Lydia Aku Adajawah
First Presbyter Executive of the E.P. Church of Ghana & E.P. University College Lecturer
Lydia Aku Adajawah is a lifelong teacher. When she was in kindergarten, Lydia Aku Adajawah’s teacher graded class tests, wrote the sole number one on her slate, and directed her to take the report home to her parents. Lydia noticed that her friends all had two numbers, and she started to cry. Her friends laughed, but her teacher reassured her that she was first in the class.
This experience has repeated itself over and over in Lydia’s life. In 2006, she was the first woman elected as Presbyter Executive in the 159 years of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). Again, the leadership wrote the results of the election on a slate, but Lydia was determined and purchased two desktop computers, a printer, and a projector to modernize the church. Lydia led the EPC in their mission of worship, teaching and development for four years.
Educated as a teacher at St. Teresa’s Training College, Lydia served as a dedicated teacher for fifty years from middle school to the university level at the Evangelical Presbyterian University College. She obtained her M.PHL in Psychology and Counselling at the University of Ghana, Legon, after which the Christian Council of Ghana tapped Lydia as the Coordinator on Family Life and Gender Issues. Adajawah lead the E.P. Church in their mission of worship, teaching and development from 2007 to 2012.
She petitioned the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, now World Communion of Reformed Churches for a vehicle to enable the Women's Desk personnel to travel to help with women’s needs and causes. She helped launch the Evangelical Presbyterian Development and Relief Agency’s Pharmacy in Ho. She established a 20-seat public toilet facility for Ahoe suburb, which helps to serve the EPC and hundreds of children from several nearby schools. She found internal financial support to provide gowns for hundreds of new ministers.
During her tenure, she welcomed 10 vulnerable youth to live with her family. These young people studied and developed into nurses, teachers, lecturers, ministers, medical laboratory scientists and other professionals.
At the end of her term as Presbyter Executive, Lydia and her family started a church on their front porch, which is now called Xorla EPC congregation with over 100 adult members. The group recently built a children’s chapel and the children’s ministry is growing by leaps and bounds.
For 50 years, Lydia has depended on the love and support of her husband, John Adajawah, who worked as an electrical contractor. They raised three boys and now have 6 grandchildren. Lydia enjoys singing in the church choir and continuing to work as a church leader, with an emphasis on gender issues. She loves cooking local foods like fufu with fish and light soup, pre and post marital counseling as well as general counseling , and praying.