By Chidimma Okoye
The Survival Christ Holy Church (Zion City) Ogbunike, has commenced the celebration of the feast of Passover and unleavened bread done in memory of the deliverance and freedom God gave the children of Israel from the hand of the Egyptians as seen in Exodus 12:1-14, Deuteronomy 16:1-8 and also in memory of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as he was crucified the night preceding the commencement of the feast, in the Bible.
It features its 2026 theme as “Return to Yahweh for eternal salvation, else you will see damnation”.
The High Priest of the Church, Revd John-Ukwu Obi in his remarks said that it is an annual event done unto Yahweh to keep his biblical instructions in remembrance of his mighty acts of deliverance toward the children of Israel which he still do for his covenant children today.
According to him, the eating of the meat from the burnt offering at Pascal night which is served with bitter vegetable carefully eaten while avoiding the bones signify that none of Christ’s bones where broken on crucifixion.
Explaining further, Revd Obi said that Christ became the Pascal lamb that sealed the covenant of sacrifice and peace between God and his elect by the blood that he shed on the cross of Calvary.
The co-ordinator of the Feast, Pastor Ihemsinachukwu Maxwell said that the feast is a long time celebration that lasts for eight days with its programme of events featuring various teachings from the Bible, on health, from the catering department with lots of side attractions like drama, dance, lectures on interesting life topics and others, aimed at educating and enlightened members to make the families, Church and the society at large better.
He said that there will be Football Match and Traditional dance competitions where winners will go with trophy, prices and other gift items.
In her testimony, Pastor Mmasichukwu Omelusom said that in her family they usually do not exceed 35 years of age, when the cycle of death got to her own turn, health complications of Surgeries and later on, kidney issues that led to dialysis struck which took her to hospitals for help. But during 2025 feast, God miraculously healed and made her whole putting an end to that calamity.
Pastor Chinaemelum Ubakamma in his teaching asked the congregation to always wait on the promise of God, that though it tarries, that it will surely come to pass bearing in mind that God’s timing is different from the timing of man.
He stressed that waiting on the Lord entails patience, faith and trusting God enough that he will keep his promises disregarding distractions that come as temptations.
Groups in the Church’s catering department taught the congregation how to cook various Igbo traditional delicacies such as Okpa, Moi-Moi, Igba Ogede, Mbieri, Fio-Fio, fruits salad, vegetable salad and so on, to encourage people to go back and embrace more of traditional dishes than the reigning artificial foods filled with chemicals such as preservatives, sweeteners, colourants, and artificial spices to prevent some prevalent sicknesses and diseases in the society today or reduce them.
The feast also featured street procession with musical display of praise and worship songs to create awareness to the public that the Feast is ongoing.
Side Attractions includes: March past, Debate, Drama, Dance entertainments were displayed by various groups of the church as part of the feast.
Chidimma is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State
