Presbyterian Church celebrates Mary Slessor

BY NSEOBONG DAVID

The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria is set to  mark the centenary celebration of the Late  Mary Slessor who is known to be the missionary that brought the Church of Scotland to Nigeria which was later named The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria.

According to information made available by Rev. (Dr.) Moses Edem who is the Synod moderator of Akwa Synod, the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria in a media chat with journalists last week, the theme of the Centenary Celebration is “SACRIFICE OF LOVE.”

Rev. Edem said that the event will be flagged off with a carnival float today (13th January 2015) between Akwa Ibom and Cross River State to Okoyong in Cross River State (where Mary Slessor got her Chieftaincy title as the “White Queen of Okoyong”) for the ground-breaking ceremony and on the 14th of January, some white men would come in to inspect projects which are built to commemorate the Scotland lady while the grande finale and thanksgiving ceremony would take place at the Duke Town Parish of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria in Calabar on Sunday, 18th January, 2015.

Mary Mitchell Slessor was born in 1846 at Gilcomston, Aberdeen, Scotland.  In 1859 she began work at Textile Factory at Dundee.  In 1876, she was appointed by Mission Board, United Presbyterian Church, Edinburg to Calabar.  In order to serve humanity, she came to Africa at the age of 28, defied marriage despite the fact that she was engaged; she broke up the engagement and came to serve humanity in Africa.  She landed in Calabar to begin her missionary work.  She was made in charge of Scotland Mission at Old Town where she fought against the killing of twins; she granted jurisdiction to cases that in a typical African culture should have amounted to killing, built churches and established schools which led to the emergence of civilization in the area.

Amidst all odds, Mary Slessor persisted and worked hard to ensure that slavery was stopped in Africa.  She died on 13th January 1915 at the age of 69 in Use Ikot Oku, Akwa Ibom State where Mary Slessor Cairn is located and was buried in Calabar.

To this end, the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria has decided to make alive the deeds of Mary Slessor by setting aside this period to celebrate her legacies after one hundred years of her death.

Responding to questions from journalists on whether there are still people who are still reaching out to positively affect lives like Late Mary Slessor, Rev. Moses Edem said that Her Excellency, Mrs. Ekaette Unoma Godswill Akpabio has emulated Mary Slessor through her several philanthropic activities which include rehabilitation of abandoned children and building houses for widows.  He added that in order to immortalize the Late Mary Slessor globally, the British government has used her face on their 10 pound note; and in Nigeria there is a “Mary Slessor Centre” at Okoyong and her beautiful tombstone which serve as tourist attraction.

Rev. Edem expressed belief that Her Excellency who is incidentally a twin, would lay the ground-breaking ceremony today (13th January, 2015) at Okoyong where Mary Slessor got her Chieftaincy title as “White Queen of Okoyong.”

He called on individuals to emulate the Late Mary Slessor by engaging in philanthropic activities that would leave a legacy for their generations.