“Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.” Psalms 78:1-2

Psalm 78 speaks of dark sayings of old, and then the psalmist goes on to speak of the wonders that God did in the past, which should be told to younger generations so that they do not forget God’s deeds… So that they can keep His commandments and put their hope in Him.

The Universal Church exists for more than 45 years and those who come to the Church today find it strong, robust, consolidated, mature and with several fronts of action.

If the church is like this today, it’s because in the beginning – 45 years ago – men and women of God – beginning with Bishop Macedo and Mrs Ester – gave their lives for this work.

We went through great persecutions, struggles, challenges, trials and deprivations. We slept on the floor, we lost weight, we shared a single lunch, we cried, we wailed, we were mocked, cursed, made death threats against, discredited, despised – even by family members – beaten on the street, treated like the scum of the world…

We reacted with spiritual weapons. We prayed, we cried out, we climbed mountains, we fasted, we made several night-vigils, we spent nights on the altar – We made, and still maintain, a strong covenant with God.

We were scattered through unknown nations, with new languages and cultures.

In the face of such sacrifice, we grew.

And because we grew, we were persecuted even more by the great ones – by the media, the Catholic Church and even politicians.

We have withstood it all, but struggles and persecutions have helped us build spiritual muscles.

Thank God, we put our trust entirely and only in God.

We made no deals with anyone.

No one can say that they were responsible for all this growth.

We grew with the co-operation of true members of the body of Christ – those born of God.

All honour and glory to the Holy Spirit.

We are attached to the ALTAR.