54-year old widow weds Jesus Christ. [Photo/jstor.org]
A 54-year-old widow from Mabungo village in Kisumu county, Irene Alembi Matete has surprised many after she wedded the love of her love, 'Jesus Crist of Nazareth'.
Matete had a traditional wedding in 1997 with Silas Atembi, who died in 2012. They were blessed with five children.
The widow was forced to go through this ceremony in order to pave way for her children who were planning to get married. She had not had a church wedding before.
The widow revealed that she had been forced to ‘wed the church or Jesus Christ’ so as to meet the set norms of her church and those of the Luhya community traditions.
Standing before 200 worshipers at the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) church in Maseno, the excited bride said, “I do” to her ‘husband’.
Presiding over the odd wedding, Pastor John Ngayi confirmed the call as authentic and hailed Matete for choosing God as her love.
“There were prayers and vows, there was a cake, and I also received lots of gifts which included utensils, furniture and money, guests were excited they ate, and prayed with me. What else does one require during their wedding?” she said.
She added: “Previously, I was despised by everybody. I could not participate in critical church events, especially weddings. I could not even be allowed to be an usher in a church wedding. It is now over.”
“For the respect of my children and because they to saw what we had gone through, I decided not to wed man but by Christ,” she said.
Matete also wanted to be elected as a church leader and according to the PAG church’s norms, one must have undergone a wedding ceremony for them to be elected to church leadership.