Celebrating Our Heroes and Heroines

The Celestial Church of Christ was established through the calling and anointing of God upon the Pastor Founder, Prophet Rev. Pastor Samuel Bilehou Joseph Oshoffa, and through the contributions of several people whom God used in different ways during the Church’s formation and early growth.

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Throughout this month of celebrating our heroes and heroines, we are remembering those contributions with gratitude. We have reflected on spiritual revelations, wise counsel, companionship, and the people who helped the mission reach new communities.

Today, we honour Dominic Adande—the man who carried a message at a significant moment in the Church’s beginnings.

We have already remembered the police officer in Porto Novo who encouraged a public meeting. Dominic’s part in that encounter also deserves attention.

The request he carried

Paragraph 27 of the Constitution describes crowds gathering at Papa Oshoffa’s home, Moslems, Catholics, Methodists and idol worshippers, some two hundred of them, until he had been unable to sleep for thirteen days. Seeking relief, he sent Dominic Adande to the expatriate police officer in charge of the town.

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I sent word through DOMINIC ADANDE on the Friday to the expatriate police officer in charge of the town at the time that I, whom he must remember as a music player in the town, implore him to dispatch police officers to my house to drive away all these people … Dominic confirmed to him that I was a citizen of the town and he asked to see me.

— Papa Oshoffa, Makoko, 18 January 1969
CCC Constitution (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), paragraph 27

This is the specific contribution the account preserves about Dominic.

A message that led to a conversation

The officer’s conversation with the Founder produced a different suggestion: a public meeting. Notices were prepared, and the subsequent gathering attracted more followers. (CCC Constitution, paragraphs 27–30)

Dominic’s errand formed part of that sequence.

Remembering him alongside the officer helps us appreciate how several people can contribute to an important development. Each has a place in the story.

The value of carrying a message faithfully

A messenger is entrusted with something that belongs to another person: their request, concern, invitation, or explanation.

That responsibility requires care.

A message can be weakened by carelessness or changed by exaggeration. It can also be communicated clearly, allowing the person receiving it to understand the situation and respond.

For devotional reflection, Dominic’s role invites us to examine how we handle the responsibilities others place in our hands.

Do we listen carefully before speaking on someone’s behalf?

Do we communicate what they actually asked us to say?

Do we follow through when we agree to help?

These questions matter in family life, parish work, and everyday relationships.

A practical contribution in a spiritual history

It is easy to focus our attention on the most dramatic parts of a religious history. Yet the same account may also preserve practical actions: carrying a request, making an introduction, preparing notices, or arranging a gathering.

Such actions deserve recognition.

They remind us that a community’s life includes people who help communication happen. Their work can make room for understanding and allow the next conversation to take place.

From a faith perspective, we can reflect on how ordinary responsibilities become opportunities for service.

We may not know the eventual significance of an errand when we accept it. We can still carry it out conscientiously.

Giving Dominic his own place

The constitutional passage gives us limited information about Dominic Adande. It does not provide a full biography or describe his later life.

We should honour him within those limits.

His contribution does not need an invented title or an embellished story. The account records a particular responsibility he carried out, and that is a sound basis for remembering him in this series.

Careful recognition also helps us teach our history responsibly. Younger members should be able to understand what the source says and where our devotional reflection begins.

Who carries the messages today?

Dominic’s story encourages us to notice the people who make communication possible in our communities now.

Someone checks that an invitation reaches the right person. Someone explains a concern to a leader. Someone helps a family find the support they need. Someone follows up on an unanswered request.

These tasks require attention, patience, and dependability.

Those who perform them should know that their service is valued.

We can also consider our own habits. When we promise to pass on a message, do we remember? When information is sensitive, do we handle it discreetly? When someone needs an answer, do we help them receive one?

Faithful service often becomes visible through such practical choices.

Our hero deserves remembrance

Today, we honour Dominic Adande—the man entrusted with carrying Papa Oshoffa’s appeal to the police officer in Porto Novo.

His place in the account encourages us to recognise the people who connect others through dependable service.

May we become more careful with the messages entrusted to us, more faithful in the responsibilities we accept, and more grateful for those whose practical help supports our communities.

As we continue celebrating our heroes and heroines, let us give attention to contributions that might otherwise pass unnoticed.

We remember the people. We honour their contributions. We give the glory to God.

Historical basis: Constitution of the Celestial Church of Christ (Nigeria Diocese, 1980), foundation history told by Papa Oshoffa at Makoko on 18 January 1969, paragraphs 27–30. Dominic Adande is specifically named in paragraph 27. Reflections on communication, dependability, and service are devotional applications of the account. The picture is an illustration: no photograph of him is used.

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