Kunle Adelabu & Mariam Akinloye
Chieftains and members of The African Church Bethel Cathedral Ikorodu, have stated that the significance of the 120th anniversary celebration of the Church is to give thanks to God for bringing the Church this far and remember the efforts of its founding father.
The Cathedral Warden (leader of the congregation), other principal officers and members of the church spoke with THE IMPACT during the anniversary’s awareness rally on Saturday.
Engr. Sunday Adesanya Oshin, Cathedral Warden, said that the celebration is to remember and celebrate the achievements of the church through the efforts of its founding father.
“Today, we are commencing the 120th anniversary celebration of The African Church Bethel Cathedral Ikorodu. We are celebrating the achievements of our forefathers and the good things that the Church has achieved, as well as charting another chapter to sustain the good work.
“It was an avenue to appreciate God for our existence, impacts and good health.
“The Church started from Obun – Oke and the first service was held on the 11th day of December, 1904, beside the Shitta family house. From there, we moved to Ita – Olu and from there to Aga”, he said.
In his message to the Church, the cathedral warden said:
“My message is simple; I pray that the Church should continue to grow and its members too” .
The Cathedral Provost, The African Church Bethel Cathedral, Ikorodu, Ven. G.F. Babatunde, in his own submission, said that the church is thanking God, and reflecting on the journey so far, its present state and charting a new course of action for the future.
The Cathedral Provost, The African Church Bethel Cathedral, Ikorodu, Ven. G.F. Babatunde, in his own submission, said that the church is thanking God, and reflecting on the journey so far, its present state and charting a new course of action for the future.
“The significance is to show appreciation to God, and to reflect on where we started; where we are and where we are going. To the glory of God, the grace of God has been manifesting in the Church of God and we are really appreciative of God.
“We thank God for His work over the Church”, he said.
Mr Adelabu Olumide, the Choir Master of The African Church Bethel Cathedral, Ikorodu and former Cathedral Secretary, also speaking, said:
“We give glory to God Almighty for today. 120 years ago, our Church was established by our forefathers when they left C.M.S Church on December 11, 1904.
“As you can see, we are kick-starting the celebration with this walk for fitness. We give God the glory for what we have been able to achieve in 120 years.
“I salute the courage and vision of our founders for critically examining the situation and decided to establish the church”, he said.
In his own message to the Church, Adelabu said:
“This is a new chapter in the life of our Church, my message is that we should continue to co – exist in love, peace and harmony and it is only through that, that we can celebrate more years in good faith and good health”.
Barr. Olajide Abiodun, Secretary, 120 Years Anniversary Planning Committee, described the celebration as a milestone and an avenue for the Church to identify with its host community.
“This is another opportunity for the Church to lay another milestone. In fact, when we celebrated the 100 years of the Church, we marked it with something significant and for the 120 years anniversary, we are planning to do something better.
“It is generally to show general gratefulness to God. It is to show to our host community that we have been in existence for the past 120 years and God has been faithful to us, and also give back to the community to let the people know that we identify with them.
“Apart from that, we also did some other projects that involved community intervention as well. We did water borehole, improved on the scholarship being awarded and we are also looking at other initiatives that would benefit our young ones in the Church.
“Basically, the celebration is just to thank God as a Church as well as a Cathedral “, he said.
In his own message, Barr. Abiodun charged on the need for the Church to continue to give back.
“My message to the Church is that we should continue giving, because, the more that we give, the more that we will receive. Aside that, we should continue to preach the gospel of God”.
Prince Adekunle Eniola Bada, The Cathedral Provost Warden, said that the 120th anniversary celebration will further afford the Church the opportunity to continue propagating the gospel of Christ.
“First and foremost, we are using the celebration to project Christ and evangelise his gospel to the people.
“The celebration is also to bring the Ikorodu people together and celebrate the anniversary as one of the indigenous Churches, and also make the Church to grow for the betterment of the congregation”, he said.
He charged that people should continue to contribute to the development of the Church.
Former Secretary of the Cathedral Vestry, Ms. Adelabu Adenike Kehinde, also speaking said:
“This is a journey many of us didn’t start, but through history, we learnt about the work of our forefathers and that the church started 120 years ago and all about the good foundation that they laid and which we have built on.
“The significance of the celebration is to celebrate the beginning of the church; the works of our forefathers who had long gone, and give thanks to God.
“It is also to thank God and hope for a better tomorrow and more celebrations ahead”, she said.
Also in her message, she said:
“My message to the youths as one of the awardees for the role model for the church, is to charge them to continue to work for the church.
