Okey Sampson, Aba
The story of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN), Ehere Parish, Aba.
Abia State, is likened to that of a motor boy (conductor) who rose later in life to own fleets of vehicles. Having started from the car garage of a member, Ehere parish has today blossomed meteorically into a model parish with a state of the art church building.
In 1994, the parish started as a Sunday school children’s department arm of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Ogbor Hill Parish, in the garage of one of the members of the church, Chief Onuoha Agwu, when Rev. Christian Umesi was the pastor.
As a result of the speedy growth in the number of congregants, a formal request was made to the leadership of the church in Nigeria for a piece of land to construct a Sunday school hall and the demand was expressly granted. The journey for the model parish began with that permission.
Having received the blessings of the leadership of the church, work began on the building and was completed the same year. Afterwards, a formal move for the outpost in Ehere, as it was then known, to be recognized as a parish started in earnest.
“In consonance with the Presbyterian practice, the various arms, the MCA, W/G, PYPAN and CGIT, were recognised and given semi-autonomy by the parent body at Ogbor Hill on September 10, 1995”, said a release by the church. On October 26, 1997, the church at Ehere became a full-fledged parish.
With full autonomy, in addition to numerical and economic growth, the hunger for expansion began and, in 2011, the idea for the then young parish to have a befitting church building began. By 2012, the then Prelate of the church, Dr. Mba Idika, had laid the foundation stone of the building, with the subsequent formation of a committee to oversee the construction of the church building, with Kalu Udo Kalu as chairman. By 2019, a modern building, which gave Ehere Presbyterian Church the “model parish” name, had sprouted like the Rock of Gibraltar, to God’s glory.
Pleased with the feat, the Prelate and Moderator of Presbyterian Church, Nigeria, Dr. Nzie Eke, recently was in Aba to dedicate the church building. An elated Eke said he was dedicating the building for the preaching of the gospel and conversion of sinners, the education of Christians in the knowledge of truth and for general activities of Christian life.
While cautioning that no discordant note of strife should be heard within the four walls of the building, he said, “This house has been built for the service of Almighty God; we shall now solemnly dedicate it to God to who be glory and majesty, dominion and power forever and ever.”
He prayed for God to, “Accept this house in His name and bless all who have planned and wrought and given of themselves and their substance for the building of this church.” The prelate ended by believing that those in sorrow and came to the house would find comfort.
A highlight was the unveiling of the plaque by the Prelate. Elder John
Esobe Kenneth was among those who received an award at the event, while
Kalu Aso of the Sun Newspapers was given special recognition.