Babalola Seyi
The Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church, formerly known as Latter Rain Assembly , Pastor Tunde Bakare , has said he is not prepared to open his church yet at the risk of putting the lives of his congregants in danger of contracting coronavirus .
Bakare , who insisted that it was not yet time to open places of worship , said he was sorry for the country as some Christian and Muslim clerics were putting pressure on the government to open worship centres .
In a sermon titled, ‘ You are free to dream again , ’ which he delivered on Saturday and was posted on Youtube , Bakare wondered if the religious leaders pilling pressure on the government to open worship centres were planning to take people to the graveyards .
Bakare said , “ I ’ m so sorry for our country at this juncture ; I ’ m so sorry that we are pressurising the government to open churches and to open mosques; you want calamity upon calamity.
The church has not been closed ; nobody can close the church .
“Yes , it is true that buildings are closed but the church is marching on . No one can close the church . And government can shut down the buildings; they cannot force us to go back because I ’ m not going to endanger the lives of our people. ”
Comparing the coronavirus pandemic with the biblical story of Noah and the flood , Bakare added , “Noah did not jump out of the ark ; he sent the raven first to test the ground.
The raven never returned . He sent the duck twice; on the third occasion , it did not return . He knew it was safe to go out but he still stayed there until God said , ‘ Noah , come out !’
“He ( God ) locked him in and He brought him out. Let ’ s be patient . And they now want to start carrying people to their gravesides and be praying for their families . Let ’ s stay within until that time when the calamity is over . ”
