23 Sep 2015

Churches across denominations in Tutume gathered at the Magapatona kgotla over the weekend to witness the official opening of a new branch of the St John’s Faith Mission of Botswana.   

Speaking at the event themed ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’, Reverend Chandabona Pansiri said the objective of the ceremony was to thank all those who contributed towards the building of the church.  

 Rev. Pansiri said the building of the branch began in 2002 after the congregation had realised that the then existing structure had grown too small for the ever increasing flock.  

“At one point the project had to stall for some time due to lack of funds,” said the priest, adding that after reflections, they held concerts, dinners, and appealed for donations from church members, other branches and the business community to raise funds.   

Through the love of the Lord and a long time of struggle, the project was completed; hence the church decided to call people to come and witness their achievement and thanksgiving to God, said Rev Pansiri.  

The chairperson of Minister’s Fraternal in the Nkange area, Pastor Boss Sebeelo said all church members should be proud of themselves for achieving their goal of completing the church even after a long time.  

 He said they should never forget that the church is a house of God and only through Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a Holy temple in The Lord.   

Pastor Sebeelo said they should take care of the building knowing well that it is a place of worship and thus open at all times for people to feel free to use.  

 He said even if they continued to raise funds for the church they should do it accordingly with the fear of the Lord, adding that they should show their faith by doing the right thing for others.   

He added that it was the church’s responsibility to keep peace in the village and teach others what is good and bad in life.  

 He said that some churches acquired land rights but never developed the plots, which is a worrisome trend as some of the land ended up being used for other purposes.  

Pst Sebeelo encouraged the congregation to continue working together as a team in order to achieve all their goals and set a good example for other churches to follow, saying that they will receive more blessings from the Lord for taking care of their churches.  

 When performing the unveiling of the church building, the Deputy Archbishop Motshidi Keagile said he was honoured to have been part of such a memorial service and encouraged the audience to continue working together to ensure peace and love in the church.   

Archbishop Keagile encouraged them to keep praying so that their faith is not shaken by what happens around them, adding that he would also continue working with them to ensure that other branches got proper building structures to worship in. Ends