Hundreds of public servants, retirees
and other categories of residents of Osun State trooped to the Winners
Chapel, Osogbo, on Sunday to partake of the foodstuffs sent to the state
by the Presiding Bishop of the church, Bishop David Oyedepo.
The Osun State Pastor of the church,
Olumuyiwa Emmanuel, had on Wednesday announced during a midweek service
that truckloads of foodstuffs had arrived for distribution.
He directed members of the church to invite their friends and neighbours, irrespective of their religious affiliations.
Emmanuel said the foodstuffs were sent
to assist workers and others cope with the hardship caused by the
non-payment of salaries.
The pastor said, “The church has been
blessed to be a blessing to others. Irrespective of their religious
affiliations, we are blessed to affect the lives of others positively.
“That is the reason the church has been
giving to the less privileged ones. We have been distributing food items
to members and non-members. The church also distributed foodstuffs last
month.
“God does not bless people so that they
can be containers, he blesses people so that they can bless others and
all of us must be doing that.
“Rather than acquisition of wealth, we
should cultivate the habit of giving to those around us, and in return,
we would receive more blessings from God.”
Emmanuel announced after the second service that anyone interested in being a partaker of the largesse should wait.
The pastor also announced that there
would be free medical treatments for all kinds of ailments next Sunday
even as he urged members to invite anyone that needs medical attention
to come and benefit from the free services.
Few minutes after the announcement,
there was a long queue of intending beneficiaries waiting patiently for
the distribution of the foodstuffs.
Those on the queues were given rice,
packets of tomato paste and vegetable oil. Some parents and their
children queued separately in order to increase their rations.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed
gratitude to the church for the largesse, saying the nation would be a
better place if religious organisations, corporate organisations and
individuals started considering the less privileged ones.
It will be recalled that the church had on June 14, 2015 doled out foodstuffs and financial aid to workers and others in need.
The Chairman, Osun State chapter,
Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Elisha Ogundiya, had advised
churches in the state to begin to donate foodstuffs to workers to assist
them to cope with the hardship caused by the non-payment of their
salaries.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour
Congress in Osun State, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, also said in June that labour
unions in the state would soon approach wealthy Nigerians to ask them
to donate food to their members.
Punch
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