Christian Atsu‘s former church in Newcastle, England, has hosted a memorial ceremony for the late Ghanaian football player.
The Hillsong Church reportedly prayed for Christian Atsu during their service on Sunday, and their pastor paid him tribute. This is according to The Athletic.
Christian Atsu used to visit the church with his wife, Claire Rupio, and children, Pastor Johnny Fergusson, the leader of the congregation, recalled.
According to the story, during the event, word circulated about Christian Atsu’s coffin being prepared for flight to Ghana and the pastor begged the crowd to pray for Atsu and his family.
“It’s just devastating — he’s 31,” Ferguson says of Atsu, stressing his youthfulness, his young children and his wife Marie-Claire. “I knew him from his mid-twenties and I’ve got young kids myself. I can’t possibly imagine what Claire and the kids are going through.
“The last stat I saw was that 42,000 people have been killed in this earthquake. The numbers are numbing, but when you have a handle on it, it really brings it home that each one of those numbers is a person. Every one is a human life. When you are able to put a face and a name to it, maybe it makes it more of a reality.”
Throughout his four years at Newcastle United, Christian Atsu built strong ties with the locals and the supporters.
Atsu provided an explanation on why he avoided making light of his religious life in an interview with Newcastle media during that period.
“I’m here to worship God,” Atsu said in that interview. “I want to live a free life — I want to live the way I want, you understand? In the house of God, I’m normal. Even outside, I want to be normal, to be able to do what I want, not to live a celebrity life. That’s something you can add to it, but I don’t want to add that to it. I want to live a normal life. When I’m like that, I think I’m free.”
On February18,2023, Newcastle observed a moment of silence in memory of a former winger who unfortunately perished in an earthquake that struck parts of Turkey.
After 12 days of search and rescue efforts, Christian Atsu’s body was discovered in Hatay, Turkey, where he was a club player for Hatayspor.
