CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR MESSAGE

CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR MESSAGE


December 20, 2006.

GOD WITH WHOM THERE ARE NO IMPOSSIBILITIES Luke 1: 37
To the human mind, many things are impossible. We look around and are awestruck by the seemingly insurmountable tasks that face us. We long for a problem free society, responsible and effective political and religious leadership. We wish all members of our families, colleagues at work, friends and neighbours are not only understanding but are supportive, loving, caring and mutually respectful. We long to being able not only to pay all our bills but also always have more to assist those that cannot. So many laudable ideas are tossed about in our minds but then available scarce resources create doubts and make our utopian dreams seem impossible.
In ages past, God showed Himself to be the God with whom there are no impossibilities. To earth without form and covered with darkness, He commanded light and gave a fascinating creation. To a family isolated and lost in the deluge, to a people enslaved in a foreign land where many thought redemption was impossible, God saved and re-established them. To a shepherd boy not regarded by even his father he gave a sceptre which is still acclaimed today. To an infant hiding for six years from a murdering grandmother, to three faithful captives who would rather sing in a furnace than serve another god, God not only vindicated, He saved and uplifted.
To a colonized race still hallucinating about a deliverer, to an aged couple well stricken in age and mockingly considered ‘barren’, to a young girl who wondered how possible it was for a chaste girl to be pregnant; God in the incarnation confounded all the wisdom of the world and took unawares those watching for signs. Again and again, God breaks through the natural trend of events to show Himself as God with whom there are no impossibilities.
To a world which seemed to have everything ‘under control’ but lost about the hereafter, God showed the ‘kingdom of heaven is at hand’. To the young couple who unexpectedly ran out of wine at their wedding feast, He turned jars of tasteless water to the most tasteful wine.
This our God in Christ Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, restored sight to the man born blind, fed thousands from a little provision for a lad and teaches that with faith as tiny as the mustard seed in God, NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE. Even while in pain on the cross, He demonstrated this to the remorseful thief who had the faith to ask for the impossible at the eleventh hour.
Born in one of the lowest possible manner, raised in an humble way, though without sin, he was baptized with the repentant, hated for doing good, condemned out of envy and sacrificed for all humanity, His resurrection showed the possibility of life after death as the tomb remains empty.
As we think and pray to our God in whom we have said there is no impossibility, we also cherish the apt reminder of our brother, Martyn Minns, Bishop of CANA that there are two exceptions to this assertion, two things that are impossible for God. One, God cannot tolerate sin and two God cannot stop loving you and me, Alleluiah!
There is therefore the submission that as we remember and celebrate the birth of the Saviour of the world, Jesus the Christ, we reflect on the possibilities He came to give: new beginning, new life, new heart, love in spite of all the hurt the world throws on our doorsteps, hope in spite of all pitiable situations and assurance that faithfully trusting, we are acceptable and indeed welcome to our Maker’s presence. Such reflections should encourage us to reach out to our neighbours, offering gifts of love money cannot buy, forgiveness that promotes reconciliation and above all, sharing the message of salvation available only in Jesus the Christ.
Today, God calls us his children to release ourselves like Noah, Moses, Elizabeth and Mary did, content that His will be done in our lives. We are to be bold like Joshua, David, Elijah, Shadrach and others knowing that greater is He that is in us. God calls to us through Christ to come to the One who knows what is best for us.
As we go into the crucial election period, we urge our politicians to remember that with God, our collective dream for a better Nigeria will be realized God using whosoever he chooses; “for except the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain that build it..” We ask that all eligible citizens register and be God-conscious in casting their votes. We look forward to God working in us all to build a godly country free from the evils of corruption, ethnic, political and religious violence, and one in which all the ideals which now seem impossible to the human mind become the norm.
May we all experience the presence and redeeming power of God breaking through into our difficult and humanly impossible situations this holy season and in the coming New Year.
The Lord be with you.

+Peter Abuja. .

LARGE AMERICAN CHURCHES VOTE TO JOIN CANA: "This is a new chapter"

LARGE AMERICAN CHURCHES VOTE TO JOIN CANA: "This is a new chapter"
CONN/771206

December 17th, 2006
A Press Release from The Falls Church and Truro Church
FAIRFAX and FALLS CHURCH, Va., Dec. 17 – The Falls Church and Truro Church reported today that both congregations voted overwhelmingly to sever ties with The Episcopal Church in the U.S. and join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, or CANA.
Of the 1,348 eligible voting members casting ballots at The Falls Church this past week, 1,228, or 90 percent, voted in favor of the first question, or “resolution,” on the ballot about whether to sever ties. On the second and final resolution, 1,279 of 1,350 eligible members, or 94 percent, voted in favor of retaining the church’s real and personal property.
Of the 1,095 eligible voting members casting ballots at Truro Church, 1,010, or 92 percent voted in favor of severing ties. On the second resolution, 1,034 of 1,095 eligible members, or 94 percent, voted in favor of retaining Truro’s real and personal property. Both churches used essentially identical ballots. The specific text of each resolution at The Falls Church follows at the end of this release.
Each of these churches conducted their votes as part of a congregational meeting. They followed steps recommended by a “protocol” for departing congregations unanimously recommended by a Special Committee of the Diocese of Virginia and supported by Bishop Peter Lee.
That protocol states that a “70% majority of the votes cast shall be necessary” to support separating from the Episcopal Church. It also states that if the vote to disaffiliate passes by the 70% majority, a second vote, also requiring a 70% majority, is needed for the “departing congregations” to be able to leave with their “real and personal property” at a price to be negotiated later.
“This is a new chapter for The Falls Church and other congregations voting thus far and early next year,” said the Rev. John Yates, Rector, The Falls Church. “While we look forward to continuing a productive role in the Anglican Communion, we harbor no ill will to our colleagues in the Diocese of Virginia. And we agree, as Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has indicated, that when two groups have irreconcilable differences, the pastoral thing to do is find a gracious way to separate.”
“Our churches conducted our congregational votes by following the straight-forward procedures established by the Virginia legislature,” said Jim Oakes, Senior Warden of Truro Church. “Our churches have also held congregational votes in line with the protocol established by Bishop Lee’s Special Committee. We fully expect to amicably resolve all questions regarding the status of our clergy and our property.”
CANA is missionary initiative of the Church of Nigeria and the Anglican District of Virginia. It will provide oversight and a U.S.-based structure for these northern Virginia churches leaving the Diocese of Virginia.
“This has been an extraordinary journey,” said Tom Wilson, Senior Warden of The Falls Church. “It was heartening to see so many of our people take part in this process and speak clearly where we stand. We look forward to our future as active members serving Christ in the Anglican Communion.”