. What do we do as Ladies of Marshall to ensure that all benefit from our spiritual exercise.
Our presence must be felt visibly in society. It is time to come out and as part of our outreach programmes embark on education on the various media example: FM, TV stations to educate the populace about the Noble Order and to demystify the myth surrounding the Order as perceived by some citizens. Such platforms can be used also to rebut issues against the church.
We need to promote the Catholic Church as militant apostles.
On infrastructure, we need to consider constructing Marshallan Resort Centres, Marshallan School of Excellence, Guest house(s) and Tennis Clubs with swimming pool to keep fit and for recreation.
We are women and ladies of substance, excellence and together with our able and indefatigable Knights collectively we can surmount all financial challenges and bring all these in fruition.
We are made strong in unity in Christ. Our Noble Order would fall apart if we lost sight of Christ as the focus and built a monument for the praise of men. We cannot proceed without being united to the cause of Christ. Our unity is borne out of love for Christ and for one another.
This love leads us to give to people. To give in our society so that Christ is seen in people. Some people say that we are the only Jesus other people will see, and it is true. Jesus left us with instructions. Our Noble Order’s life must be devoted wholeheartedly to ensuring the realisation of these instructions, which is the Word of God. Our acts of charity or love henceforth should be based on that desire to obey God’s Word and nothing more.
The only way forward is Jesus. He is the way according to John 14:6. As a Christian organisation, there is no progress in seeking out a way forward apart from Christ. All our strategies must be rooted in obeying Him. In this dispensation, our Noble Order will not survive apart from Him. What is most important is that our members are individually drawn to Christ and live as He wants.
The way forward for us is ensuring that our lives are centred on Christ. Because that is the only way the organisation as a whole will succeed in fulfilling its service to society. In our closets, we need to attain oneness with Christ. It is what allows the whole organisation succeed. In our service to society, it is true that if we have no love, our works become monumental – dead landmarks of our history that are celebrated by ignorant posterity in awe of our past glories. We must never build monuments: God does not inhabit those. We build one another because God lives in humans in this dispensation.
Our service therefore is not only in giving to people, going on charity walks, cleaning market spaces, or what we would consider as service in a daily setting. Our service begins from our heart embarking on a personal devotion to God and commitment to live out His principles in our individual lives. It is that way in which our Noble Order would enjoy the fruits of our commitment to service.
Conclusion
Perhaps the most daunting thing for us may be vigorously going digital, as some of us are not exactly tech savvy. But if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is to cherish the internet and how it promotes our unity in Christ through digital platforms. Many of us have had to resort to online meetings and the like. Without this pandemic, we would hardly have taken advantage of the many wonderful things we could do with other internet platforms, apart from WhatsApp, of course. Our Noble Order has to move with the future, especially if we are going to attract more dedicated ladies to help in the vast work which we must undertake.
On a more serious note, our service is moot if it is not rooted in love. Our love for God is false if it is not driven to give and to live for others. We cannot give and live for others in charity if we are engrossed with our own lives. We can only give where it counts, if we function as one body with Christ, and not man, as the head. The way forward is simple: as I have illustrated, Christ should be consciously made the focus in all our activities which embody our service as a group. In service from today, the guiding principles should answer the question, “what would Jesus do?”
Sir Knight Brother Chair, Distinguished Invited Guests, all protocols duly observed, I thank you for your attention
Thank You.
NB: The author is a Magistrate at the Asokore Mampong District Court and a Sister of Court 74, KNUST, KUMASI.