Of late many young people have been faced with challenges of making long lasting commitments to their loved ones by marrying in church. As a result, many are living a life of a couple that cannot religiously be held as one because the two have not committed to one another.
However born again churches have taken a unique development that will see many couples that have been cohabitating get married in church to break the jinx of committing that has been characterizing society today.
Ugandans now have a chance to witness or be part of mass weddings a trend begun by Omega Healing center in Najjanankumbi, a Kampala suburb.
Pastor Micheal Kyazze
The senior pastor Omega healing center, Pastor Micheal Kyazze says they got concerned that many youths have been living a life that is not blessed through cohabitation. Kyazze says that that creating opportunities like a mass wedding is one of the ways that would get youths to commit to their loved ones in a lasting union recognized by God.
“It’s difficult for the church to experience the blessing of God unless we build the marriage institution on the word of God” says pastor Kyazze.
He says that a survey conducted in his church on marital status in 2004 revealed that 60% of the church members who lived as man and wife had never married, 19% were legally married and 7% had lost a spouse. This prompted the church to organize a mass wedding on October 2004 where over 50 couples were joined in holy matrimony as man and wife.
Following the first response, over 70 couples were wedded on 15th July 2005 in another mass wedding organized by Omega Healing centre.
Many other churches have since taken over this initiative and have organized several mass weddings to enable couples sanctify their marriages.
Kyazze says that pastoring a church that is indulging in fornication and adultery is difficult because the people do not experience the blessings of God, which is why his church is committed to the idea of the Big One.
In mass wedding couples are required to finance their dressing and transport to the church where they are wedded and later treated to a grand reception at the church premises on top of enjoying other ultra care services that provided by the church and other organizing partners.
Kyazze says that on top of demisfying fears associated with the wedding ceremony like heavy financing and pomp among other factors the increase in covenanted marriages are key to the fight against HIV.AIDS since married people are committed to each other
Thus the idea of a mass wedding (the Big one) is to help couples that are cohabitating and are entangled with many financial obligations and cannot raise enough finances to have a descent marriage ceremony.
“We believe that sanctified marriage relationship is the key in the fight against HIV/AIDS. You cannot preach and minister to faithfulness unless people are committed to one another, commitment comes as a covenant,” Kyazze says.
Roger Mugisha, a partener in the organizing the “Big one ii” also a youth evangelist says that the event will open people’s eyes to marriage as one of the ways to guard against HIV/AIDS on top encouraging more young couples to commit to a blessed society.
The mass wedding is preceded with a pre launching events to raise awareness for that cause on the theme “love-the excellent way” focusing on the massage of abstinence and fidelity in the light of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the community today.
Lukyamuzi Moses, 28, a young Christian welcomes the development saying it’s a sure way of inspiring many young people who wish to show their commitment to light and perhaps ensuring that society stays in harmony.
“ If God wishes, I think I should be part of the next” Big One III”that will come some years later when I have found the right person to spend the rest of my life with,” says Lukaymuzi
Unlike in other Christian churches, born again churches are blessing the idea to strengthen their following whose majority worshipers are young people who still feel immature about making committing decisions especially on marriage.
The churches partner with various cooperate bodies to raise money to facilitate the successful organizing of the mass weddings. But many people still need to be told that such a mass wedding has and will provide them the same value and ideal as usual individual marriages, which many people view as a special day in the life of the two people being joined together in marriage.
By Jude Bukenya, Ultimate Media