New Church for Ghana Community That Fueled Priestly Vocation
October 21, 2025
The generosity of a Shelby County parish has left a missionary pastor shocked, humbled, and eternally grateful.
The people of St. Michael Parish in Harlan raised $175,000 that’s being used to build a new church in a rural, poor area of Father Clement Owusu’s home in Ghana.
Father Owusu dreamed of building a church as tribute to his late father and to the parish that played an instrumental role in his vocation to the priesthood. It was a project born of love.
Once the parish learned of his dream, parishioners responded in a big way, steeped in love.
“I didn’t see it coming,” he said. “It has been a huge shock.”
It all started in 2021, when Shelby County Catholic School had a raffle. A parishioner put Father Owusu’s name on 10 tickets. While he didn’t win, a parishioner asked what he would do with the cash if he had won. Father shared his dream about supporting a church project in his dad’s town, Kwaso.
Two months passed. The parishioner went to see Father.
“I’ve been thinking about this. What if I gave you some money toward the project?” asked the parishioner, who wishes to remain anonymous.
The donor gave Father Owusu $7,000. Then, he gave the pastor $8,000. He followed up with a gift of $21,000, and another $20,000.
Father Owusu informed Bishop William Joensen of the gifts and followed diocesan guidance on managing the funds appropriately.
Just before Father Owusu went on vacation to his home last year, the donor said he had other projects in mind and would not be able to continue to contribute to the church in Ghana.
The priest’s mind was at ease. He celebrated Mass at St. Anthony Parish in Kwaso, Ghana, a satellite church of St. John the Baptist Parish. St. Anthony has, what Father calls, a shed. It looks like a picnic pavilion with a concrete slab and some poles holding up a roof. It serves 120 people, 80 percent of whom are children and teenagers.
He prayed with the community, which lives on subsistence farming. Families try to live on what they can grow on less than an acre of land, using basic tools like hoes, daggers, and axes. They had saved for years for a new church. Their $4,000 was spent on acquiring land and paperwork. Seeing a new church built seemed like a dream.
“I have always been guided by Psalm 127: ‘Unless the Lord builds the house, those who live there work in vain.’ I know God will bring the resources,” Father Owusu thought. “I don’t know how or when, but I’ve always sought to trust him.”
Returning to Iowa, he prayed the rosary. He reflected on a priest of his mother’s parish, who was a missionary. He would leave for a while and return with donations to help the parish. Perhaps, he thought, the Holy Spirit was nudging him to follow the model of the missionary priest and become a bridge between the Ghana parish and his American parish.
He was inspired to ask the Knights of Columbus for help.
“When I came back, I mustered the courage and I approached the Knights, and I told them what one person had started with me. This is how far we’ve come with the project.”
He asked the Knights to support the Ghana church project with revenue from Lenten fish fry dinners as long as he serves St. Michael Parish.
There was silence.
And then one Knight responded: “You don’t know how much we love you. We want to do this project for you!”
“I was at a loss for words,” said Father Owusu. “I couldn’t believe it. It was a dream.”
Architectural drawings were developed, a cost estimate of $125,000 was settled upon and the parish got to work.
They raised $178,000. Upon the direction of donors, $3,200 was transferred to St. Michael’s endowment and the rest is going into the construction of a new, 350-person church for St. Anthony Parish in Kwaso. When it is dedicated, hopefully in 2027, it will be fully furnished with pews, space for music practice and fellowship with coffee and donuts.
“It doesn’t happen. Not even in big towns,” Father Owusu said. “I’m very grateful for the kindness.”
