SS. Thomas More & John Fisher
Catholic Church
Achimota
DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT: February, 1981
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) also known as 'Chari” is a movement in the Church. The Mission of the Charismatic Renewal are as follows;
The first prayer group in Accra was started by the Holy Spirit Sisters in the early 1970s at St. Maroun's Parish under the leadership of rd Rev. Sr. Maria. This group however did not thrive into the 1980s. Nevertheless, on 23 March 1978, a group of six graduates from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) started a prayer meeting at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra. This was possible due to the guidance and encouragement they received from Rev. Fr. Sievers, who later became the first National Coordinator of the CCR.
As the CCR group at the Cathedral grew in strength and membership, Catholics from other parishes joined. Some of the noted members then include Brothers Owusu-Boateng and Prince Anthony Amuah. By February 1981, another prayer group had started at St. Thomas More Parish at Achimota under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Tetteh Addy. Whether by co-option or divine arrangement, the late Owusu-Boateng and Pince Anthony Amuah became part of the leadership of the STMCCR group. Later on, they were joined by Brother Peter PeterDzagbo who was a staunch member and also part of the Cathedral CCR leadership.
By the middle of 1981, the STMCCR had started experiencing substantial growth with people from all walks of life were flocking in to the prayer meetings to satisfy both their curiosity and spiritual needs. Around that time, there was lots of debate in Catholic circles as well as the media on the authenticity of the spiritual gifts exhibited by members of the CCR. The debate got to the crescendo prompting the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference to make a pronouncement on the CCR. The Conference did, and the decision was in favour of the Renewal.
Other prayer groups that sprang up after the STMCCR included those of Madina, Kpehe, Dansoman, Mamprobi among others. In brief, though the STMCCR started about three years after its inception at the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Accra, it played a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of the CCR in the Accra Archdiocese.
STMCCR members meet every Sunday from 3:30pm for a two-hour prayer meeting at St. Thomas More. The group again meets every Monday at St. John Fisher for Intercessory prayers from 6:00pm.
Current active members of the STMCCR are about 40 which is made up of all age groups. In general, CCR members in both STM and SJF number about 200.Some notable old members include Rev. Frs. Fred Agyemang, Michael Mensah and Raphael Assaman, and Rev. Sr. Matilda. Others are Mrs. Victoria Arthur, Steve Dadzie, Susana Kwame, Mary Kwame, Shine Garvehand John Amuzu.
Rev.Fr. Tetteh Addy was the first leader of the STMCCR and he was ably supported by Owusu-Boateng; both of whom are deceased. When the late Rev. Fr. Tetteh Addy as transferred, the coordinatorship was taken over by the late Owusu-Boatengand had the late Prince Anthony Amuah as his assistant till 1983 when the former passed on in March of that year. The late Prince Amuah took over the mantle of leadership of the STMCCR and had Peter Dzagbo as his assistant till 1991. Peter Dzagbo became the coordinator in 1992 till 2001. Brother Emmanuel K. Tender became the Coordinator in 2002 and was assisted by Madam Veronica Mensah until 2007. In 2008, Brother Paul Hezuah became the Coordinator and was assisted by Mrs. Esther Ofori-Debrah. Their tenure ended in December 2013 and Esther Ofori-Debrah took over in 2014 as the seventh coordinator and also as the first female coordinatior of the STMCCR. She is assisted by Mawuli Honu.