Members of the Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, Ikeja, failed to show up on Sunday, May 28, following the firing of its presiding Chaplain, Venerable Femi Taiwo.
PUNCH reports that the church was a shadow of itself.
It was observed that the chapel was sparsely filled as the service, which usually ended around 1pm, was brought to a close at 11.30am.
Of the 30 church members that were supposed to be part of the birthday thanksgiving service for the month of May, only nine were present.
From the prayer session, led by the Chaplain, Very Rev. Ayo Oyadotun, to the choir ministration, the general theme was overcoming difficult times and fighting forces seeking to scatter the church.
Recall that Venerable Femi Taiwo, was sacked by the Governing Council of the church allegedly on the orders of the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode “disrespecting” Ambode’s wife, Bolanle.
Taiwo’s bishop at the African Church, Rt. Rev. Michael Adeyemi, said the church was embarrassed by the action of the Lagos first family.
He noted that Bolanle’s action, in particular, was ungodly and sacrilegious, adding that she must apologise for disrespecting a minister of God due to her ego.
It was observed that the incident had taken its toll on the chapel as most members were absent.
During a brief sermon, one of the church’s pastors, Deji Koko, who claimed to have fainted while ministering during a vigil at the chapel on Saturday, announced a 14-day prayer campaign.
Koko urged the congregation to always pray for their pastors, saying the church was engaged in a battle.
He said, “We must pray. We first had a seven-day vigil and the devil struck back. It is when you hit the enemy that he fights back.
“We again declared a three-day vigil, which started on Wednesday. I was here (at the pulpit) when I suddenly fell. I heard Baba (pointing at one of the church’s elders) screaming.
“I didn’t know what was happening again. I was taken to the back.
“The Bible says smite the shepherd and the sheep will scatter. A shepherd has been struck, but thank God we have not scattered.”
He challenged the members to keep holding on to their faith, saying the church would emerge stronger in the end.
The name of the sacked presiding chaplain, Taiwo, which was on the programme booklet, was reporteldy blurred with a marker.
At the end of the service, the church announced that ‘registered’ members would have a meeting.
A source disclosed that the meeting bordered on resolving the crisis in the church.
It was also gathered that the governing council and the church’s committee had been under pressure from the state government to issue statements on the incident.
A member of the church said that the church spent about seven hours in another emergency meeting over the matter on Friday.
“They wrote down the names of some of the church members that could have possibly leaked the report to the press because the government was seriously embarrassed by the report,” the source said.
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