Times Of Swaziland: OVER E130 000 RAISED AT EVANGELICAL FUNDRAISING DINNER OVER E130 000 RAISED AT EVANGELICAL FUNDRAISING DINNER ================================================================================ Tessa Nxumalo on 06/06/2022 08:28:00 Manzini – The Evangelical Methodist Church (EMC) on Friday hosted a successful fundraising dinner. The church has to raise E300 000 for a building loan. By the end of Friday evening they had already raised E130 000 from EFTs (Electronic Fund Transfers) alone, while the rest of the money was yet to be calculated. Manzini EMC Praise Team set the ambience in the church, by opening the event with their beautiful voices. Next to perform was Ndawonye Christ Worshippers, which saw the guests standing up and singing in praise. Prayer The opening prayer was done by Pastor Alex Mngomezulu, who is a senior pastor at FEA Luyengo. The next speaker was Reverend Antony Matsenjwa who is a senior pastor at Manzini EMC. He shared the history of the church and the purpose of the event. “The church building was officially opened by His Majesty King Mswati III on July 14, 2017. It was financed through offerings, fundraising activities, donations and a bank loan,” said the reverend. He went on to say that the consistent repayment of the bank loan has been one of the biggest challenges the church faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event had various distinguished guests like Collen Maluleka Pastor of Goshen City Church in South Africa, who is also a Gospel artist. He was invited on stage to say a few remarks; he thanked the church for the invite, and made an announcement that he would contribute E5 000. Recording He added that he would return to Eswatini to do a live recording of his fourth album on October 30t with other South African Gospel artists. He then blessed the guests with a beautiful song. Elder of the church Isaac Magagula introduced former Prime Minister Dr. A.T. Dlamini who was a guest speaker. The elder went on to share a brief background about the former PM. “The A stands for Amazing and the T stands for Terrific.” Magagula also shared that Dlamini is a good-hearted, philanthropist and a seasoned politician. Dr A.T Dlamini spoke about the immense importance of the event and that the church needed assistance. “The money that we need to raise is a lot, its E300 000 and everyone present here tonight should contribute. These are your blessings so even your petrol money should come out,” said the former PM. Before he left the stage he announced that he and his friends contributed E85 400. Make Khanyile from Glory of the Last Days fame gave a lovely spiritually uplifting performance and Linda Dlamini. Reverend. J.V Mazibuko preached the Word of God and encouraged everyone going through a dark time that they should believe as the Holy Spirit is consistently moving an shining light in every situation. At the end of the ceremony we caught up with Dr A.T Dlamini and asked what the cause meant to him and how he felt he said “This is something close to my heart and I can proudly say that the event was a success and that gives me joy. Things of this magnitude always give me hope,” said the former PM.