Celestial Church gets Pentecost early

Not Pentecostal fire

I was reading the Evening Standard yesterday and in the News in Brief section there was the news piece - East London church gutted by fire - the unfortunate event took place in Poplar where 40 firefighters fought the blaze and brought it under control.

(I could not obtain a link to the electronic version but the London Fire Brigade does report a church fire in the area.)

Somehow, I subconsciously took exception to the adjective used to describe the church, it was termed Evangelical, one suddenly realized I had been conditioned to assume everything evangelical is closer to the Christian right and charismatic circles that take on the "Born Again" epithet.

A sect so vibrant

Having this used to describe the Celestial Church of Christ can be termed a bit of a misnomer; I have however seen it better described as a sect.

Now, before the whole church hierarchy from laity to the Assistant Deputy Vice Supreme Superior Senior Evangelist descends on that last comment, a sect is simply - a group adhering to a distinctive doctrine or to a leader - according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary - Cele as they are known in Nigerian parlance does have distinctive doctrines, and that should suffice for all objectivity.

It would however appear that the church has suffered a number of fires all around the world, one in New York was attributed to an electrical fault.

The office of the prophetess must be in abeyance for these events to occur without premonition and precaution.

Incandescent Candles

Beyond that, one would not be surprised if certain fires have not been as a result of the careless handling of naked candle flames; the church literally sustains the candle industry wherever it thrives.

At times I am enthralled by church uniform which when worn is supposed to give you spiritual shoes; well, you have to be bare-footed to wear the holy garments which have colourful girdles depending on your ranking in the church. I have always wondered if these spiritual shoes are wearable in Northern Hemisphere winters - there is no telling, when in regalia, the impossible can be done, miracles might require some grand inferno of candle light pyrotechnics.

My commiserations on the total destruction by fire of the church; like the Yoruba would say, it offers the opportunity to build something bigger and better.

Seven Hallelujahs to the four corners of the world.