TRIBUTE

And still a season of weeping and mourning for the parishioners of St Mary’s Cathedral, Banjul! Andrew Bah, our faithful church worker for 30 years, has passed away.  Did his closing eyes search for a priest or Christian friend by his bedside at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital on Tuesday night, 16 September 2008?

Alas! Andrew’s Muslim family carried him away the next day and buried him in his village of Nema Kunku! Only on Thursday evening, 18 September 08, did they send us that heart-breaking message of his death! The psalmist reassures us that- “....weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) We are praying for that joy to come from the Lord.

St.Mary’s schoolboy
Ahmadou Bah, an intelligent Fula boy, lived with his uncle on the grounds of Government House (now State House) and walked across McCarthy Square to attend St.Mary’s School.  There he was nurtured by the late teacher, Modu Coker, and others, learning Christian hymns and prayers at the Daily Assembly.  Unfortunately Ahmadu’s education was interrupted by a serious attack of polio, which kept him in hospital for many months and left him partially paralysed.


Ahmadu becomes Andrew
As a young man, Ahmadu found employment as a messenger and cleaner in the St.Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Parish under the late Archdeacon Matthias George, and was given accommodation in the basement of the parsonage. By his diligence and pleasant nature, he soon endeared himself to the Church members, old and young; and proved to his employers he was capable of greater responsibility Indeed it was the arrival of the new Bishop - The Rt. Rev. Timothy Olufosoye, in 1966 - that was a turning point in Ahmadu’s life.  He was baptized Andrew, and later confirmed and admitted as a full member of the Anglican Church.  That he remained steadfast in the Christian faith even after the tragic and sudden death of his mentor, Father Matthias, in 1974, was cause to give thanks to God.


Andrew - Sacristan and Church clerk
Now a married man (he married his Fula cousin) and raising a young family in the Kombos, Andrew’s loyalty to the church remained.  He was now elevated to the demanding ministry of ‘Sacristan’ of the church.  He was responsible for the preparations of the altar for the mass, for the sacred vessels and the vestments worn by the priests.  His knowledge of the festivals of the church was phenomenal; and so was his commitment to the elaborate preparations for such Holy Feast Days.

Retirement
After 30 years service in the Anglican Church, Andrew retired to his home in Nema Kunku with a gratuity and modest pension and the prayers of the wide circle of Christian friends.  He continued to worship at St Mary’s Cathedral; and was ever willing to train and supervise successive Sacristans.  He sometimes returned to his old job when the Sacristan was on leave.

Andrew worshiped with us at St. Mary’s this past Easter, 2008!
May the good Lord forgive Andrew’s sins and receive him into His eternal kingdom!
May his soul rest in peace!