It was a great delight at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Enugu Sunday when the wife of the Enugu State governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi, broke the social barriers and danced with rural women who gathered at the Cathedral during a four-day retreat for women in Enugu Province of the Anglican communion.
Apart from dancing with the women, she also took the second lesson of the service and preached to the women, admonishing them to have absolute faith in God who would never fail them.
The Arch Bishop of the diocese, Most Rev. Emmanuel Olisa Chukwuma and his wife Dr. Mrs. Joyce Chukwuma were so excited, saying that this is the first time the state governor’s wife was attending such women’s annual retreat since their assumption of office in the diocese of
Enugu.
According to the Arch Bishop’s wife, “I can now confidently go and boast before the other bishops’ wives from other states that after-all, we have a mama in Enugu State”.
During the service, Mrs. Ugwuanyi read the second/new testament reading, while the Bishop’s wife read the old/first lesson.
In her address, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi encouraged the women, especially those from the rural area to always command the morning every day they wake up from their sleep. She assured them that God answers prayers and therefore that none of them will borrow or beg for bread as the Almighty God will surely meet all their needs.
In the annual programme which brings all the women from the rural side of the diocese, especially the rural part of Nkanu like, Akpugo, Amagunze, Ugbawka, Nara, Nkerefi, etc, the women could not hide their excitement when His Grace asked them to come and dance for Her Excellency. It was dramatic when the first lady quickly led in the dance.
Earlier in his sermon, during the church service, the Arch Bishop of Anglican Communion Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Chukwuma, speaking on the theme of the convention “Dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High God,” noted that for them to dwell in the secret place of God, they must be ready to obey God’s instructions and possess certain qualities that will enable them see God on the last day which include a holy life, putting on decent wears, loving one another, and being elevated in praise of God Almighty.
Bishop Chukwuma maintained that when one dwells in the secret place of the most high God, the expectation is that he must enjoy progress and protection from God. He emphasized that they must put on the whole amour of God that would be a guard against thinking about evil.
The wife of the Arch Bishop, Mrs. Joyce Chukwuma, in her brief remark, explained that the annual convention is held to dedicate women to the service of God. She expressed happiness that the wife of the governor honored their invitation and noted that the Anglican women in Enugu Diocese would continue to support the administration of Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. She used the medium to thank the governor, for asphalting the road which led to the Bishop’s court in Nawfia street, Independence layout, Enugu.
Those who accompanied the Governor’s wife, among others, was the Commissioner for Gender Affairs, Princess Peace Nnaji.
