On 9 May 2012, the Church of the Holy Ghost will celebrate its beginnings on Thanksgiving Day – the anniversary of the very special date in 1916 when the church’s founder, Archbishop Paulos Mfunwa Nzuza was bestowed with the gift of the Holy Spirit and a vision of the type of church he was to build.

"On this day, let your gifts not only fulfill a meaningless tradition of giving – but rather let them be an intentional message. May the gifts you will give cause personal change in someone’s life, a new perspective of love in another, a sense of fellowship and unity in someone else, and revived faith in yet another person. Do not just seek to give, but rather seek to touch. Wishing you a richly blessed day of thanksgiving and a happy May 9th," said Archbishop Phelelani Nzuza.

We posed a question to the youth on our Facebook group Congreez – ‘What does 9 May (Thanksgiving Day) mean to you?’ Here is what they said…

Nditwanie Mudau - "For me it means celebrating our legacy, where we come from as a church, sharing love, peace and happiness. It is a great moment for me indeed" 

Ronin Sihaye - "It is a time of love, remembrance, sharing and donating to the poor. It is also about re-checking our core values and re-confirming our faith."        

Mthoko Mbatha - "It’s taking time to celebrate the Gift that keeps on giving and sharing with others the benefits accrued from this Gift."  

Pearl Ngiba - “It’s time for giving, sharing not only to fellow church members but to our communities. It is also a time to reflect back on the journey that our grannies took in order to build our church, and to see where the church is going today.” 
 

Nomfundo Sibiya - “For me it is more about having a good time with family and friends - also, praying, sharing gifts and having fun.“ 

Yolanda Dube - “It is a time to reflect and celebrate the one thing that makes us different from other churches as well as giving back to our communities.” 

Kidyo Zindela - “It is a time for oneness, sharing gifts, enjoying food together as fellow Christians.”