Huambo – The Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA) Pastor Adelino Timóteo Mateus, on Sunday, highlighted the role of the family in the integral formation of the human being, through the observance of norms and values.
The religious, who was speaking during the thanksgiving service for the New Year, held in the temple of the Pastorate Academic Mission Headquarters of the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola (IECA), said that the family has a great importance in building a society with socially appropriate values and principles.
For this reason, Pastor Adelino Timóteo Mateus said that the family, being the fundamental nucleus of the organization of society and of the church in particular, must invoke and be, more and more, in the presence of God, in order to contribute to the integral education of its members.
He added that Christians must be models of moral, civic and cultural principles wherever they are, through evangelization on God's purpose with the family as the fundamental nucleus of society.
He stressed that the universal value of the family lies in the fact that it is the first agent of socialization where human beings learn to assimilate the first notions of life, hence the husband, as head of the home, must love his wife as Christ loved the church and the woman, in turn, remains submissive to her spouse.
He said that both husband and wife should accompany the process of growth of their children, thus contributing to the formation of a pure and virtuous character, since the Holy Bible advises parents not to provoke the anger of their children, who, in turn, have the responsibility to honor their parents if they want to have a long life on earth.
“It is important that we know that if families are not cohesive and in the presence of God, it will be difficult to have a strong church and a society of values and principles that guide the citizen to a life filled with love, respect and solidarity,” emphasized the pastor during the service that also served for the consecration of families and activities to be carried out throughout 2024.
The religious leader, who was speaking at a thanksgiving service, said that women have always played a fundamental role in the growth and development of societies, even taking on the role of mother and father at the same time in some families.
With five local synods: Bailundo, Caála, Dondi, Elende and Huambo, IECA has in this province 79 pastors, in a total of 122 pastorates, 1,187 congregations, 1,199 deacons and deaconesses, 1,187 catechists, in a universe of 215,614 faithful, with temples in all the municipalities of this part of the country.
He settled in Angola on November 11, 1880, through the missionaries of the American Board of Missions: Bagster, William Henry Sanders and Samuel Taylor Miller.
It was recognized by the Angolan Government on January 24, 1987, under Executive Decree No. 9/87 and under Registration No. 1, of October 24, 2005 of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. ALH/DOJ
