Posted on 09/19/2006 5:49:16 PM PDT by sionnsar
Source: Church of Nigeria
The Church of Nigeria Standing Committee Meeting Held Between Thursday, 14th and Friday, 15th September, 2006 at St. Paul's Cathedral, Diobu - Port Harcourt.
Pastoral Letter to the Church from Archbishop Peter Akinola, Primate of All Nigeria
Excerpt:
"...We also took considerable time to reflect on the context and application of the theme. We came under the conviction that whatever we do to replace the supremacy of God, He would destroy. We also discerned afresh that the voice of the people is not always the voice of God since, as in the case of the Israelites and the golden calf, the voice of the people can actually be rebellion. The serious implication for us is that when our culture, tradition and disposition go against the Word of God, we must choose to be on the Lord’s side. The time-tested and inerrant rule of life must remain the written Word of God. To toy with these in the name of cultural accommodation or contextualization can only lead to worship of pseudo gods and the inevitable attendant confusion and disharmony, as in the case in the worldwide Anglican Communion.
"There are lessons for today’s Church: As we face the real danger of sliding into syncretism, apostasy, and the inevitable divine judgment, what is needed is nothing short of the call by Moses: “Who is on the Lord’s side?” And those on the Lord’s side must not hesitate, whatever the cost, to make their position clearly known. We must resist every attempt from any quarters to be muddled or messed up with those of contrary disposition in any unholy alliance, lest like Israel we get our fingers burnt.
"In all these, we as a church must press on with the mission committed to us – to make disciples of all nations. That is why we have taken steps to elect bishops for the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Nomadic Mission, and the outreach to the scattered flock of God in North America. We are still opening up more areas to direct access to the gospel message by creating more missionary dioceses. This is capital-intensive and Dioceses should therefore demonstrate greater commitment to the endowment fund project. We also encourage individuals who are endowed to support the Church in her missionary emphasis..." Read the entire release here.
*Note: Abp. Akinola's opening remarks at the standing committee meeting are here.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Superb!
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