The Pentecostal Assemblies of the World International, 34 Episcopal Diocese Sierra Leone District Council, has received Bishop Mona Reide, as the first Diocesan Bishop after a very long break. The consecration and convocation ceremony took place at the Faith in Christ Church, Lower Allentown, east of Freetown.
The 34 Episcopal Diocese Sierra Leone District Council has been in existence since 1972, but has been without a substantive Bishop for over 11 years, Bishop Reide said in an interview before she was officially designated in her new role.
She explained that it would be insignificant to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ without attending to the needs of the people. Thus, she noted that the team that accompanied her from the U.S. comprised of medical doctors who offered a free medical screening for members of the church and those they evangelized.
Bishop Reide added that the team also brought along a consignment of school supplies for the children, used clothing and other materials to be distributed among the members of the church.
She said they currently have three primary schools and one secondary school that have started giving free lunch to the pupils and that plans were on the way to initiate technical training and further improve on the education aspect of the church in order to make the youth employable not only in the Dioceses but across the country.
Ministering on the theme: ‘The vision is coming to pass’ the Presiding Bishop of Pentecostal Assemblies of The World Inc. Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, noted that it was “New day for the church and a day for Sierra Leone and history has been made after a very long time.” This, he said, was because for a very long time, the Sierra Leone District Council had no leadership.
He promised to mobilize resources to support transformation of the church development in Sierra Leone. He urged the congregation to work with the newly designated Bishop as head of the mission in Sierra Leone. Bishop Ellies told his congregation that as a former educator, the newly appointed Bishop Reide has so much to offer for the church in terms of leadership qualities.
Shortly after her consecration, Bishop Reide, in a similar manner, ordained several other pastors amidst cheering congregation. She said the pastors have proved diligent and worthy to be ordained as ministers of God.
She told the newly ordained pastors that before now there were no names of pastors from Sierra Leone at the Pentecostal International Episcopal Dioceses, but the ordination marks the beginning of a new era as the ordained pastors’ names were now fully registered internationally, and thus craved on their support for the work of God.