NO SINGING OF STRUGGLE SONGS IN JERICHO CHURCH

GEGE – Melika Jericho Church in Zion’s Bishop Khanyakwezwe Vilakati has warned members of the church against singing ‘ungodly’ songs during church services.

The bishop told members of the church that by ‘ungodly’ songs, he meant struggle and healing-related songs. “The angels of the church, which appeared to the founder Melika Gadlasenyama Vilakati appeared to me in a dream. I was standing in front of you singing a few songs before I sang amen. As the amen continued with other songs, the angels of the church told me to pay attention to some of the songs that you sing. I observed that some of the songs are ungodly. Some of the songs are associated with struggle while some are associated with your individual gifts. The angels were clear that such songs are not allowed in this church and should not be sung anymore,” he said.

The bishop mentioned a few lyrics of the ‘ungodly’ songs such as ‘dubula, madubula’ and ‘tsakatsa mawutsakatsa’. He urged the church leaders and the congregants present to warn members of the church against mixing ‘ungodly’ songs with the church. Vilakati further told the congregants about another dream he had before the ceremony. He said the founder of the church appeared to him in a dream along with a foreign child. According to the bishop, the child represented ambassadors, who represented their countries in Eswatini. The bishop stated that the founder then told him to design and include all flags of countries which had ambassadors to Eswatini in one big flag and place it at the entrance of the church. “As you can see the flag outside, it has been designed for peace.  Ambassadors to Eswatini should live in peace and harmony with emaSwati,” he said.

The bishop issued the warning and shared his dreams at the time the congregants were eager to know the fate about the much anticipated cleansing ceremony at the sacred dam. Worth noting was that, the elder of the church, Jeremiah Vilakati, had told the congregants that the bishop would give them direction in relation to the cleansing ceremony. “As you know that I made it known during the Christmas service that the cleansing ceremony will remain suspended even this year due to COVID-19. We decided to meet church leaders for ordainment and other church related business as opposed to the cleansing ceremony. However, the sheep decided to follow their Shepherd because they want to be cleansed,” he said.

The bishop told the congregants that he understood them to be like cellphone batteries, which needed to be charged at all times as he mentioned during the Christmas service. He said in as much the church was not led by the flesh, they always took orders and abided by all laws put in place by government. “As I was confused on what to do about the cleansing ceremony when you came in numbers, the angels of the church provided a solution so that we cannot be seen as breaching the COVID-19 regulations. The angels stated that the sacred water was blessed. I wish people do not lose context of this. The angels said we can go for cleansing provided we form small groups and maintain social distancing before we get into the dam. We will bless the water and allow you to cleanse yourself as opposed to someone laying hands on you,” he said.

Containers

He said even a drop of water was enough to make a difference. He said the congregants could also fetch the water with the containers and take it home for cleansing. It should be noted that the bishop was hesitant of hosting the cleansing ceremony even though His Majesty King Mswati III had urged the nation to adapt to living with COVID-19 as there were not yet signs of it going anywhere. The King also urged the nation to learn from the recent Incwala Ceremony, which was held during the pandemic. The head of State stated that the event had proven that emaSwati could now host events with large gatherings as long as they adhered to COVID-19 put in place by the World Health Organisation.

The bishop then led the congregants to the sacred dam at a high pace. He ditched the public road and clear pathways and followed the stream leading to the sacred dam. The bishop cut across swamps and maize fields. Noted was that he spent some few minutes praying in almost all the swamps. Upon arrival at the sacred dam, the bishop blessed the water and allowed the congregants to cleanse themselves before he proceeded to the main dam, where he performed the church rituals. However, the bishop had no choice but to attend to some of the church members as they did not believe in entering the sacred dam without him and the church leaders laying hands on them.

The cleansing ceremony was attended by thousands of congregants. Some congregants came from South Africa. They stated that they would plead with the bishop to use other alternatives as opposed to turning them back without cleansing. The church members stated that the cleansing ceremony played a significant role in their lives. “Some have tried and failed to find jobs, marriages, peace, promotions among other things, but the cleansing has been able to break the barriers. They have been delivered from the forces of darkness and got what they asked from God who blessed the water,” said some women who came from South Africa.

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