Mary Ghansah Stands In Worship

She quoted copiously from the Bible and fluently read out portions from her tablet computer as she explained why God deserved to be praised and worshipped at all times. Singer and evangelist, Mary Ghansah might be moving with the times in terms of how she accessed literature related to her faith. She, however, remains the same old humble fellow whose heart was bursting with songs of praise and worship when she entered the Elephant Walk Recording Studio in Accra in the mid-1980s to record her first album. Since then till now, the pretty singer has blessed the world with over 20 collections of inspiring songs and travelled widely inside and outside of this country to spread the message of Jesus Christ through music. She will be one of the main attractions at the MTN Ghana Stands In Worship concert scheduled for Saturday, July 13 at the Accra Sports Stadium. Also due to perform at the show to be hosted by Imajin Advertising and Rev. Bernard Blessing�s song ministry are Cecilia Marfo, No Tribe and Miriam of MTN Hit-Maker fame. American gospel star Donnie McClurkin, as well as Uche Agu from Nigeria and Mthunzi Namba from South Africa, will also be there. �Yokes are going to be broken at the concert,� Mary Ghansah says. �Sometimes people want lamentable songs that force them to request things from God but at this concert I want people for once, to lay their problems aside and just lift up the name of God. We are going to worship, worship and worship.� Admirers of Mary Ghansah would agree that she was lost in action for a while, especially regarding live performances at the major venues for music in the country. Well, she, at some point in her music career, felt it appropriate to steep herself deeper into the word of God so she went back to school. �I decided to hide and upgrade myself. When we sing the gospel, we have to make sure our hearts are correct and that we give to people what would help build their faith and inspire them to come to God. �A deeper understanding of God�s word helps the gospel musician to reach out better. So I enrolled and studied for a Bachelor�s degree in Theology at the Glory Leadership Institute at Sakumono in Accra which is affiliated to the Trinity College at Legon.� Married to Kwaku Wiafe, a television producer, Mary Ghansah is keen to demonstrate her take on what constitutes praise and worship music at the upcoming MTN Ghana Stands In Worship concert. �Whether praise or worship, it is not about the rhythm but the words. People assume that when they come up to sing fast songs for people to dance, then it is praise music. �They also think that all slow songs for meditation are worship pieces. To me, it is the content that labels the category.� Though some gospel musicians these days label themselves as either praise or worship specialists, Mary Ghansah says she can competently deliver both in equal measure. To her, whether one does praise or worship stuff, the focus should always be to lift God rather than draw attention to the performer. It is that awareness of always putting God first and commending Him for His eternal goodness that has seen her perform in countries such as the United States, Cote d�Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, France, Holland, Belgium and England. She did not have an idea that she would be such a well-travelled woman of God through music when she joined a singing group in the Powerhouse Evangelistic Ministries at Tema in 1974. Somebody had explained to her that the devil always found work for idle hands. She was not keen to be a tool for the devil so throughout her days at Kwahuman Senior High School, Nkawkaw and Breman Asikuma Senior High School, she committed herself to singing out God�s plan for salvation and of His general goodness. When a music director of her singing group asked her to try her hands at writing a song, she quickly waved those words of encouragement away. She didn�t believe she could write any song but she has now filled over 20 albums with songs of her own and some of them are sung regularly in orthodox, pentecostal and charismatic churches across the nation. Her latest album, Nyame Tease contains 11 songs recorded and mixed by Nacy, Francis Osei and Shadrack Yawson. She hopes to perform material from there, as well as some of her earlier hits such as �Enka Ekyir, Sweet Jesus, Ye Hyira Wo, Nhyira, Woho Ye Ho and more at the MTN Ghana Stands In Worship concert.