Father Francis Kwane Anane is one of three missionary priests from Techiman Diocese in central Ghana presently serving in Iowa. Appointed pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas, Webster City and St. Mary's, Williams in August 2021, his powerful faith in both God and people has endeared him wherever he goes.  Along with two fellow Ghanan priests from Des Moines, Anane will lead an evening of spiritual renewal, punctuated with lively music and singing on New Year's Eve at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Webster City.

Looking for more than a champagne toast or watching the count down in New York’s Times Square this New Year’s Eve? Once again this year you have a compelling alternative in Webster City.

It’s Cross Over, and it promises to be an event you’ll never forget.

What is Cross Over?

“Very simply, it’s a prayerful journey into the new year,” Father Francis Anane, pastor of Webster City’s St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, explained.

First and foremost, Cross Over is an inward-looking examination of the quality of your spiritual life. You’ll reflect on 2024, both your successes and failures, and look ahead to specific ways you can be a better person in the new year.

This year’s theme is “Crossing over with Jesus into 2025.”

Catholics will recognize elements of the program, including exposition of the blessed sacrament and penance. There will also be prayer, singing, a benediction and a ceremony welcoming the new year, but Anane stresses “there will be no Mass, so this program will be beneficial to everyone, regardless of their religious beliefs.”

Music will be a very special feature of this year’s Cross Over. Anane has pulled out the stops to recreate the authentically joyous atmosphere of a Ghanan Cross Over. He’s invited two other Ghanan priests, both from Des Moines.

“One will be on keyboard; the other will play an African-style drum,” Anane said. “In Ghana, we call these drums ‘donno.’ You hold it under your arm and beat it with a stick.”

Most Americans will not have seen — nor heard — a donno. Known in Ghana as “the talking drum,” it’s a two-headed, hour-glass-shaped drum with the membranes joined by strings. The player changes the pitch of the drum beat by squeezing or releasing these strings with his arm.

Anane, with a big smile lighting his face, said: “When African people gather to celebrate, you can count on good music, good food, dancing and joy.”

A midnight buffet luncheon will be served to all attendees, which is a symbolic “first breaking of bread” for the new year.

The origins of Cross Over are various, and cross-cultural. It may have begun with John Wesley, founder of Methodism, who started what he called Watch Night, an evening of taking stock of the previous year, and vowing to improve one’s spiritual life in the year ahead.

Cross Over has special meaning to African-Americans. In the south, before the Civil War, a slave owner’s debts typically came due on December 31 and, if necessary, he sold slaves to pay those debts. It was a frightful night for slave families who feared being broken up by sale of one or more of their relatives. They prayed incessantly, asking God for a safe “crossing over.”

Similarly, on January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the United States. There are historical accounts of slaves sitting up all night on New Year’s Eve, 1862, waiting for the dawn of their freedom — the most significant crossing-over of their lives.

Ghana, and other countries in Africa, are the modern-day epicenter of Cross Over, though it’s now catching on worldwide. Anane remembers 10,000 people at one particular Cross Over.

“No church could hold them, so a stadium was used instead. Cross Over is so attractive; it’s a crowd-pulling kind of event. Everyone wants to be there to begin the year on a high note.”

Cross Over 2025 begins at 10 p.m. Tuesday, December 31, and will conclude at 12:30 a.m., which is, of course, just after midnight. It all takes place at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 1000 Des Moines Street, Webster City. There is no charge to attend, and everyone is welcome.