Ahead of the forthcoming 2015 general elections, House on the Rock, one of Nigeria’s leading churches reinforces its call for peace and anti-violence in Nigeria with the screening of one of the most important movies ever made as regards to Peace, Struggle and Growth; the award winning movie, SELMA.
The movie Selma which chronicles the true life story of the late Dr. Martin Luther King jr. depicting the struggle against racism and inequality is billed to premiere at the church premises in conjunction with the United States Embassy February 8, 2015.
“Peace and harmony is important to us all. Regardless of our ethnicity, religion or political persuasion, our country Nigeria must remain united and peaceful. This is why House on The Rock Church, positioned as a center for Social Justice and Equity has decided to bring people from various classes in the Nigerian society together for a remarkable event where we can all stand united for peace at a time like this. We also seek to remind individuals with the Selma movie premiere event that regardless of any differences or grievances we may have, violence is not the answer, thus non-violence must continually be our stance.” A statement from Pastor Paul Adefarasin, the Senior Pastor of the church reads.
Adefarasin also iterated the need for the Church to be the voice of reason promoting non-violence in the times leading to the elections and beyond. “The pulpit of God is not for partisan politics but for promoting the Kingdom of God” he further stated.
According to information from House on the Rock, the United for Peace campaign will also be visible across social media with the hashtag #United4Peace. This social media campaign will provide people the opportunity to also participate by taking a stand for peace and non-violence before and after the elections.
The Selma movie premiere event is expected to feature high profile personalities from corporate Nigeria, various cadres of the government, the media, the diplomatic corps, politicians including governorship and presidential candidates of various political parties amongst other eminent personalities.
Beyond the movie premiere, the House on The Rock nationwide peace initiative aptly christened, United4Peace is expected to run from now, all through the elections and afterwards to remind the Nigerian citizen that peace is non-negotiable and highly important for the stability of the nation.
In the twenty years of its existence, House on The Rock has been in the forefront of many community development initiatives notably in the areas of health and social justice, most recently Project SPREAD which reached over 4,000 families in Lagos during the yuletide celebrations.