By Agnes Asiimwe
Aug 14 - 20, 2004
It has been named ‘the big one’ and the Pastor says it will be the biggest wedding ever in Uganda. Unlike Godfrey Binaisa’s mass wedding that was held via satellite, the couples at Omega Healing Centre, located in Zzana, Entebbe Road, will all be there in flesh and blood, on October 16. They will be made up by one saloon, it will be one reception, and they will cut the same cake. A survey carried out at the church revealed that only 19 percent of the church members were legally married, seven percent were widowed while the rest were living together (cohabiting) but not legally married. And that is just at Omega Healing Centre. “Stable families are the foundation of a stable nation. Unless homes are sorted out, we don’t have a nation, a church,” said the Pastor, Michael David Kyazze. Kyazze is not just a pastor, but a counsellor and a family rights activist as well. Of those tying the knot, only six will be newly weds. The rest have been cohabiting, with children. In an exclusive interview, Pastor Kyazze who will wed the couples said the idea was conceived in January. Binaisa’s marriage was just a coincidence. Many people have expressed doubts about Binaisa’s satellite marriage to Tomoko Yamamoto, with beliefs that Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church in Korea is only spreading his cult. And since a mass wedding is not a common concept here, many people may be hesitant to marry under such an arrangement. Kyazze gives the reasons for organising the ceremony. “It is to help the singles that have feared to marry because of costs attached and also to help the couples that have been cohabiting for various reasons to wed.” He added, “It is after such marriages that they will reap God’s favour and the blessedness of marriage as God intended it to be.” Kyazze said that marriage will enhance commitment, curb immorality and provide a legal ground for all couples to fight the social ills like inheritance battles. At one time, he had to wed a dying man, to save the woman from riotous in-laws, who wanted to take the property. The marriage he says saved her. But not everyone is happy with the big wedding. Although most of the women at the church are happy to take the opportunity to sanctify their marriages, some of the men aren’t exactly excited. Even though it’s a personal choice, men with several women are in a dilemma – and some are coming up with excuses to stay out. “Second wives, insecure partners have appeared at the church, wondering where the wedding will leave them, it has exposed a lot of infidelity. “We cannot have steady relationships unless there is a covenant behind it, women cannot be just sex tools,” said the pastor, who hopes to take his fight for family rights to a higher level by curbing down on infidelity to reduce HIV/Aids. All the necessities for the wedding are mainly being taken care of by the church. There are 1,200 invited guests. To reduce on the wedding entourage, there will be no bestmen or maids of honour. A saloon will be put up where they will all be made up and groomed. The couples are mainly dressing themselves up and for the brides, it doesn’t have to be a white gown. For that matter, last Sunday’s sermon was on fashion. “Clothes tell much about a person and even God is fashionable.” Quoting a verse, Genesis 3:20, Kyazze said God was the first to make leather outfits, when he made coats out of animal skin for Adam and Eve.
The pastor encouraged all couples not to withhold a marriage because of things like attire. With this background, the pastor invited Arapapa, a fashion house that also makes contemporary African designs to give the couples an alternative from western designs of a suit and a white gown. The designer, Santa Anzo, a born again Christian herself gave a brief testimony and said their designs are diverse and can be worn by anybody. The models were well covered and she confidently dispelled the stereotype that models don’t have to be half dressed. “Those designs are made by people who have run out of ideas,” she said. At the end of the service, many people crowded around Santa to ask about the designs, the prices and her business cards. And so Omega Healing Centre is trying to help its flock to put their marriages right; those co-habiting and those with financial difficulties. And because it is a huge event, not everything has been put in place. The pastor is still calling on anybody who can to help with the budget, for the success of this wedding. In the meantime, Uganda can look forward to one ceremonial wedding. |
© 2004 The Monitor Publications
ALL-NEW Yahoo! Messenger - all new features - even more fun!
