TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MR. ERNEST MANTE (AKA OSOFO MANTE) FROM THE PCG MOUNT ZION CONGREGATON

TRIBUTE TO THE LATE MR. ERNEST MANTE (AKA OSOFO MANTE)

FROM THE PCG MOUNT ZION CONGREGATON

            Osofo Mante as he was affectionately called has gone ahead of us to join the great army of witnesses who have finished their work here on earth, gone to wait for us and are also urging us on. They are urging us to fight the good fight of faith diligently without giving up as he never gave up. Mr. Ernest Mante has finished the race as Paul put it in 2 Timothy 4:7 and I quote

             “I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

             Now there is in store for me, a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the

             righteous judge will award to me on that day, and not me only, but also all who

             have loved his appearing”.

            The late Mr. Ernest Mante relocated from New York city to Worcester in early 1999 and joined the First Presbyterian Church of USA (PCUSA) where other Ghanaians were worshipping. As soon as he joined them, he suggested to the Ghanaians among the congregation to do Bible studies in Twi after Divine Service. Soon, they added Twi hymns of Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) and he preached to them in Twi language. About 12 Ghanaian members separated from the First Presbyterian Church of USA and they were led by Mr. Mante to form the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. In a short period of time, the church became self-sustaining. It acquired 49 Lafayette Street and 10 Grosvenor Street as places of worship and a minister’s residence or Manse respectively.

            Through Osofo Mante’s initiative, encouragement and dynamism, the following groups were formed and duly inaugurated:

                                    Women’s Fellowship              -           2001

                                    Church Choir                          -           2002

                                    Singing Band                          -           2003

                                    Men’s Fellowship                   -           2004

                                    Young Peoples Guild              -           2004

            By late 2004, the church he founded and nurtured was a fully fledged established Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Worcester, Massachusetts. Osofo Mante’s zeal for putting Presbyterian Church of Ghana on the American landscape, was not confined to Worcester only. He was one of the architects of Overseas Mission Field (OMF) which became the umbrella body for all Presbyterian Church of Ghana churches in the USA. The OMF was the precursor of the present day North America and Australia Presbytery (NAAP) of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Osofo Mante was the first Director of Finance and later the first President of the Men’s Fellowship of the OMF. In the year 2003, Osofo Mante was commissioned as a minister of Presbyterian Church of Ghana but was not ordained because of a fall out he had with the church.

            Between 2006 and 2011, Osofo Mante and other people left the church he founded to pursue other Christian missionary activities, but his umbilical cord was never severed from the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Indeed, Osofo Mante breathed and lived a Presbyterian --a real dyed in the wool Presbyterian in that he found rest and fulfillment only in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and nowhere else. He returned to PCG in 2011 on his own accord, with some of the people who left with him and people he mentored to become Presbyterians. He brought with him musical instruments, money and some of his followers among them are the current Senior Presbyter, Mr. Kwakwa-Ampadu, the Music Director and Organist, Mr. John Akpah-Yeboah and a talented artisan, Mr. Benjamin Tekpeh, who designed and constructed the pulpit, altar and the lecterns in PCG Mount Zion, our church.

            Upon his return, he focused on helping to plant and nurture new preaching points outside of Worcester. New Haven Preaching Point in Connecticut drew his attention. He, together with a few faithfuls, traversed the distance between Worcester and West Haven­ - a total travel time of approximately four hours- every Sunday for four consecutive years. He preached, he taught, he encouraged and mentored the New Haven Preaching Point up to the day it was elevated to a congregation status on May 28, 2017. Through his perseverance, what used to be a preaching point is now Grace Presbyterian Church, West Haven, Connecticut. For this singular effort, he never received or asked to be compensated. Apparently, he knew he will be rewarded by God whose reward is eternal unlike worldly reward and recognition which fade with time and eventually forgotten. After New Haven, he set his eyes on other preaching points despite the fact that his health was failing him. He was called to glory on November 15, 2017.

            Osofo Mante is now rejoicing with the saints up there in glory with those who have fulfilled their dreams as written in Philippians 1:21 “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain”. To the believer, death is gain and promotion to higher service and glory.

            We have no doubt in our minds, that Osofo Mante is up there with thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly in the presence of God and in the church of the first born whose names are written in heaven. Osomfopa Mante Da Yie