By Chioma Ndife
The Laity Council, St. Paul’s Parish, Uga, has disclosed plans to equip the Laity Council Office in the Parish Secretariat and procure vehicle to help in easy in running of the affairs of the organization.
The council made the disclosure on Sunday, 13th October, through the address of welcome signed by the Laity Council Chairman of St. Paul’s Parish, Uga, Nze Nathaniel Umewenike, during the 2019 Laity Day Celebration of the parish.
The association, in the address, solicited for the sum of 2 million Naira to enable it achieve its goals of equipping the parish secretariat, procure vehicle, and carry out other projects.
They enumerated some of the challenges facing the council to include look-warm attitude of members towards the council’s activities and inappropriate conduct during Masses.
Umewenike noted that the celebration was geared at building the faith of the parishioners for the spiritual uplift of the parish Laity Council, especially the youths and Holy Childhood Association. He disclosed that the parish laity started its journey from the inception of the parish in 2004.
The laity, according to him, was an umbrella of the people which comprised CMO, CWO, CYON, Mary League, Holy Childhood, among other pious societies in the parish.
He highlighted some of the numerous achievements which the council had recorded in the parish, while reaffirming their total commitment to the parish affairs. He said the Church could not exist without the laity.
In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion, Nze Alex Umeasiegbu, emphasized the importance of the laity to the Church and called for more commitment towards the activities of the council among those who had been segregating themselves from the body. He commended the leadership of the laity council, saying that their activities had helped in the spiritual and physical growth of the Church.
Also speaking, the 1st Vice Chairman of the Parish Council, Chief Cyril Anolue, itemized the duties and responsibilities of the Laity Council to the Church, noting that the parish laity had lived up to her responsibilities.
For his part, the former 1st Vice Chairman of the Parish Council, Sir Joseph Chinedu Ifeonu, praised the effort of the Laity Council Chairman and executive over the manner they galvanized resources for the 2019 celebration. He maintained that the activities and actions of the laity council in the parish had brought positive changes and beckoned on them to carry on supporting the Church; a task he described as every parishioner’s responsibility.
The celebration which started with a Holy Mass led by the auxiliary Bishop of Awka Catholic Diocese, Most Rev. Jonas Benson Okoye, featured quiz, march past and fashion parade competitions among the zones in the parish. Zone 6 emerged the overall winner of the competition after coming first in both march past and fashion parade competitions.
