“Dear bereaved family, widow, you have lost your loved one, a man you affectionately called ‘Nana’. He cannot answer our call at this moment. Dear members of the Patase Congregation, your Shepherd is gone! But we have hope in our Lord who has called us out of love into this fellowship, Jesus Christ who laid down His life for us as a gift for our salvation and suffered for us. He called His servant and established him in the priestly ministry, and what is heartwarming is that the late Shepherd Obeng Rudolph remained faithful until his demise”. The opening address by Apostle Amos Osei-Du when he conducted a burial service for the late Shepherd Obeng Rudolf, the Rector of Patase Congregation in the Kumasi Apostle area, on 23rd October 2021.

The bible text for the service was read from John 15:1 -5 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Jesus, The True Vine
Apostle Amos Osei Du explained that no branch can bear fruit if it is not connected to the vine. He was thankful that the late Shepherd Obeng Rudolf remained connected to the Lord and served Him to the end. He eulogized the late Shepherd as a man of humility who did not consider himself older than his fellow ministers but was always ready and available to serve. “He was one of the pioneers who joined the first brothers and sisters in the first divine service that commissioned the then-new Kumasi Central Chapel. He was due for retirement but he requested to serve till his strength could no longer permit him. No wonder his words on the way to the hospital were “Oh Lord, receive my soul”. The late Shepherd brought his ministry to a good end. Blessed be the Lord for helping his servant “

Remain with the Lord!
 “To bear much fruit, we will remain united with Christ,” the Apostle explained that to remain connected to the true vine, let us plead the Lord to strengthen us so that no wind of evil carries us away from the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us live in love and humility with our faith strongly built on Jesus Christ. We brought nothing into the world and will take nothing away. Let us, therefore, walk circumspectly and hold on to the banner of our faith and remain with our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Let love lead…
“Beloved, let us continue to let the love for God and our neighbour reign in our lives and live in peace with all. We shall be called faithful servants if we remain in love for we shall be called the children of God if we abide in love. If we live in the love of God and love our neighbour, it will end well with us. Shepherd has ended his journey, how will ours end?” the Apostle asked

He concluded by saying that “Satan - the adversary is not happy that we remain branches that are connected to the true vine –  Jesus Christ. His agenda is to destroy us but the Lord loves us and shall remain with us and strengthen us with the truth. Let us remain humble in love and when our Lord appears, we will be received as faithful servants”.

The late Shepherd Obeng Rudolf left behind a wife and five children. He was 70.