Feast Day: Archbishop Ndagoso Lauds St Matthew’s Parish Cultural Day Celebration

…Says, Parish leads in connecting people with their cultures

By Frederick Peters, KADUNA.

NEWSDAILYNIGERIA: The Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, has on Sunday commended the cultural Day celebration of St Matthew’s Catholic Church, Television Kaduna, describing it as leading in uniting and connecting the people across tribes and cultures.

The event being part of activities to mark the Feast Day celebration of the parish, held from Wednesday- Sunday, featured special cultural displays and presentations by zones and cultural groups among others.

Speaking the Archbishop of Kaduna, Most Rev. Matthew Man- Oso Ndagoso, described the event as ” a wonderful thing and I have always cherished this kind of activities and off course all of these was organized to celebrate the feast of St Matthew’s which occurred last week the 21st of September,

,

” therefore the community has used it to bring them together, our Fathers in the faith, the Saints especially, the Apostles, they are the source of our meeting point and therefore, you can see what is happening here”

Ndagoso maintained that the celebration of the feast/ cultural Day has brought together people from different cultures, adding that ” in the Catholic church, we uphold tradition, off course because, we know that tradition is very dynamic, but we are going back to the root of our faith and so also

” the community has decided that, we also go back to the roots of our own traditional existence namely, that will come together and not forget our own culture and so the community has come from different communities; so it shows and tells us clearly that the different cultures, their diversity is not a curse, but a blessing” he added

According to him, ” All we need to do is to be able to harness these different gifts that God has given our country and we are the richer for it; so it’s a wonderful thing and I’m really happy and since morning I have been here and I am not tired simply because of what is happening here

” so I think it’s something to be encouraged, I am happy that St Matthew’s is one of the those parishes that has taken the lead in connecting the parishioners with their cultures ” he stated

He said most of the people here are not indigenes of the state but the event is uniting and connecting them together, simply because event of this nature, have self connected people with their cultures even though ” some who have being born here yet the know their cultures, even though they have not gone back home” so I think it’s something wonderful and need to be encouraged” he stressed.

Similarly, the Parish Priest of,St Matthew’s, Rev. Fr Dennis Hussaini. Dabo
Speaking on the visit and feast day celebration said, the event started from Wednesday to Sunday, with the Archbishop’s 2- day pastoral visit on saturday- sunday, ” the first, since I came to this very parish, where he administered the sacraments of matrimony, confirmation, first Holy communion, dedicated the parish new altar and also commissioned lectors”

” and today is the final day of the feast day and cultural day celebration of St Matthew’s parish, so all members of St Matthew’s parish, we have about 12 zones, so each zone was given a particular cultural dance and as you can see all of them are wearing their cultural attires to mark the feast of St Matthew’s and the cultural day of the parish”

He said ” the aim of doing this is nothing than to promote unity among us as a parish, pointing out that, the celebration over the years has strengthen the bond of unity, ” It has strengthen the unity among our parishioners because in every zone you see the combination of different tribes and different cultures and you see them working and doing things as one,

” unlike in the past, before the institution of the zones, every body was thinking about my tribe and my tribe, but today nobody is thinking about my tribe, all we know, we are now thinking about is my zone, our St Matthew’s as a parish, so honestly, it has helped to unite the parishioners” he added

On his part, the Parish Pastoral Council Chairman, Mr Silas Danladi Kure , while expressing gratitude to God Almighty, said ” I want to use this medium to thank his grace the Archbishop and Metropolitan Bishop of Kaduna, Most Rev Dr Matthew ManOso Ndagoso, the Parish priest Rev fr Denis Hussaini Dabo, His Assistant Rev fr Anthony Yero, the catetchist, Parish Pastoral council, the Planning committee of St Mathew’s feast/cultural Day and the entire parishioners of St Matthew’s Catholic church New Jerusalem Television Kaduna, for the success of the event”

According to him,” the weeklong program ended up successfully because 22 parishioners received the sacrement of confirmation, 42 received their first holy communion. 22 parishioners were commissioned as lectors apart from the 10 parishioners who received the sacrement of matrimony.

” To this end, the whole program ended up with a tremendous success and the aim of it was achieved, pointing further that, St Mathew community was healthy before, but now, it is more healthier spiritually than before.” he added.