Hundreds of public servants, retirees and other categories of residents of Osun State trooped to the Winners Chapel, Osogbo, on Sunday to partake of the food aid sent to the state by the Presiding Bishop of the church, Bishop David Oyedepo.
The State Pastor of the church, Pastor Olumuyiwa Emmanuel, had on Wednesday announced, during the mid week service, that the truck loads of the food donation had arrived for distribution. He directed them to invite their friends and neighbours, irrespective of their religious affiliations.
He said the food stuffs were sent to assist workers and others cope with the hardship caused by non-payment of salaries.
The pastor said, “The church has been blessed to be a blessing to others. Irrespective of their religious affiliations, we are blessed to affect the lives of others positively.
“That is the reason why the church has been giving to the less privileged ones. We have been distributing food items to members and non members. The church also distributed food stuffs last month.
“God does not bless people so that they can be a container, he blesses people so that they can bless others and all of us must be doing that.
“Rather than acquisition of wealth, we should cultivate the habit of giving to those around us, and in return we would receive more blessings from God.”
Emmanuel announced after the second service that anyone interested in being a partaker of the largesse should wait.
The pastor also announced that there would be free medical treatment for all manner of ailments and diseases next Sunday, while urging church members to invite anyone they knew that needed medical attention to come and benefit from the free services.
Few minutes after that announcement, there was a long queue of intending beneficiaries waiting patiently for the distribution of the food.
Those on the queues were given rice, packets of tomato paste and vegetable oil and some parents and their children queued separately in order to increase their rations.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the church for the largesse, saying the nation would be a better place if religious organisations, corporate organisations and individuals started considering the less privileged ones.
The church had on June 14 doled out food and financial aid to workers and others who needed their largesse.
The Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the state, Rev. Elisha Ogundiya, after this, also advised churches in the state to begin to donate food stuffs to workers to assist them cope with the hardship caused by the nonpayment of their salaries for months.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Osun State, Mr. Jacob Adekomi, also said in June that labour unions in the state would soon approach wealthy Nigerians to ask them to donate food to their members.
Photos: Olufemi Makinde