On this day, 3 years ago, Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah, at a time we were looking forward to her 77th birthday, was found fatally wounded at the bottom of the stairs in her house in Croydon, United Kingdom, from an attack by a heartless individual. Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah trusted this individual in her home as a tradesman.

Today, join me to celebrate Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah, a remarkable spirit-filled community matriarch who was a steadfast treasurer of God’s mission. The title Nne Bishop, which I gave to Mama Nelly Akoma, was an expression of appreciation for her maternal virtues and a follow-up to my election and consecration as a bishop in 2022. Nne is an Igbo word meaning “mother” or “dear mother”, originating from southeastern Nigeria. In an Igbo cultural context, “Nne” is deeply symbolic, an affectionate title that evokes maternal virtues such as truthfulness, care, fortitude, and nurture. The root word Nne forms other powerful Igbo names: Nneka: Translates to “Mother is supreme” or “Mother is great”; Nneoma: Translates to “Good mother” or a woman who embodies a nurturing, loving spirit; Nneamaka: Translates to “Mother is beautiful” or “My mother is a blessing”; Nnenna: A name meaning “Father’s mother.”

As a mission treasurer, Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah, was a quiet pillar of strength and integrity. She managed the affairs of God’s mission with unparalleled wisdom, care, and devotion, ensuring it could thrive and spread beyond human barriers. Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah did not just count offerings; she counted blessings, treating every task as an act of worship and service to God.

Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah’s ministry did not stop at the church doors. At her ancestral home in southeast Nigeria, she was an impactful matriarch—a beacon of unconditional love, resilience, and grace. She nurtured many people, prayed for many, and taught many the true meaning of faith, costly generosity, and family.

Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah’s legacy lives on in every life she touched, every financial hurdle she helped the church and mission overcome, and every family tradition she built. She modelled integrity, generosity, and Christlike love to as many as would come her way.

Nnn Bishop Nelly Akomah, as a dedicated mission treasurer and inspiring matriarch, played a foundational role, serving as the heart of the mission and the anchor of family and community. Her legacy of impactful stewardship and nurturing presence in the home and community lives on. Nne Bishop was a faithful and reliable steward. Her behind-the-scenes work strengthened the mission’s financial foundation. She treated the mission’s resources as a sacred trust. She was very generous not only in how she gave her time and skills, but also in her boundless patience and encouragement to others. As a beloved matriarch to the mission, family, and community – home and abroad, she was an expression of unconditional love.

Nne Bishop, Nelly Akomah, was the “glue” that held the family, mission, and community together, offering wisdom, comfort, and a listening ear. Nne Bishop’s legacy of faith remains a spiritual life and moral compass to guide generations. Her hospitality reflects the Gospel. Nne Bishop’s hospitality goes far beyond entertaining friends or hosting dinner parties. It is an outward expression of God’s grace, emulating how Christ sacrificially welcomed humanity. Nne Bishop’s funeral service was a moment of reflection and gratitude for a life well lived, marked by wisdom, resilience, and unwavering dedication to family, mission, and community. Nne Bishop, a leader with a 30-plus-year nursing career, lives on as a pillar of strength whose values and guidance shaped generations.

As we look forward to Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah’s 80th posthumous birthday, please remember the family in prayer and be a voice to stop senseless violence and greed in our society. Join us as we sing the hymn, Abide with me, as king for God’s comfort as we celebrate Nne Bishop Nelly Akomah:

1 Abide with me: fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

2 Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see.
O thou who changest not, abide with me.

3 I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and strength can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

4 I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless,
ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

5 Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes.
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me. – Rose K Hulbert