Over E130 000 raised at Evangelical fundraising dinner

“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”

MANZINI – The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) on Friday hosted a successful fundraising dinner.

The church has to raise ( for a EuildinJ loan. By the end of Friday eYeninJ they had already raised ( from (FTs (lec tronic Fund Transfers alone, Zhile the rest of the money Zas yet to Ee calculated. Man]ini (M& 3raise Team set the amEience in the church, Ey openinJ the eYent Zith their Eeautiful Yoices. Ne[t to perform Zas NdaZonye &hrist :orshippers, Zhich saZ the Juests standinJ up and sinJinJ in praise.

Prayer

The openinJ prayer Zas done Ey 3astor Ale[ MnJome]ulu, Zho is a senior pastor at F(A /uyenJo. The ne[t speaNer Zas 5eYerend Antony MatsenMZa Zho is a senior pastor at Man]ini (M&. +e shared the history of the church and the purpose of the eYent. ³The church

EuildinJ Zas officially opened Ey +is MaMesty .inJ MsZati ,,, on -uly , . ,t Zas financed throuJh offerinJs, fundraisinJ ac tiYities, donations and a EanN loan,” said the reYerend. +e Zent on to say that the consistent repayment of the EanN loan has Eeen one of the EiJJest challenJes the church faced durinJ the &29,' pandemic.

The eYent had Yarious distin Juished Juests liNe &ollen Malule Na 3astor of *oshen &ity &hurch in 6outh Africa, Zho is also a *ospel artist. +e Zas inYited on staJe to say a feZ remarNs he thanNed the church for the inYite, and made an announcement that he Zould con triEute ( .

Recording

+e added that he Zould return to (sZatini to do a liYe recordinJ of his fourth alEum on 2ctoEer Zith other 6outh African *ospel artists. +e then Elessed the Juests Zith a Eeautiful sonJ.

(lder of the church ,saac MaJaJula introduced former 3rime Minister 'r. A.T. 'lamini Zho Zas a Juest speaNer. The elder Zent on to share a Erief EacNJround aEout the former 3M. ³The A stands for Ama]inJ and the T stands for Terrific.” Ma JaJula also shared that 'lamini is a Jood hearted, philanthropist and a seasoned politician.

'r A.T 'lamini spoNe aEout the

Founder 5alph BoeJe, and Music ,n Africa 5eJional &oordinator ThaEiso Mohare, Zho all ErouJht their e[pert NnoZledJe to the taEle.

A rts 5ound TaEle sponsors FNB (s Zatini demonstrated their commitment to deYelopinJ the creatiYe industry in (sZatini and shared a presentation themed µ5ethinN

Platform

tThe ZorNshop achieYed Zhat it set out to do creatinJ a platform for cultural e[chanJe, international netZorNinJ, EuildinJ EridJes to e[port our local craft and much more. Much to the deliJht of our local artists Zho haYe shared positiYe feedEacN, there is neZ hope that has Eeen re iJnited to taNe their careers to neZ heiJhts. 3enny BouZer Zho Zas the coordinator said, ³,t Zas e[citinJ to see local industry players taNe adYantaJe of this opportunity and Ee free to conYerse and e[chanJe ideas Zith the (uropean deleJation. :e are on the riJht tracN to EuildinJ a sustainaEle future for the arts. :e are already in talNs to send a couple of our artists to (urope for per formances,” said the MTN Bushfire Arts 5ound TaEle &oordinator. A5M& is a neZ, dynamic industry focused music conference aimed at EridJinJ African and (uropean music industries and mar Nets Ey facilitatinJ an e[chanJe of Eest practices in the industry. MTN Bushfire and A5M& looN forZard to more mi ni sessions and suE ZorNshops in the Euild up to a EiJJer ZorNshop in . immense importance of the eYent and that the church needed assis tance.

³The money that Ze need to raise is a lot, its ( and eYeryone present here toniJht should contriE ute. These are your ElessinJs so eYen your petrol money should come out,” said the former 3M. Before he left the staJe he announced that he and his friends contriEuted ( .

Make .hanyile from *lory of the /ast 'ays fame JaYe a loYely spiritually upliftinJ performance and /inda 'lamini. 5eYerend. -.9 Ma]iEuNo preached the :ord of *od and encouraJed eYeryone JoinJ throuJh a darN time that they should EelieYe as the +oly 6pirit is consistently moYinJ an shininJ liJht in eYery situation.

At the end of the ceremony Ze cauJht up Zith 'r A.T 'lamini and asNed Zhat the cause meant to him and hoZ he felt he said ³This is somethinJ close to my heart and , can proudly say that the eYent Zas a success and that JiYes me Moy. ThinJs of this maJnitude alZays JiYe me hope,” said the former 3M.

(Courtesy pic) DR.A.T. Dlamini, Rev. Antony Matsenjwa and Elder Isaac Magagula posing for a photo after the evening’s success.