“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(2 Peter 1:8, NASB)
When the students wrote in red “Let the Blood Flow” on the white walls of the Mensah Sarbah Hall annex, after the shooting of 6 senior Ghana Army officers, including 2 former heads of state in 1979, my younger brother, Joshua Kudadjie and I nodded our heads in agreement. He had become my successor as the Chapel Warden of Legon Hall Chapel, following my departure on sabbatical leave in 1971-72. Everything was alright with Ghana as far as we could tell. Our senior academic brother and firm Methodist, Kofi Abrefa Busia, was Prime Minister and was in the Castle.
And then came Acheampong’s coup of January 1972. Abroad, I could not understand what this meant, and when I came back later in 1972, the food harvest for that year, the produce from our backyard gardens, Operation Feed Yourself, gave a temporary support to the Acheampong coup.
From the mid-1970s, however, we watched the moral decay of our society: ‘Kalabule’ in its manifold forms and ramifications descended upon our country. My brother Joshua was so concerned and had earlier on done research on the moral concepts and beliefs of the traditional society among the Ga Adangmes. It was subsequently published in 1999 by Asempa Publishers and was called “Moral Renewal in Ghana.” By that time, Joshua had become a firm Methodist and up until his death, he remained a firm Methodist, although in 1978, four of us had started Legon Residents Congregation, now Legon Interdenominational Church (LIC).
Joshua and I, before this event, had gone round the houses in Little Legon to invite our friends and neighbors to join us for an interdenominational worship every Sunday. We went round the houses in Little Legon and Ayido Valley, while Dr. Freddie Phillips and now late Prof. Alan S. Duthie went to the houses in Legon Hill, Lower Hill and East Legon campus. On the Sunday after Easter in 1978, we had our first ever service. Our idea was to call this a non-denominational church, but when a vote was taken, Legon Interdenominational Church was the decision of the many who came for that meeting.
I remember very well one of the members Joshua and I approached in one of the Ayido Valley houses, and I believe that he would be one of the jewels in Joshua’s crown one day when we meet beyond. That was Professor Nii Djan Dodoo who, before the Sunday after Easter in 1978, had been a regular member of the Anglican congregation in Akuafo Hall. Not a single Sunday after that Easter in 1978 did Professor Nii Djan Dodoo miss worship in Legon Hall. Subsequently, he became a Presiding Elder of the church, and I recall an academic colleague of mine remarking that he stopped going to LIC when Nii Djan Dodoo, as Professor of French, was drumming in the choir.
But, I also was away from LIC for a number of years, and when I came back in the early 2000s, LIC had grown in numbers. Joshua had become a firm Methodist, and his commitment to Methodism was obvious in his advocacy of LIC’s responsibility for satellite churches like the Korleman Methodist Church. The members of Korleman Methodist Church will miss Joshua’s patronage and advocacy. Joshua was not only a Methodist Minister and Associate Professor at Methodist University. In the Methodist tradition, he became a strong advocate for the planting of new churches and the support of Methodist groups in the surroundings of LIC.
His devoted service and integrity as the Vice Principal of Methodist University will be fully recognised in the remembrance worship planned by the University for him on Thursday, 19th March, 2020. His moral integrity and service to the University has been acknowledged by all, it links back to the small texts he prepared in the mid-1970s on “Moral Renewal in Ghana.”
Joshua, you have served your Lord faithfully, and your example of service to your fellow men has been outstanding.
May the Lord bless you. Xe de nyuie!!