...As Lovers day is celebrated in Grand Style
By Philips Robinson-Adefioye, UK
Modern day Saint Valentine traditions are similar to those in the past, although the tradition has grown to include spending special time with loved ones. It is expected that couples will do something together on Valentine’s Day, such as have a romantic dinner.
The early custom of associating Saint Valentine with a rose has survived till today with a single red rose being identified with love and romance.
The Redeemed Christian Church Of God, (RCCG) Divine Revelation Parish in Liverpool, ‘Men of Valour” celebrated the Valentine Day’ in a Grand style.
President of the ‘Men Of Valour ‘ Brother Ben Wright described event tagged 2.0 gala night as a huge success adding that it is also a way of creating bonding in Christian marriage.
Brother Wright who also doubles as an Elder in Divine Revelation Parish, Liverpool hinted that the aim of organizing the Gala night was to enlighten some Christian couples whose marital status is nothing to write about but living in denial.
According to Brother Wright, “the first Gala night was organised last year because; we noticed that a lot of Christians are going through marital issues and because we are Christians, we just feel there are some things we can not talk about, there are somethings we can not do and that gave birth to the maiden gala night 1.0.
“The purpose of the gala night is to bring about romance in the family and to make couple to be more intimate in their matrimonial home.
He emphasized that the theme of the Gala Night “Know Who You Married” was a result of divine revelation pointing out that if one knows who he or she married it would be easy to overcome challenges that comes the person’s way which in turn brings peace and harmony to one’s home.
“Know who you married because if you know the person you are dealing with, that is the first tactic to overcome the obstacle in your home. So if you know your wife and your wife know you, every challenge you have can easily be settled and bring a positive outcome.
“February 14th is celebrated universally as Valentine Day, people in the world tend to celebrate Valentine in different ways but we decided as a church to celebrate our wives and husbands, to do it in a Godly manner which was evidence of things we gained”.
In his statement, as Christians, “we were able to talk about many things which on a normal ground we won’t able to say and we did it in a Godly way and achieved the purpose of reuniting families and rejuvenating dead marriages which I believed God’s name has been glorified and I look forward for another one, next year”. Wright stressed.
Meanwhile, Pastor (Mrs) Lara Oluwabiyi described the gala night 2.0 organised by the ‘Men of Valour’ as a good omen pointing out that celebrating ‘Valentine Day’ in God’s presence creates bonding between the couple rather than going to pub or somewhere else to celebrate.
Pastor Lara, an indefatigable soul winner for Christ and medical practitioner hinted that in some homes, it’s rare to find couples dancing, the gala 2.0 created that avenue and brought up some lovely topics which would not be discussed during the church service but was shared without holding back which made the event more colourful.
“The gala night was a good one, it is a time of bonding when husband and wife coming together showing love for one another rather than going to pub or elsewhere to celebrate.
“Coming to church to celebrate ‘Valentine Day’ to hear what will motivate them to increase their love for one another. Atimes you find out that husband and wife don’t even dance together at home but here an opportunity was created for the couple to dance, also there were topics that people will not share in the church but at the gala night we were able to talk about them eg sex etc… it was a wonderful time spent together on the ‘Valentine Day’, it was a colourful, it was a beautiful night that husbands and wives were able to expressed their feelings without fear or shame”.
Pastor Lara a food nutritionist , emphasized that the event was a beginning of a new dawn stating that a lot of husbands and wives read the scriptures, know the scriptures, preach the scriptures but don’t practice it, pointing out that inability to practice real love in marriage boils down to foundation of how some couples’ met but coming together in this way with the things taught, learnt and shared would change couples’ view of love towards each other.
“Our coming together is a beginning of good things to come.Some couples’ know the scriptures, read the scriptures and preach the scriptures but don’t practice it, some husbands don’t even know how to love their wives but with coming for this gala 2.0 night and with the things being taught will be an eye openers for many people on how to love their wife which will definitely transform the marriage in a positive way.
“Some unpleasant attitude in marriage was burnout of foundation where both party did not really know themselves well before marriage which is categorically stated in the bible in Psalm 11:3-7. Also background of some people while growing up, they did not see expression of love between their parents”.
The enigmatic scripture expert therefore urged the church to teach on love and also encouraged churches to always take the bull buy the horns to invite speakers with good record to share their experience.
The St Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas for the large numbers of cards exchanged and it is a multi-million dollar business. From humble beginnings, St Valentine is featured in films, songs and literature and today can even be found on Facebook
The Gala night 3.0 is slated for 14th February 2026.
