…Charges Christians On Exemplary Lifestyle
…Cautions Government On Insecurity, Corruption, Poverty
The Niger Delta Anglican Communion has created two new archdeaconries. The church gave the approval at the just concluded 2019 Synod, giving ease of administration and the need to reach out to the unreached with the gospel of Jesus Christ as the reason for the creation.
The two new Archdeaconries are Bonny East Archdeaconry comprising St. Mark’s Borikiri, St. James’ Biema and St. Barnabas Bundu, and Bille Missionary Archdeaconry.
St. John’s Church, on Bishop Johnson Street, Port Harcourt is the headquarters of Bonny East Archdeaconry while St. Jude’s Church Bille is the headquarters for Bille Missionary.
Meanwhile, the Second Session of the 23rd Synod of the Niger Delta Diocese, Anglican Communion has ended with a call on Christians to live an exemplary life that portrays love and care for others.
In a sermon at the thanksgiving service to mark the end of the Synod, with the theme: ‘Earnestly Contending For The Faith”, the guest preacher, Rt. Rev. Tubokosernie Robinson Abere, and Bishop Diocese of Okrika harped on God’s ability, as the true God that is able to keep them because He is the God of power and might.
Taking his text from St. Jude’s gospel, Acts 4:7-12; Rom 16, Bishop Abere x-rayed God’s ability to establish Christians and to help them at any moment, make them what they are not, change them from sinners to saints and their weakness to strength, instability to stability, grant them peace at all times and able to keep whatever they commit to him until the day of judgement and to subdue all things to Himself.
The guest preacher emphasized that there was nothing God could not give to man, if God can give man the greatest gift “Christ” on earth, positing that man need to pray in accordance with God’s will and entrust his treasure in God alone.
In her Plenary Session, the Synod considered the theme “Earnestly Contending For The Faith”, as very apt, viewed against the backdrop of wrong dogmas, apostasy and practices in some churches that are not in tandem with scriptures, such as homosexuality, elevation of philosophies of man rather than seeing as sacrosanct the tenets of the Christian faith, a heritage delivered to their fathers, and noted with dismay that the spread of falsehood is only deceitful but also amounts to denial and rebellion against Jesus Christ, the progenitor of the Christian faith.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the Synod, the efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were appreciated for successful conclusion of the 2019 general elections but the Synod also decried the loss of human lives in the process and called on the government at all levels as well as relevant agencies to forestall future occurrences with a view to deepening Nigeria’s Democracy.
The church further expressed concern over the worrisome level of insecurity, unprecedented poverty and increasing crime rate in the country, due to rising level of unemployment, especially of the youths and called on the federal government to offer gainful employment to the youths to reduce criminal tendencies. It also called on Nigerians to rise against the menace of corruption which it said has assumed frightening dimension in the country.
It is also the position of the Synod that wanton killings in the Northern parts of Nigeria and kidnappings across the state which negatively affect all sectors of the economy and damaging the image of the country should stop. The Synod called for the immediate release of Leah Sharibu and some of Chibok girls in the captivity of the Boko Haram insurgents.
With regard to labour matters, the Diocese of Niger Delta appreciated the National Assembly for speedily passing the National New Minimum wage bill of N30, 000.00 and commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the bill into law and subsequently urged the government at all levels to immediately implement the payment of the new minimum wage to workers to enhance efficiency and high productivity.
