Saint Joseph's Parish in Ghana
Our Lady of Grace began its relationship with St. Joseph’s Parish in 2003 when Pastor Robert Schwartz led a group there on a mission trip. Since that first trip, more than 50 Our Lady of Grace parishioners have visited our sister parish. Parishioners from Most Holy Trinity had begun visiting St. Joseph’s on mission trips in 2000, so when the parishes merged in 2011, it was only natural that the sister parish relationship continue.
Over the course of the sister parish relationship with St. Joseph, OLG parishioners have been nourished by the vibrant faith exhibited by our Ghanaian sisters and brothers. Members of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph have grown to understand that despite the different cultures, we share many common values based on our shared Roman Catholic faith. As we visited Mamponteng, Our Lady of Grace was able to meet some of the financial needs of the parish by working with our Ghanaian friends to improve their church, build a preschool, and complete other projects around the parish. During discussions with St. Joseph’s parish leaders, the need for a Catholic high school was identified as the area’s most urgent need and in 2011 major donors came forward to provide financing and guidance for this significant project. The new school, Our Lady of Grace Senior High School, Mamponteng was dedicated in 2013 and admitted its first class.
We annually support Our Lady of Grace Senior High School, Mamponteng with our RISE & SHINE Breakfast Scholarship program. Since our first breakfast in 2018, we have raised over $3,000,000 in scholarship donations.
"I was lucky enough to have traveled to our sister parish in Ghana with my daughter a few years ago and it turned out to be one of the most personally impactful things either one of us have been able to do. To see first hand the difference we as a community can make on a community 6,000 miles away was something I won’t forget."
- Scott Flaherty, OLG Parishioner
"Like those of us here in Edina and at OLG, our friends in Ghana have big dreams for themselves, their families, their communities, and their country. They dream big, and so do we, and I’m proud of our OLG family and how we have partnered, and continue to partner, to bring those dreams to life despite the distance between us."
- Kirk Grandstrand, OLG Parishioner