The Presbyterian Church Holds Synod Meeting, Commends Parishioners For Keeping Faith
The Pressbyterian Church of Nigeria, South Central Synod held her 19 th Annual Synod Meeting at the St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Dan Fodio Road, Aba, Abia State ,with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and under the Chairmanship of the Synod Moderator, Rev. Ibeabuchi Uchechukwu Agwu, from July 16 to 19, 2015 with the theme: ‘Reigning in Life through Christ’ Romans 5:17. “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, JesusChrist.(KJV).
In the Presbyterian system of church governance the synod is a level of administration between the local presbytery and the national general assembly . The 19th synod was remarkable because of the highly inspirational and soul touching Key Note Speech delivered by Hon. Barr Nkem Abonta, a member representing Ukwa East /West at the Federal House of Representatives Abuja.
He admonished all Christians, both the Clergy and Laity to wake up to the challenge of strange doctrines, which are being currently propagated in modern day Christianity. In the same vein, Christians should reposition themselves to be able to uphold the truth as contained in scriptures. Since God has given the power to them, they should manifest same to the world in the power of the Holy Spirit, as they carry out the great commission in the demonstration power.
The Moderator of the Synod, Rev. Ibeabuchi Uchechukwu Agwu during his well researched and articulately presented address, called on all Pressbyterians to reign over sin, sickness, poverty, defeat, depression, and over the devil and all his plans. The Moderator said “The power to reign does not depend on our background. It does not depend on our education, or how we look, or how much savings we have in our bank account. The power to reign is based entirely on Christ alone! This declaration, that we will reign in life, is based on a promise that has been recorded in the Word of God”.
According to him,”the secret of reigning in life lies in receiving everything that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross If we are living a life of defeat, of being defeated by sin and guilt and condemnation, by anxiety attacks, or financial lack, we are not living the abundant life that Jesus came to give. Based on the authority of God’s Word, we are destined to reign in life as a king - to have kingly dominion over all the challenges of life that come our way. We are called to be above them all. We have the God-given right to reign in life.”
He said “If you’re a business person, God wants you to have a prosperous business. If you’re a homemaker, you are anointed to bring up wonderful children in the Lord. If you’re a student, God wants you to pass all your classes. If you trust the Lord for a new career, He doesn’t just want you to have a job. He wants you to have a position of influence so that you can be a blessing and be an asset to your organization
“Because of one man’s sin, Adam in the Garden of Eden, death began to reign. We are sinners not because we sin, but because of Adam’s sin. Many believers still think we become sinners by committing sin, but that is not what the Word of God says. What it says is that we are sinners because of Adam’s sin. But we are also made righteous in the New Covenant not because we do righteous deeds but because of one man’s obedience - Jesus on the cross.”
He said, “the secret of reigning in life lies with receiving everything that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross. We can see very clearly here in the Word of God that we are to reign in life through Jesus Christ just by receiving two things from Him: the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness!
The Moderator restated the Synod’s committement to the propagation of the Word and acknowledged the significant role played by parishioners of the Synod in keeping faith with the Presbyterian Church as it remains the best place to be.
He also cautioned delegates to steer clear from doctrinal error and be wary of false prophets and teachers, the best way to do that “is to stay in the Word of God. Daily reading of the Word builds our ability to discern truth from error. We are to follow the Word and not men or women. Our goal is to be with our saviour Jesus Christ in the kingdom which he has gone to prepare for us. It is to spend eternity with God at the second coming of Christ. We should therefore keep this in focus and vigourously press on it”
He sincerely commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his move in tackling corruption in the country and his initiative to involve foreign assistance in handling the challenging and embarrassing security situation in our dear Country.
The Moderator also expressed great concern the unceasing decay of other public infrastructure in the nation, such as highways, feeder roads, city roads and called on Government at all levels to take appropriate and immediate recovery measures to check this decay, as well as provide more infrastructures so as to give the much needed hope and relief to the populace.
He urged governments at various levels owing workers, to as a matter of urgency pay them as every worker derves his or her wage, adding that, the government should as a matter of urgency negotiate with striking workers wherever, particularly, Judiciary staff and implement whatever decisions ever reached to save Nigerians from another nightmare of prolonged strike as many are languishing in Prisons for lack of trials.
According to him, calling something marriage does not make it marriage. Marriage has always been a covenant between a man and a woman which is by its nature ordered toward the procreation and education of children and the unity and wellbeing of the spouses.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the annual synod meeting, the synod welcomed President Muhammadu Buhari into office as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and urged him to settle down immediately to the serious challenge of governance, especially stemming the rising tempo in insurgency by the Boko Haram sect.
The Synod commended the Armed Forces of Nigeria and sympathized with the families of the brave solders paying dearly with their lives in order to contain the insurgency in the Country.
Synod, while mindful of the fact that the fallout from the election into the office of Governor of Abia State is still with the Tribunal, welcomed Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu as Governor of the State and urged him to hit the ground running as nature abhors a vacuum in view of the many challenges facing the State, especially the nonpayment of workers salaries and the closure of Courts (the 3rd arm of Government) since January 2015.
Synod regretted that the momentum in building the Hope Waddell University at Ohafia, Abia State is not matching the vision and strength of the Church that is over 160 years old in Nigeria. Synod called for concerted effort from this year on in order to realize the project.
The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria South Central Synod joined the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other well meaning Nigerians to condemn the call for the abrogation of Anti Gay Laws in Nigeria.
Finally, the Synod is disturbed by the level of insecurity, corruption and unemployment remained unacceptable to Synod. Synod again called on all tiers of Government to raise the political will to tackle insecurity, corruption and unemployment.
The Synod is planning the establishment of Computer /Communication Centre initiated by the Director of Lay development and Training, Rev. Dr Obinna Elijah as part of her collective effort to trian the youths of our Church,
The high point of the Synod was the election of a moderator which is an annual ritual, to pilot the affairs of the synod for the next one year. In an election that was highly competitive, the incumbent moderator, Rev. Ibeabuchi Agwu beat two other contestants to be re-elected for the 4th time.
Bursaries were also given to deserving 20 students, two of which was sponsored by Rev. Dr. Obinna Elijah.Authorship awards were also given to 5 authors for authoring books within the past one year.
The 19th Synod was attended by noted clergy and laity among whom are Barr. Uma O. Uma -Legal Adviser, Aba Presbytery, Barr. Emenike Kalu Okor- Legal Adviser, Aba North Presbytery Barr.Nnachi O. Ndukwe -Legal Adviser, Owerri PresbyteryDr. Barr. Ogwe Kalu Ogwe -Legal Adviser, Aba South Presbytery Barr. Emma Ukaegbu -Legal Adviser, Umuahia Presbytery Barr. Odinachi Uka -Legal Adviser, Umuahia East Presbytery Rev. Lekwauwa Eke