By Monday Ameh
It was celebration galore at St. Matthew’s Parish Ushafa, Abuja on Sunday 24th September 2023 as Parishioners came out en masse in their beautiful native attires to mark the 2nd edition of the Feast/Cultural Day event with pomp and pageantry.
The colorful event began with an enculturation Mass officiated by the Auxillary Bishop, Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, His Lordship, Most Rev. Dr. Anselm Umoren (Msp) along with 10 other Priests.
In his homily, His Lordship highlighted the importance of our Culture and admonished that we should not neglect them but they should be harnessed for the unity, peace, and progress of our Church, society, and country.
Speaking further on the parable of workers in the vineyard in (Matthew 20:1-16), he urged all to appreciate and make good use of whatever God has blessed your culture with. Appreciate it without being envious of what the other has, this opens room for more blessings.”
Always be happy for others whom God has blessed differently, and always be contented with whatever one receives from God, for envy corrupts the mind, blinds one’s vision, and stops one from being thankful to God for everything, including the privilege of being alive.
”Envy is the symptom of lack of appreciation. If you find yourself in this situation, it is time to change and put your attention on what God has done for you.
“In life, we often want to have the life and blessings of others. We look out of the corner of our eyes and fail to see what God has done or doing for us. We envy for no good reason.
”However, when we are genuinely happy for others, it shows that we appreciate what God has blessed us with and how unique we are, or else, envy obstructs the flow of God’s grace to us,”
The Mass was garnished with culture all through; starting with the Entrance Procession with all Communities and St. Lawrence Usman Dam Chairmen in their beautiful cultural attires as they processed with the Officiating Bishop and Priest (s) with St. Patrick Edo/Delta Catholic Community cultural troupe doing what they know how to do best.
The Parish Choir were as usual at their best as they sang the Gloria sonorously as they switched over from one language to another while the congregation was all beaming with smiles and excitement as they also sang and danced along with the melodious song.
The 1st Reading of the day was read in Gbagyi Language by a Lector of Gbagyi origin, the Responsorial Psalm was beautifully chanted in Pidgin English, 2nd Reading was read in Yoruba Language, and the Gospel Acclamation was in Pidgin English.
The bringing in of the Book of the Gospel was led by Blessed Iwene Tansi Igbo Catholic Community with a Town Crier accompanied by the blazing of local flute and beating of the local gong.
The Choir rendered the Creed in the Hausa Language.
The Prayer of the Faithful was done in all the languages by the Representatives of the Communities and St. Lawrence Usman Dam Out-Station, while the Choir again sang the songs of each of the Community after each of the prayers.
The Zumunta Mata were simply in a world of their own during the Offertory with electrifying dancing steps and the icing on the cake was a captivating drama that the congregants were asking for more.
The Presentation of Gifts by all Community representatives was led by St. Augustine Tiv Catholic Community with the 2 earthen pots fire carried by two female dancers while all of them twisted and swung their bodies from one point to the other to such amazement. The gift Presentation was also uniquely done by all Community representatives who brought forth a gift that is peculiar to them which they took turns to introduce in English Language and then prayed for their land and member’s prosperity and bumper harvest now and the future to come.
The PROs were at their best too as all announcements were done in Pidgin English.
After the close of Mass, all Community and St. Lawrence Usman Dam Chairmen recessed with the Officiating Bishop and Priest (s) ably anchored by St. Clement Gbagyi Catholic Community.
In his welcome remarks during the reception, the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Peter Atsewe, who was full of joy, said he is thankful to God as this year’s event coincided with his 18th year Priestly anniversary, and that this event offers us the opportunity to celebrate our different cultures, a mark of our unity in diversity.
He quoted Antonio Guterres (the UN Secretary-General) who avers that “peace is needed in our society today more than ever before”.
It is only when a society experiences peace that it can make progress. Hence, the theme of this year’s Feast/Cultural Day celebration is “Culture as a Tool for Peace and Progress”. This theme is timely bearing in mind the turbulent times we are in as a Church and as a Nation at large ranging from ethnic crisis, to tribal bigotry, insecurity, and underdevelopment to mention but a few.
We know and believe that culture serves as a powerful force that brings people together and thus underpins social cohesion, peace, and progress.
Also in his address, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Comrade Monday Ameh, said the theme for this year’s event entitled CULTURE AS A TOOL FOR PEACE AND PROGRESS is very apt.
Nigeria according to him is no doubt endowed with a rich cultural heritage as can be seen in our mode of dressing, greetings, cooking, and dancing just to mention but a few.
The Catholic Church he noted is firmly grounded in culture and traditions as depicted in our mode of worship and its unrivaled universal uniformity.
Peace as we all know is priceless and without it, there can never be progress and development. We need peace in our marriages, homes, Churches, our country Nigeria, and indeed the entire world.
Comrade Ameh stated that the spate of insecurity in our country requires collective efforts even as he called on government and security agencies to up their game to restore peace across the nooks and crannies of the country as the primary purpose of government as contained in Section 14 (2) (b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended are the security and welfare of the people.
The occasion was used to confer the Excellence Service Award on the former Parish/Associate Priests for their contributions towards the development of the Parish and Outstanding Cultural Ambassador Award on deserving Parishioners, Friends of the Parish, and eminent Nigerians who have distinguished themselves in the service of God, nation building, the growth of the Church, society, advancement of humanity and promotion of our Cultural Heritage.
Speaking with our reporter, Barr. Dr. Jane Asagh, an Award recipient, appreciated Fr. Atsewe and the entire Parishioners for finding her and fellow Awardees worthy of this award. On her part, veteran broadcaster and reporter with the AIT, Angela Nkeoma Ijeoma Obasi, that she is humbled by the award which she dedicated to late High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, for providing her the platform to contribute her own quota towards nation building, while Catechist Matthias Zaki (rtd), was full of appreciation to the Parish Priest, the Planning Committee and Parishioners for recognizing his modest contributions towards the progress of the Parish.
Amongst the Awardees is; Bro. Peter Emmanuel Onoja (KSM), Adaora Onyechere, Rachel Obi, Mrs. Ngozi Angela Odidika, and Mr. Emmanuel Aondoakaa MFR, FCA just to mention a few.
Other activities to mark the auspicious occasion were the presentation of the Parish history and an ongoing documentary aimed at chronicling the history of St. Matthew’s Parish Ushafa from its very little beginning to the present time.
It is to be noted that the Feast of St. Matthew the Evangelist is every 21st of September.
This year’s event has come and gone but the sweet memories will remain indelible.
