Economic hardship: church attendance and offertory are declining.
Church attendance and offering in the church are said to be declining rapidly as a result of the country's economic difficulties.
According to a few churches contacted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), many members had abandoned church after the ban on in-person church activities was lifted, with low offerings posing significant financial challenges to the churches.
The Ghana News Agency visited the St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Church in Abeka on Sunday and discovered that the church, which was frequently packed from the main auditorium to the top extension, had very low attendance.
The GNA also learned that offertory had dropped to around 5%, prompting the Church to launch the societal offertory giving program.
Every Sunday, each society, from the music ministry and choir to welfare and security enhancement societies, is encouraged to present their offertories to the priests in turn.
During dancing and singing, the main offering was collected pew by pew.
According to GNA checks, GHC1.00 dominated the offertory collected.
Through the "Day Born" offering initiative, the Church also devised the "trophy giving" method of encouraging members to give of their best to the development of the church.
As a result, the congregation born on each day of the week joined the queue and danced to give offerings, and the most generous group received the trophy.
The GNA also observed that many of the women were wearing pre-made hair wigs, with some wearing braids and others cutting their hair.
"Now we barely buy African print and fabrics to sew because they are too expensive," she said in an interaction with Esinam Agboli, a member of the congregation. You purchase the print, then visit a fashion designer or seamstress, whose fees have recently increased.
"Before you knew it, you'd spent at least 150 to 200 Cedis on one dress." So now, when I have money, I only buy dresses made in China or Togo, which cost about GHS70 or GHS80."
Ms. Theresa Naadei Mensah, a single mother of two, stated, "I haven't been able to buy any dress for my children, let alone myself, for a long time." So I beg my few close friends in the church to bring those dresses that are now too small for them so I can share them with my children to wear." We're having trouble deciding what to eat, so how can we think about changing our wardrobe?"
Another congregation member, Mrs. Barbara Maame-Ama Quansah, stated, "In these difficult economic times, you cannot spend GHS200.00 to do your hair and then take it off after a month or two because you will break down with money issues."
"I pay GHS300.00 for an already-made wig that I can wear for years depending on how well I maintain it." So, as for the wig, we'll keep wearing it. "The men are now aware that we wear it, and it has become normal with them," she added.
Mr. Benjamin Quartey Papafio, who complained about transportation to church on weekdays and Sundays, said, "I have a car, but I barely drive it to church anymore because the fuel prices are insane, and I have five children to feed." So I usually leave it at home and take public transportation to church."
Maxwell Clottey, for his part, stated that he was not deterred from going to church and being seen not joining a queue to give an offering when he did not have money.
"The only problem is that they have raised the lorry fare from Nii Boi Town to Fadama, so when I don't have enough money to board a car, I stay at home because it's too far to walk," he explained.
The GNA noted that some members of the congregation drove, while others rode motorcycles or bicycles.
Others relied on the generosity of church car owners to drop off at a point where they could continue in order to reduce the transportation fare back from church to the house.
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