UNITED METHODIST SOUTHERN NIGERIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE LEADERS SAY YES TO PEACE

UNITED METHODIST SOUTHERN NIGERIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE LEADERS SAY YES TO PEACE

By: Rev. Ande I. Emmanuel

         Official of the UMC Southern Nigeria Annual Conference at the peace talk

"We should do our best as Christians to live in peace with all people" said Bishop John Wesley Yohanna at the one day Southern Nigeria Annual conference peace talk organized by the office of the secretary of the annual conference.

The United Methodist Church Southern Nigeria Annual Conference, has taken a new dimension in approaching the internal challenges facing it. This was evident in the one day peace talk held at the UMC No.1 Jatutu Memorial Cathedral Magami Jalingo, today April 19/4/2014.

Leaders of the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference that include the Superintendent, 5 district superintendents, Conference secretary, Conference lay leader, Conference UM Women President, Women Desk, Conference UM Men President, Conference Youth &Young Adult President, Conference Evangelism director, Conference treasurer, 10 district Council Directors and lay leaders, Conference choir President, New Life for all President, conference CFA chairman and host others representing the 31 districts in the conference convened at the Cathedral to talk about peace in the church.

In his opening exhortation Rev. Luka C. Kiki, district superintendent of Bali admonished the Church leaders to be faithful stewards of God in their respective places of assignment. He added that all church leaders should be peace advocates, most especially in the period which the church is facing internal challenges. Rev.  Kiki, who read from 2 Timothy 2: 8-10 said "Church leaders must follow the foot step of Jesus Christ." Also in her presentation the Acting Superintendent of the Conference who is also one of the facilitators of the peace talk, Rev. Dr. Eunice Iliya explain to the leaders the need for peace in the Church and  Society. She said as United Methodists in Nigeria, the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference is one conference and we should be our brother and sisters keepers. She added that, though the Conference is facing challenges in areas where some of our brothers and sisters disassociated themselves from the activities of the conference simply because of the last Bishop's election. On that note she said to the conference leaders to still consider the broken faction as brothers and sister even when they declare that, they are no longer United Methodist Church. She further said that there should be no quarreling in the House of God.

The challenge facing the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference began shortly after the last bishop election in Freetown Sierra Leone. Some group of persons who boycotted the last session of the West Africa Central Conference meeting said they will not accept the election conducted in Freetown Sierra Leone because there was an infiltration of votes during the nomination exercise in the Central Nigeria Annual Conference. This group of persons, mostly people from the same tribe/geographical location said they have disassociated themselves from any activities of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria. Though they still use the name United Methodist  Church. The peace talk was aiming at developing strategies of living in peace with them.

Bishop John Wesley Yohanna in his address to the Church leaders, first call for peace, unity and love among all members of the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference. He said "My hands are widely open to accept and work with everybody." Bishop Yohanna encourages all the leaders of the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference to be lover of peace in their ministries.

At the end of the gathering, the leaders expressed  gratitude for the talk and advised that such type of talk should keep going on. The lay leader of the Conference, Hon. Driver Jalo said "We thank God and the organizers of this peace talk, because we have learned a lot here and we will do our best to live in peace with our brothers and sister." In the same ground the UM Women leader Southern Annual Conference,  Mrs. Jummai Isa said "the peace talk has enrich us with more knowledge on how to work  peacefully among ethnic diversity."

Feature of the peace talk include prayer for the Church and State, songs of praise, short exhortation and group discussions.