Filed in by Olando Testimony Zeongar – 0776819983/0880-361116/life2short4some@yahoo.com
Monrovia – Liberian president George Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah, a retired footballer turned politician has added onto himself another role of being a clergyman, as he preached and dedicated a family-founded church, the Forky Jlaleh Family Fellowship Church, during ‘Cross-over (Watch Night) Service’ on the eve of New Year, in 2018.
Few minutes after 12 midnight on January 1 2019, Weah clad in a white priestly African gown while dedicating the church said to be the dream of his deceased mother said, “now, we are in the New Year, let me in the name of Jesus, today [January 1] 2019, I am pleased, as I dedicate the Forky Jlaleh Family Fellowship Church in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Born and raised in the slum of the Monrovia suburban of Clara Town, Weah was one of 13 children raised by his devoutly Christian paternal grandmother, Emma Klonjlaleh Brown after his parents separated when he was still a baby – he would later grow up practicing protestant Christianity before converting to Islam when he played professional soccer for Monaco in France.
‘Weah says he joined Islam for convenience’
Weah, who attended middle school at Muslim Congress and high school at Wells Hairston High School, and reportedly dropped out in his final year of studies confessed that he converted to Islam and worshiped as a Muslim for 10 solid years, under the influence of his former manager, Mohammed Siliby, who himself is a Muslim.
But in 2004, Weah denounced Islam saying, “I am a Christian. I only did that [converted to Islam] because some people were putting pressure on.”
Howbeit, Weah has now assumed the role of a preacher, and so he delivered the second of his only two noticeable sermons preached last year, on New Year eve, the first being in November 2018, at his Jamaica Resort, during a “Thanksgiving Service.”
‘Sabotage’
Preaching a topical sermon anchored on Matthew 25:14-30, based on one of Jesus’ 46 parables, the parable of the talents, Weah likened onto what he believes that passage of the Scripture is teaching to those working for his administration but are resolved to sabotage it.
“You are a minister in the government, but you want to sabotage the government!” “You are deputies, but you want to sabotage the government!” Weah emphasized.
The preaching president connecting scripture to apparent happenings in his administration noted that in order to make whatever talent or governmental task assigned any member of the government to be multiplied like in the case of Jesus’ parable of the talents, is for such official of government to make use of his/or talent given him/her, saying if you are in a government, you should be fighting so diligently so that the government can work – “because if the government works, you are also part of the government.”
Amid intermittent thunderous applause, Weah the preacher, explained that one of the reasons the fellow with the one talent did nothing to add onto what he had was because he did not pay attention to what he was given to do, with Weah, who has come under intense criticism for amassing wealth too early, stating that there are some Liberians who seek to destroy their neighbors who have beautiful homes, rather than working hard to build theirs.
