ccc news 24
The ongoing leadership crisis at C.C.C. Harton Street Parish has been a persistent challenge that requires urgent attention. The recent activities and behavior of VSE Bayo King and a few members of the parish have raised concerns, as they have taken control of the parish and seem determined to make it their personal property for reasons unknown to others. It is clear that they will stop at nothing until they achieve their goal.
On Sunday, March 3rd, 2024, the Head of Diocese, Most Superior Evangelist Amos Olabode Fatusin, and his team visited C.C.C. Harton Street Parish with the aim of implementing a pastoral order. This order involved reading letters from the pastor regarding the expiration of VSE Bayo King’s tenure and his removal from the position of shepherd of the parish. The order also required the announcement of the appointment of a new shepherd for C.C.C. Harton Street Parish, VSE Taiwo John.
Due to previous threats made by some elders of C.C.C. Harton Street Parish to cause disturbance and violence, the C.C.C. UK Diocese sought the assistance of the police to maintain peace and prevent any community disorder.
During the church service, the Head of Diocese and his entourage entered the premises while the Processional Hymn (Jeri Mo Yamah) was being sung. After the prayers and the Lord’s Prayer, the Head of the C.C.C. UK Diocese, MSE A.O. Fatusin JP MPIC, requested the microphone from the Service Conductor and announced the purpose of their visit: to read the Pastoral Order to the congregation and inform them that VSE Bayo King had been withdrawn as the Shepherd of the parish and replaced by VSE Taiwo John. The microphone was then passed to the Secretary of the Diocese, AVSE Charles Wusu, who read the letters issued by the pastor.
While this peaceful process was taking place inside the church auditorium, another event was unfolding outside. VSE Bayo King was seen talking to two police officers. However, upon noticing the presence of the Head of C.C.C. UK Diocese Task Force Corps, AVSE Akomolafe, VSE Bayo King took the police officers into his office to continue their conversation. AVSE Akomolafe, being observant, followed them into the office. VSE Bayo King tried to prevent AVSE Akomolafe from entering, but was unsuccessful.
Inside the office, AVSE Akomolafe overheard VSE Bayo King telling the police officers that he was the vicar of the church and that the head of the diocese and his team were intruders who had come to disrupt the peace of his church and the service. AVSE Akomolafe refuted this claim and explained the reason for the Head of Diocese’s visit to the police officers, stating that VSE Bayo King had been withdrawn from his position as the Shepherd of the parish since September 2023 but had refused to step down.
To support his argument, AVSE Akomolafe presented copies of various letters from the pastor, including VSE Bayo King’s appointment as shepherd in 2021 for a two-year tenure, his withdrawal after the expiration of his tenure in 2023, and the letter appointing VSE Taiwo John as his replacement.
During the discussion with the police officers, VSE Bayo King was asked by the officers who had appointed him. He admitted that it was the pastor who had appointed him. The officers explained to him that if the pastor appointed him, then the pastor also had the right to remove him. VSE Bayo King then claimed that when he received the pastoral order to step down as the Shepherd of C.C.C. Harton Street, he complied but was later reappointed by his parishioners out of their love for him. He showed the officers a letter on C.C.C. Harton Street letterhead to support his claim. However, the officers reiterated that such reappointment was invalid, as the church is a community under the overall leadership of the pastor, and only the pastor has the authority to reappoint him.
At this point, VSE Bayo King questioned the rights of the pastor, His Eminence, Reverend E.M.F. Oshoffa, to involve himself in the affairs of the CCC UK Diocese. One of the police officers answered him by stating that, as the Head of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide, the Pastor has authority over all Celestial Churches worldwide, similar to the Pope’s authority over Catholic churches. VSE Bayo King attempted to persuade the police officers with false statements, but AVSE Akomolafe, armed with credible evidence, provided accurate information to ensure that the police arrived at a just conclusion.
