For Immediate Release
The Congregation at Central Park recognizes the individual known as The Healer as a long-time member of our congregation. Mtembo Nnkoba, a permanent resident of the United States, is a Nigerian immigrant who has been attending our Church for more than 10 years.
Mr. Nnkoba has been surprised at the unhappiness his actions have caused. When he saw the reaction, he immediately contacted our Pastoral staff to discuss what he should do. Mr. Nnkoba states that he received instructions from God, in a vision, to heal as many people as he could. The vision frightened him a great deal. Unsure of what might happen, Mr. Nnkoba tested his gift at St. Luke’s - Presbyterian Hospital without announcing what he was doing. Once he found the gift was real, he healed as many as he could before realizing the problem his presence was causing. His visit to Long Island College Hospital was a further test to see if the healings would continue. He never intended to create difficulties for hospital staff nor to offend anyone. He sincerely apologizes for any difficulty he may have caused.
Our Pastoral staff has determined that visiting hospitals is not the best approach for Mr. Nnkoba to carry out his healings. The Congregation at Central park Church has obtained a permit to assemble on the Great Lawn in Central Park beginning tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. We will continue these meetings as long as we are able to obtain permits, and as long as God continues to use Mr. Nnkoba to heal. Patients will be seen in the order they arrive. We will not charge, nor will we receive offerings while holding these gatherings. In accordance with Mr. Nnkoba’s wishes, we will not preach and we will not proselytize as these activities are not included in the instruction he was given in his vision.
Mr. Nnkoba will not be conducting any interviews. He emphasizes that this is not about him as a person, but about God’s desire to heal.
For further information and updates, please visit the Web site we’ve established for this purpose at healernyc.org.
Richard Smith, Sr. Pastor
H. Vernon Matthews, Associate Pastor
This isn’t the end, is it?
Sommers:
With reaction to today’s announcement from Pastor Smith at The Congregation in Central Park Church, we turn to Mark Jacobs who is live at Central Park.
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - live broadcast)
Jacobs:
Leslie, the press conference where Pastor Smith announced tomorrow’s gathering was brief. During the questions, Pastor Smith admitted that his congregation did believe in both visions and miraculous healings, but had never seen or heard of anything like this, short of Jesus feeding the 5,000 as recorded in the Gospels. They’re really sort-of feeling their way at the moment. As Pastor Smith said, this is not something covered in Church Management courses at Seminary.
Word is just starting to trickle out. Most of the people we’ve talked to here in Central Park were unaware of the announcement. But we were able to capture a few reactions on camera.
(Cut to reaction tape)
Robertson:
(Caption: Jake Robertson - Brooklyn) Faith healing is one of the oldest scams. It’s just a way for the Church to make money.
Jacobs (off camera):
The Church has stated it won’t be accepting payment or donations.
Robertson:
That’s what they say, but we’ll see what happens. The proof will be in the pudding. Nobody will really be healed, and the Church will make a ton of money.
Jacobs:
You don’t believe Mr. Nnkoba can heal people?
Robertson:
If he could really heal people, he would have taken the mayor up on his offer to set up less disruptive visits to the hospitals. They set up this thing in Central Park so they could scam people.
Jacobs:
All the information we have to date is that people in the hospitals were really healed.
Robertson:
We’ll see. The truth will come out soon enough.
Chimarev:
(Caption: Constantine Chimarev - Manhattan) I don’t really know what to think about it. Maybe it’s real, maybe it’s not. Who knows?
Jacobs:
Will you be coming out tomorrow to see?
Chimarev:
No. I’m not sick. My family is not sick. We’ll stay away from the crowd. We will watch you on TV to see what happens.
Jacobs:
Thank you for that.
Gutierrez:
(Caption: Maria Gutierrez - Manhattan) I think it’s fantastic. We will be here tomorrow morning. I hope we can be first in line.
Jacobs:
Are you sick?
Gutierrez:
No, it’s my mother. She was sent home last week for hospice care. The hospital can not do anything more for her cancer. We are just trying to make her comfortable until she dies.
Jacobs:
Will it be safe to move her? It will be chilly out here tomorrow morning.
Gutierrez:
It can’t make her much worse. We have been trying everything. We won’t be shy to try this. And if it works, it will be wonderful. If it doesn’t work, we will be no worse off than today.
Jacobs:
We wish you the best. I hope it works out for you.
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - Live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, these responses run the gamut from skepticism to uncertainty to support, which is what we’d expect from the people of New York.
(Cut to split screen)
Sommers:
Mark, have any preparations begun?
Jacobs:
Only low-key preparations at this point, Leslie. Police have put up barricades to mark the area the Church will be using, but there are no signs indicating what the area will be used for.
Sommers:
What does the layout look like?
Jacobs:
As marked off, it’s just a large area. The entrance will be here near the 5th Avenue entrance to the park. Inside there’s no indication of any kind of crowd control or where Mr Nnkoba will be standing. I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how the Church is going to manage it.
Sommers:
Thank you, Mark.
Jacobs:
Mark Jacobs, WNYC Live.
(Cut to studio - guest stage)
Sommers:
We’re back with Dr. Samuel Estive, Pastor of NYC Seeker Church. Welcome back, Pastor.
Estive:
Thank you, Leslie.
Sommers:
Well, Sam, what do you think?
Estive:
Leslie, right now I don’t know what to think. Rick Smith is a friend of mine. He’s a good man and Pastor. We both believe in the possibility of miracle healing, but I would agree that there isn’t any precedent for what is happening here. I’m not sure I would have made the same choice, but I sympathize with what he’s trying to do.
Sommers:
What do you think we’ll see tomorrow?
Estive:
I think we’ll see some small crowds at first. After that, it depends on whether this Mr. Nnkoba is the real deal. If people are truly healed, I think there will be some serious crowd control problems.
Sommers:
You doubt Mr. Nnkoba has a gift of healing?
Estive:
It’s hard to doubt the results at the hospitals. Seeing is supposed to be believing. But I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this. I’ve known my share of scam faith healers, and seen very few real healings. I really want to believe God has decided to act in this way, and that Mr. Nnkoba is merely being faithful to his calling. But it’s tough to ignore all the times I’ve personally prayed for healing only to have a good friend or a member of my congregation die. I’m going to be cautiously optimistic, but I really need to wait and see.
Sommers:
What advice would you give to a sick person about coming out tomorrow.
Estive:
Until I know more I would counsel caution. Don’t forego a doctor’s visit. Don’t walk away from surgery or urgent care. Don’t add risk by coming to Central Park before going to a doctor. But if it won’t hurt, if the doctors won’t do anything for you, or if you’re waiting for the next step in a medical process, come on out. There’s nothing to fear, and there may be a great deal to gain. I certainly hope and pray that the mother with terminal cancer is helped, and I admire her daughter’s determination to try anything. Maybe this will be her answer to prayer.
Sommers:
Thank you, Sam, for taking time to talk with us today. I’m sure we’ll call you again when we see what actually happens tomorrow.
Estive:
My pleasure, Leslie. I’ll look forward to it.