Friends, family members and business associates were last Sunday, disappointed, as the wedding between Mr. Israel Kennedy and Miss Rose, which was scheduled to hold at an Assemblies of God Church in Aba, was cancelled by the church. The wedding which was billed to take place at Assemblies of God Church located at No. 15B Ikot Ekpene road ,Aba in Abia State was cancelled by the Church board after finding out that the- bride-to be, Miss Rose, was already pregnant for her husband-to-be, Israel. And in line with the age-long policy of the church, the wedding was cancelled, sending the couple and their well wishers into confusion and heart break.
It was gathered that the pregnancy test was conducted a few hours to the wedding, which showed that the results were positive, confirming that the girl was already some months pregnant. The outcome of the test, according to a church source, prompted the leaders of the religious body to invoke the laws of the church, cancelling the wedding. The husband and wife were subsequently suspended from being the members of the church until they serve out their suspension terms, in accordance with the bylaws of Assemblies of God.
But many friends and business associates, especially those of other church denominations, did not receive the news with gladness as they criticized the church for taking the “punitive measure”. According to them, since the two persons had already satisfied all traditional demands which made them husband and wife, they were free to have sex and produce children without any law holding their acts abominable.
The friends who said they came from far and near to celebrate with Mr. Israel Kennedy, advised him to change his base of worship to another church in protest against the “disgrace”. However, most members of the Assemblies of God Church who spoke on the matter, have made it clear that the bylaw is well known and interpreted to every member of the church which he or she should abide with. But the dramatic aspect of the story is that the couple managed to console themselves, by holding a low key reception in their resident, to ‘recover’ part of their expenses.
