MCN, D-Line honours deserving mothers

As the world raises awareness on the need to end violence against women, the Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of D-Line, Port Harcourt honours deserving mothers.

The Church sees women as vessels of honour and not vessels to be subjected to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence. The Church calls on the Federal Government to do everything possible to end the menace.

The Church notes that the Federal Government cannot do it alone, and therefore calls on the States, the Local Government Councils, Traditional Societies and Religious bodies to rise up and spell out strategies to end violence against women.

“We should preach gender equality. Women should be empowered socially, economically and politically.”

The Church notes that in most parts of Nigeria, women are considered subordinate to their male counterparts. The general belief that women are best suited, as home-helpers should be disregarded. Time has come for everyone to support and fight for women’s rights.

However, women were made to know that their faithfulness at home and outside would be a stepping-stone to their upliftment and progress, both physically and spiritually (cf. Luke 16:10-12).

The Church believes that God created them male and female right from the beginning and blessed them both (Gen 27:28). “Woman is a precious creature with a divine responsibility and it must not be taken lightly at all.”

It was in the recognition of the treasures found in women and their contributions to the Church’s growth and service to God and humanity that the Church on November 25, 2018, decided to honour some of them with Susanna Wesley Award.

Susanna Wesley is commonly called the Mother of Methodism. This mother of mothers was born on January 20, 1669. She gave to the world two sons, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, who changed the face of Europe in the eighteenth century.

Susanna Wesley Award to deserving women in Methodist Church not only brings out Susanna’s decisive influence in the Christian nurture of her children, but also her creative role in the development of Methodism itself.

Methodists are proud to say of her, what St. Paul says of the New Jerusalem, that, “she is our mother.” Susanna’s life has been an inspiration in respect of leadership and ministry of Methodist women.

During the occasion, the awardees were charged to learn from Susanna Wesley, a woman, mother and a faithful wife who dared to preach without a pulpit to win souls in an era, when women were forbidden to openly share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the words of The Rev. Nsikak Ekpo, who put the Awardees through seminar before the Divine Service, “women should learn from Susanna, who preached first from her Jerusalem (family) and to the outermost part of the earth” (cf. Acts 1:8).

The Women’s Fellowship President of the Diocese, Etieka Ekaette Ekong called on the Awardees to be role models in the Church, the family and society.

Earlier in their seminar, they were asked to see themselves as teachers and guides. They were to give the younger ones faith for successful living, a disciplined life, spiritual knowledge and spirit of humble service. As Susanna Wesley, their words and actions must always have “a moral content.”

The mothers were asked to see the Award as a call to witness for Christ. As women of honour, they should strive for holiness and stand for what is right. They were made to know that success could only come with passionate commitment and radical obedience.
Contact: mcndioceseofdline@yahoo.com
ekongetim@gmail.com
08073138935

A CROSS SECTION OF SUSANNA WESLEY AWARDEES
WITH THE DIOCESAN BISHOP