Features
Lessons from the modest funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II
Having ruled for 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II, died on Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. A State funeral service was held in her honour on Monday at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022, followed by a committal service at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Winsor, where she was finally interred.
With all her riches, Her Majesty, the queen received a modest and simplest funeral one could think of in this wide world. She reportedly left behind over $500 million in personal assets from her 70 years on the throne. Her son, King Charles III, who was newly anointed also has an estimated net worth of $600 million, inheriting the nearly $23 billion in assets belonging to the Crown Estate among others.
COMMITTAL SERVICE FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH
After all the pomp and pageantry, the Presiding Archbishop at the committal service remarked, “Now let us remove all symbol of power from the coffin, so that our sister, Elizabeth can be committed to the grave as a simple Christian”. So, the staff of office, sceptre, the crown and all valuables were removed. The queen was buried with nothing.
“Beloved, this life is transient, be humble in power and life generally, for you came with nothing and you will go back with nothing. Life is vanity”. These are exhortations we often hear from pastors and the clergy who have been officiating burial services worldwide.
The queen’s modest and simple funeral has brought to the fore, the need for various families to cut down cost and expenditure on their departed ones and use the money and resources they have wisely and judiciously. There is no need wasting a lot of money on the dead no matter how rich and affluent they were when they were alive.
FUNERALS IN GHANA
Over here in Ghana, funerals are more than occasion to mourn the dead. They offer opportunities for families and loved ones to pay their last respect to the dead. Aside the conventional reasons for funerals, organising funerals in Ghana, serves as a platform to showcase riches and affluence by the bereaved families. The situation is so pronounced that families who do not have the means to organise lavished funerals go to the extent of borrowing money and other facilities to arrange such funerals. In effect, funeral organisation, has become a competition in our dear country where families compare and contrast.
A CASE OF A MAN WHO DIED THROUGH ACCIDENT
For instance, there was a case of a man who died through a fatal lorry accident. The impact of that accident was so devastating to the extent that the body was completely mutilated. The hands and legs of the deceased were severed, with his intestines gushing out from the stomach. The police who collected the body and took it to the mortuary and the mortuary attendants advised that the nature and condition of the mutilated body, demanded that it should be buried on time to forestall further decomposition. The families of the deceased who were later contacted and advised to get rid of the body quickly, were not in favour because they claimed they wanted to give the bereaved a befitting funeral and burial.
According to them, the children of the deceased who were living abroad, had requested that the severed hands and legs as well as the intestines should be stitched and kept in the morgue for a month whilst they prepared to come down to arrange a befitting burial for their father. They gave an initial money to be given to the mortuary attendants for that purpose, promising that they would pay for any further costs involved in the storage of the corpse. The elders went ahead to carry out their wishes and the body was prepared and stored in the fridge awaiting their arrival. Indeed, the children returned to Ghana as promised and paid the rest of the money involved. When finally, they went and removed the body from the mortuary and laid it in state for wake to enable the family, friends and sympathisers to file past, it was a disaster. The bad scent and odour that emanated from the decomposed body were so nauseating and disgusting, turning mourners away from the funeral. The coffin containing the body had to be covered and buried immediately in the night. The question was, what have you achieved from all that delays?
BORROWING TO ORGANISE LAVISHED FUNERALS
This is one of the scenarios, I have painted. Indeed, there are a number of unreasonable and unsubstantiated factors that prevent bereaved families from disposing their dead and loved ones in a more modest and simplest form. Some who cannot afford, prefer borrowing monies to raise lavished “serve yourselves parties” after the burial of their dead ones while others go in for the most expensive caskets and vaults for burials. The gatherings are served with food and drinks in a grand style at the expense of the bereaved families.
As John F. Harris, an America Journalist and a co-founder of Politico, an Arlington Virginia-based political news organisation, once wrote, “One day, sooner or later, our bodies will be buried or eaten by worms. Giving that inevitable fate, how can it be argued that the individual during her life or her family after her death, have interests in what happens to the corpse prior to its disposal? If a liver from a corpse will save someone else life, if retaining the heart will enable cardiac surgeons to refine their surgical skills, why should any impediment stands in the way? How can the dead command respect?”
CHRISTIANS AND ISLAMIC VIEWS ABOUT THE DEAD
The various Christian denominations, especially, the Catholic Church hold the view that the dying should be given attention and care to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by prayer of their relatives who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time, the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God. The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity in the faith and hope of the resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy, it honours the children of God who are temples of the Holy Spirit.
In Islam, human dignity is a right given to God to all humans who are referred in the Quran as God’s vicegerents on earth. Islam grants certain rights to humans before they are even born and others after death. Whether dead or alive, the human body created by God in the perfect shape, must be given dignity and respect. This importance of human body is illustrated for instance in the Quran 5:3
CUTTING DOWN COSTS ON FUNERALS
Yes, it is clear and important that we should show love, respect and dignity to our departed loved ones from this earth as echoed by the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran. However, in displaying these qualities, we need to be mindful of the costs involved by cutting down unnecessary expenses when it comes to the organisation of funerals of the beloved ones who have departed from this earth. Yes, we need to say goodbye to our loved ones who are dead and gone, but we should allow modesty and simplicity to take a centre stage in everything we do.
Let us be guided by the shining example of the funeral arrangements of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, who in spite of all her wealth and riches, her funeral was very simple and cost effective.
LESSONS FROM THE QUEEN’S DEATH
To conclude this piece, let me re-echo the Archbishop’s last words during the memorial service before the Queen was taken to her grave. Hear him; “Now let us remove all the symbols of power from the coffin, so that our sister Elizabeth can be committed to the grave as a simple Christian”. Immediately, the staff of office was removed, then the sceptre, followed by the crown and all valuables. The Queen was buried with nothing.
Life is, indeed, vanity, it it transient, and that teaches us humility- humility in power, humility in relating with others, humility in our acquisition of wealth and humility in all our endeavours, because in the end, we will go back with nothing.
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By Charles Neequaye
Features
The Prophet part 4
Antobam woke up with a terrible headache. He checked the time on his mobile phone, 2:30 am. “What! Where is the money?” He asked aloud. “Where are those girls? Why did I drink so much of that whisky? What were those two girls up to?” He sat up on the bed and noticed a bulge close to the pillow.
He lifted the mattress and picked up the newspaper wrappers with the neatly arranged notes. He saw the neatly written record of the value of the notes. No, those girls are not thieves.
“It was my mistake. If I hadn’t drank myself to sleep they would be here in bed with me, giving me the time of my life. Pretty girls, those two. And so loyal and honest. Tomorrow will be different.”
“I will not drink any whisky, and I will show them that I am a real man. Just then he heard the whispers. Very soon it will be time, they seemed to be saying. This is an important day.”
The gold dealer will bring lots of money. Give him some of the liquid to drink, and we will prepare him. He will do very big business, and he will give you anything you ask for. There will be more miracles and testimonies today.
Antobam smiled to himself. “I am going to be a very rich man in only a few days man. Money, power, and women. Wow! Antobam got to the grounds at 5, but there were quite a number of people waiting.
Mr Kwame Dofu was among them. He greeted them all, and they came around to shake his hand. “My brothers and sisters, I assure you that whatever your problem is, you will not go home without a solution.” Shouts of “Amen” “thank” you Osofo and “you are a true man of God” responded.
“Please take your seats, and start talking to the great one about whatever bothers you. Before the service is over, there will be a solution.” He waved Mr Dofu over, and went with him to the wooden structure that serves as a temporary office.
“My brother, I have done quite a lot of work on the issue you came to see me about. I have prepared a special, powerful package for you. Take this, drink it, and go back to your business. I want to see you in two weeks.”
Beaming with smiles, Mr Dofu drank the foul smelling liquid in two gulps, said a big thank you to Antobam and took his leave. “I believe you, Papa Osofo. And I assure you that I will reward you, big time.”
Just when Osofo Antubam finished with Mr Dofu, Mary and Suzzie went over to him. “Good Morning ladies. I am very sorry about yesterday. I drank too much of the stuff you gave me. Today will be different, I assure you.”
“Don’t worry, Osofo. Since you are now setting things up, our main concern now is to help you to put things in place, and to make you comfortable. We are always there to serve you. This morning, Osofo, we want to go and clean up your place, and prepare something nice for you when you close.
And before coming to church, we will pass by the bank and collect the forms. After you have signed them, the account will be open. You can check the payments anytime and, of course, issue cheques whenever you need money.”
“Suzzie and Mary, I am happy I picked the two of you from the very start. Listen, I will take good care of you, okay? Here is some money. Buy whatever you need for the errands you have mentioned.
And here is the key. Please come back as early as you can. You know I need you here.” The service was very lively. The lively singing of praise songs was followed by one and a half hours of testimonies.
Most of them related to money – big sales, new jobs and overdue debts paid. But there were also testimonies about healing. Barren women had taken seed, and, of course, several men who had lost their bedroom authority had regained them, to the delight of their partners.
As he had promised, Antobam preached for only 30 minutes, exhorting the congregation to attend church regularly, pay their tithes and offerings, and strictly follow his ‘directions’ for securing solutions to their problems.
After another round of praises during which the congregation danced to the floor to drop their offering, he closed the service, grabbed the big bowl which was full to the brim with money, and moved to his desk. A long queue was quickly formed at the desk.
Meanwhile, Mary and Suzzie had gone to give Antobam’s place quite a decent look. A new bedsheet and pillows, a secondhand carpet and four plastic chairs placed in the verandah had done the trick.
They also prepared two fish and chicken stews. After all these, they rushed to the National Savings Bank and collected application forms for opening current and savings accounts.
They joined the service a few minutes before the main session closed. Antobam looked round and saw, to his relief, Mary and Suzzie moving towards him. “Hello ladies. What have you been up to?” “Quite a bit, Osofo. We’ve just collected your drink. Here you are. We’ve made a few changes at your place. I think you will like it. You will also have something nice to eat. Now, here are the forms for the savings and current accounts.
If you will sign them, the bank will open the account. From today, we can pay all monies direct into the account.” ‘How can I thank you, ladies?” “You don’t need to thank us,” Suzzie said. “It is our duty to help a man of God succeed.” “Okay, my ladies, please take the offerings and count them as you did yesterday.
You can add the payments made after the consultations. Will it be possible to pay them into the account today?” “Yes,” Mary said. “The bank closes at four. If we leave here at three, we would be there just in time.”
The two friends started counting, as Osofo Antobam gave his clients his directions for solving their problems. On quite a few occasions he closed his eyes as if he was receiving direction from above on what to do.
But as the fetish priest at the Nana Kofi Broni shrine and the dwarfs had assured him, the solutions would certainly be provided. Having heard the huge testimonies earlier in the day, the clients parted with substantial sums of money in expectation.
By Ekow de Heer
Features
The issue of spiritual father in our churches
A student was supposed to go to school as the natural cause of events should be when universities or schools in general opens but this was not the case in a certain young man’s life.
He decided to postpone his trip because apparently he could not get to meet his pastor, his spiritual father. The question is, should this spiritual father die, will the young man’s life come to an end?
Does it mean in such an instance, he is going to curtail his education? This is a worrying trend in a lot of churches where the pastors use this notion of spiritual father to manipulate members especially the youth.
Some unscrupulous pastors utilise this spiritual father concept to have affairs with gullible young ladies in their churches.
Now with homosexuality gradually making inroads into some of the churches, young men are becoming vulnerable to pastors who have hidden homosexual inclinations.
This spiritual father concept is a Biblical concept that runs through both the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. We see it in 2 Kings 4:12 where Gehazi is serving Elisha and also in the New Testament we see Paul relating to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:2 as a Spiritual Father.
In fact, the concept of spiritual father is a good thing if executed according to the word of God since it helps in guiding the younger ones. However, it becomes problematic when it is being executed by unscrupulous wolves in sheepskins as described by Jesus in Mathew 7:15.
I see it as a way that these unscrupulous so-called men of God maintain their hold on the congregants so they do not question their unchristian actions.
One of the things I have observed since I got born again many years ago is that, any pastor who often insists that members recognise that he is their spiritual father is a warning sign that he is doing some wrong things or is about to indulge in some wrong things.
A parent complained about how his daughter was being influenced by a pastor of the church she attends and how worried he was. I am sure there are many parents out there with stories to tell about how their wards are being made to see their pastors almost like their Jesus.
These pastors have managed to make their congregants so loyal to them and to believe in them so much that it is terrifying, as a parent.
The way things are going, an immediate intervention is required otherwise I am not a prophet of doom but I forsee unfortunate instances where parents burst into church auditoriums and star shooting some Pastors out of frustration and anger.
We cannot look on unconcerned as a society and allow unscrupulous fraudsters using the name of God to create problems for families. My recommendation is for a certain amount of regulation in order to bring some sanity in religious practices.
I agree that ordinarily regulating religious practices makes it a bit restrictive in terms of freedom of worship as enshrined in our constitution but given the way things are going, a bit of regulation will not be out of place.
Disgusting stuff are being attributed to some men of God. There are cases of manipulation of young ladies and sometimes married women by so called men of God and it is bringing Christianity and therefore the name of the Lord into disrepute.
Christianity is gradually losing its attractiveness as a result of the negative reportage resulting from disgusting stuff happening in Christian circles. The way some pastors have been manipulating congregants to take money from them leaves much to be desired to the point where they are convincing some of the youth to give out their phones. May God help us.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
