1,455 Couples Attended Peace Blessing Festival In Benue State, Nigeria

Written by UPF-Africa

Friday, October 5, 2018

Benue State, Nigeria – As part of efforts to mark the 58th anniversary of Nigeria's independence, UPF Nigeria and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification held a celebration in Benue State to celebrate the Marriage and Family Peace Blessing Festivals in four participating regions. 1,455 couples participated to that Blessing Festivals from various congregations and were held in Ugbema, Mbagen and Agwabi in Burg county, Katsina Ala in Katsina county and Zaki Biam in Ukum county.

Participants were mobilized through partnerships with UPF Nigeria and chapters of the Christian Society of Nigeria. Volunteers went from house to house and church to church, handing out entry forms to qualified couples after a brief briefing.

In Ugbema Mbagen, Bishop Benjamin Mhen Hom of Christ Empire Church of God led other volunteers to mobilize community couples for the Peace Festival. Participating in previous festivals inspired him to insist on hosting a festival in his community. It was held in the main hall of the Church of Christ, with couples from different churches and affiliations. A total of 462 couples attended, following the keynote address on the Peace Blessing Festival, participating in the five foundational elements of the festival. At the closing ceremony, participants supported the Nigerian citizens' declaration of national dependence on God.

From the community of Ugbema, the Peace Blessing Festival team moved to Agwabi community in Buruku Local Governance area. The Agwabi Peace Blessing Festival on October 3 was held at the NKST Church in Agwab and was attended by 362 couples. Christian leaders of various churches in the region accepted the initiative as a grassroots peace-building strategy, so they mobilized their members to participate in the festival.

On October 4, 456 couples attended the Peace Blessing Festival at Zaki Biam, Ukum Local Governance Area, Benue State. The couples who attended renewed their commitment to each other to be married forever and thanked the UPF founder for blessing their marriage.The Zakivium festival was held at the NKST church, Couples from various churches and religious groups attended.

On October 5th, the team delivered a message of peace and blessings to two different churches. The first church was in Agwabi, and he needed 430 couples to declare the church a Peace Tribe, so 116 couples attended the celebration, making a total of 478 couples in Agwabi. From Agwabi the delegation returned to Katsina Ala to participate in another celebration of 59 couples.

In all the regions visited, the Peace Festival was warmly welcomed and past participants returned to testify of the positive impact the festival had on family lives and communities. It was an anniversary and a special commemoration of the Foundation to declare Nigeria to be a “God-dependent” nation by 2020. All the couples who attended supported a motion to declare Nigerians' dependence on God nationwide in 2020.

With the positive response from couples and community leaders, the Family Peace Blessing Festival will be expanded to other communities in Benue State and other states in Nigeria. During this time, a total of 1,455 couples attended the Blessing Celebrations held in Ugbema, Agwabi, Zaki Biam and Katsina Ala in Benue State.