Archbishop Tamba Charles turning the sod
The Catholic Archbishop of Freetown has symbolically laid the foundation stone for the construction of the Saint Thomas Aquinas Church at Fourah Bay College, FBC, near Kortright, just off the college campus.
His Grace Dr. Edward Tamba Charles said the project, which started three years ago, was dogged by controversies over the suitability of the original site provided by the University administration.
He added that the issue caused “frustration” in the FBC Catholic community but noted that “the experience did not dampen the spirit of the members of the community. On the contrary it strengthened their appeal to the University authorities...for an alternative site.”
The Archbishop they should remain focused as the construction of the church begins because, according to him, “it is possible that deep down in our hearts we might be asking ourselves many questions. For example, does the Catholic community have the resources to complete the job? What we are doing is for the glory of God. God desires that we construct for his presence here a place worthy of Catholic worship. God is reliable. So we entrust ourselves to him and allow his spirit to lead us.”
The man of God told the congregation that when undertaking projects like building a church, “there might be occasions of misunderstanding...some might be tempted to withdraw because their views were not taken into consideration...I appeal to you to be understanding, to be patient because God himself is patient and is always willing to give us another chance.”
He said: “it is my firm hope therefore that this church, when it is completed, will not only serve as a place of worship - for which it is intended - but also as a center where the staff, accompanied by their families and students would engage in fruitful dialogue with their Christian faith and the sciences taught in this University.”
The chairman of the building committee Paschal Egbenda said: “community members are determined to see the project through and I will do my best in that regard.”
The project recorded pledges of money running into millions of leones and hundreds of bags of cement.
(C) Politico 09/02/16
