By Emily Setona
QWQWA – Office of the Executive Mayor for Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality (TMDM) executive mayor Conny Msibi accompanied by mayoral committee member, municipal manager Takatso Lebenya and TMDM staff held ‘7 words of the cross’ at Charles Mopeli Stadium Namahadi Thusong service centre on March 25.
According to Msibi the purpose of the event was to restore the role of churches in community development by offering a platform to pastors and congregation that were present on how they can get their churches to become a centre of community development.
“The primary purpose of this prayer meeting is to restore the role of churches in our communities. We also use this event to open the holy week as we prepare for the Easter holidays to spend time with family and to thinks about the death of Jesus Christ and what it means in our lives,” Msibi said when addressing the crowd.
Youth In Action (YIA)’s Mandla Mthembu who has also joined the prayer said the event is an annual prayer meeting to help churches to interact with the community and prepare for the Easter weekend.
“Churches need to play a pivotal role in creating healthy environments where the mental health of individuals is prioritized. This can be done when churches contribute to helping orphans, widows and providing needy people in the community with food, clothes, and engagement activities to promote a safe place where families can have fun and express themselves,” Mthembu said in an interview with this publication.
Thabo Mofutsanyana district municipality executive mayor Conny Msibi leading prayer ahead of Good Friday.
The second segment of this prayer meeting saw seven ministers from different churches and denominations remind the crowd gathered at the centre about the death of Jesus Christ and the seven words of Jesus on the cross are as follows; ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ from Luke 23:34, ‘Today shalt thou be with me in paradise’ from Luke 23:43; ‘Woman, behold they son! … Behold thy mother!’ from John 19:26-27, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ from Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34, ‘I thirst’ from John 19:28, ‘It is finished’ from John 19:30, and ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit’ from Luke 23:46.
