Re-open UMCN churches – Taraba Clergy Pleads With Kefas
OKERAFOR ATHANATIUS, JALINGO
The resident Bishop of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria (UMCN) Episcopal Area (District of Senegal and Cameroon), Bishop Emmanuel Ande has made a passionate appeal to Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State to re-open all UMCN churches he has closed across the State.
Bishop Emmanuel Ande
Bishop Ande, who was newly elected to serve the people of Nigeria under the Ministry of UMCN made the appeal while addressing multitude of church worshippers who converged at the Secretariat of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to welcome him.
The Clergy, who was excited over the mammoth crowd of church members at the occasion, expressed hope that Governor Kefas would hearken to their calls, reopen UMCN churches so that they can worship God together.
According to him, the churches were closed owing to some wranglings that existed among members sometimes past.
“We are waiting for governor Kefas because the church was closed through an executive order he sent to the leadership of UMCN”,
Expressing his heartfelt gratitude for his election, Bishop Ande pledged to serve with transparency, accountability, and compassion.
“Let us heal wounds, embrace our diversity, and unite as one body to advance God’s mission. With God’s guidance, we will build a stronger, inclusive, and spiritually vibrant church”,
“The support I have received and my election as the Bishop of the United Methodist Church to serve Nigeria has been overwhelming”, he said.
He also used the forum to call on the Director, Connectional Ministries of the Southern Nigeria Conference of UMC, Rev. (Dr.) Philip Micah Dopah to keep all differences apart and come for a united entity.
Bishop Ande who described Rev. (Dr.) Dopah as his father, explained that the body of Christ is one.
“I remain committed to unifying UMCN, including the work that has begun with the Southern Conference of the United Methodist Church, I also want to move forward with the new policies and procedures that will be presented to annual conference session in January as well as the mission and goals that have begun to take shape”, Bishop Ande stressed.
Speaking with newsmen in an interview shortly, Rev. David Precious (Mungo Park) said now that a new Bishop has arrived, the church will experience transformation and become a better place for members to worship their God.
Rev David Precious ( Mungo Park)
“All misunderstandings, wranglings, etc, among one another would soon be thrown away because we now have a visionary leader who is eager and capable to lead us”,
“We are going to support him prayerfully, morally and we are going to encourage him, so that we have love for one another and we will have a better church”, he added.
