Today, I focus on Apostle Edmund Appiah, the immediate past National Head of the Church of Pentecost (COP) in Finland, as I continue with my narration of personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland.

The growth of COP and its contributions to positive interactions among Ghanaian migrants and others in Finland cannot be recounted without mentioning the role played by Apostle Appiah.

Apostle Appiah arrived in Finland on 10 September 2013 and took up the position as the National Head of COP in Finland until November 2020 when he moved to the UK, where he became the Area Head of the Church of Pentecost in the London South area.

Recently, Apostle Appiah visited Finland for a wedding ceremony. It was very exciting to see him or hear about his presence in Helsinki after many years. The great joy expressed by many people was simply infectious and portrayed how much Apostle Appiah is loved just as his successor, Apostle Francis Owusu Kwaah. 

Actually, when Apostle Appiah assumed office in Finland, he was also in charge of Denmark from 2013-2015. He became solely responsible for only Finland after 2015. It must be pointed out that Apostle Appiah has the enviable record of being the first resident pastor of the church in Finland.

The Church in Finland was established over 20 years ago, having started in September 2000 as a prayer group with a small number of devoted persons in Helsinki (see www.copfinland.fi).   

Achievements as Head of COP Finland

There is no denying that under Apostle Edmund Appiah as the National Head of COP Finland, the church chalked significant progress, including re-organising the Vaasa branch of the church.

Also, branches were opened in Turku and Tampere, while a nursery assembly was started in Oulu and an innovative Online Church was established to cater especially for people scattered around Finland. The COP Finland continues to extol Apostle Appiah’s ministration and clarity on Jesus and heaven as the central focus.

A description of his ministration during the farewell service organised by the Church for Apostle Appiah said that his “unadulterated and lucid exposition on the doctrines and principles of the church deeply equipped both officers and members of the church”. This is an achievement of the Church, which has continued under Apostle Owusu Kwaah, who took over from Apostle Appiah.

The positives, the challenges, and the future of COP

Apostle Appiah expressed optimism and positivity about the Church and the future of COP in Finland.

He was highly impressed when he first arrived in Finland, despite that the church was still virtually in its infancy. “Many of the members of the church were students who worked part-time and were very busy, but they did their best and this is commendable; they indeed had the zeal”, Apostle Appiah said.

Finland’s official or state religion is Lutheranism and one is born into it. To Apostle Appiah, the emergence of other denominations such as COP has brought about diversity and multiple roles. According to the Apostle, “the COP cooperated with the Ghana Union Finland, the Asanteman and other associations, and through that many Ghanaians came to church. This was part of the missionary approach, which helped a lot”.

“We also invited many groups and personalities, including the [then] Honorary Consul [Ms Ulla Alanko, who is now retired]. It gave us leverage to curb the excesses or bad habits that people would fall into”, Apostle Appiah stated.

Concerning challenges, Apostle Appiah noted that initially there were impediments such as language barriers, while a lack of work opportunities was a major problem for members. He noted that the weather is quite severe in winter, but the members had to surmount all these challenges to ensure that they played their role well for the growth of the church.

On the future of the church, one hindrance could be how to reach out to more native Finns, but, to Apostle Appiah, the future looks good as “the kids born to Ghanaian migrants in Finland can speak the Finnish language fluently and can reach out to their peers and the society as a whole”.

Apostle Appiah’s current position

Apostle Appiah’s role in London South area where he is the Area Head of the Church of Pentecost is significant. The London South area has six districts and thousands of church members.

According to Apostle Appiah, about 85 per cent of the members in the London South community are of Ghanaian descent. This is a big number as compared to the figures in Finland. The Apostle expressed heartfelt gratitude to the many people whose support encouraged him when he worked in Finland. Thank you

With Dr Perpetual Crentsil

perpetual.crentsil@yahoo.com

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I experienced something on Monday, June 15, that really frustrated me.  I had to go to the ministries but I could not get up early that day so I decided to pick a taxi and get to the Tuba Junction. 

When I got there I realised that Traffic had built up from the Toll Booth towards Accra.  After a while I got a Taxi and it was when we got to a certain spot on the road, that I realised why there was a traffic jam. 

There is a short stretch of the road where each time it rains heavily, loose material run down the hill onto the road, blocking one side of the road.  Vehicles from Kasoa to Accra are then forced to move into one of the lanes of those going towards Kasoa from Accra. 

The two lane road from Accra to Kasoa becomes a single carriage way.  That was the reason for the traffic jam from the toll booth onwards.

This has been a perineal problem and yet, no permanent solution has been found till date.  The area falls under Ga South and even though, a new MCE has taken over, the technocrats are still there and so the problem is not new to them.  

There is therefore no excuse for the inability of the Ga South Metropolitan Assembly to resolving the problem on that stretch of the road.  Apart from the Ga South Metropolitan Assembly, another institution that must be held accountable is the Ghana Highways Authority. 

The Highways Authority cannot say they are unaware of this issue.  The fact that the problem falls within the area of responsibility of the Ga South Assembly, does not relieve the Ghana Highways Authority, of their responsibility of ensuring that our highways are maintained in a motorable state at all times. 

A collaboration between the Ghana Highways Authority and The Ga South Municipal Assembly is required for a permanent resolution of the problem.

There was another traffic jam at a place called Atala about 250 metres to the traffic light at Old Barrier as a result of an issue similar to the one close to the toll booth, that I talked about earlier. 

When we got to Weija junction, we encountered another traffic jam. The cause of this jam was a bad condition of road about 80 metres from the traffic light at Ga South Hospital heading towards Accra.  

Due to the bad nature at that section of the road, vehicles are compelled to slow down resulting in a traffic jam stretching all the way to Weija Junction.  

I started wondering if that short stretch of road cannot be sorted on one Sunday when traffic is usually light.  When we got to the traffic light at Odorkor, there was another issue. 

When the traffic light shows green, there is a slow down because there is a big pothole or should I say manhole in the outer lane, right at the traffic light.  Vehicles in the outer lane are compelled to swerve into the second lane thereby causing a traffic to slow down and resulting in a traffic jam.

It is very important to take into account the effect of traffic jam on the national economy.  If we are able to assess the value of the loss to the economy of the nation, I believe the issue of traffic jam will be prioritised. 

Imagine persons working at various Government Organisations like Registrar General’s Department, Ghana Ports and Habours Authority, Ghana Revenue Authority, CEPS etc. and lives at Kasoa and whose job is to collect revenue for the state and is held up in traffic. 

Just imagine the effect their lateness to work will have on the economy if you consider the delays in say clearing of goods at the port and as a result traders cannot sell their goods for government to generate the required taxes.

Let us deal with the traffic jams on our streets to promote economic growth. God bless.

By Laud Kissi-Mensah