United Methodist Church’s new country Bishop for Nigeria, Cameroon, and Senegal, Bishop Emmanuel Ande has pledged to use his Episcopal office to bring lasting unity and peace to the Church.
Bishop Ande, an indigen of Taraba, made the pledge on Wednesday night during a service to welcome him back from Ghana where he was elected and ordained as the Bishop early this week.
He countered the allegation of same-sex marriage and homosexuality against the church in some quarters, describing it as misinformation, noting that the UMCN was built on biblical principles, and obedient to the law and the Nigerian constitution.
He called on Reverend Micah Dopa, the Dean of the Southern Conference of the UMC and all its members, to return to their homes.
“The UMCN wishes to appealed to brethren in the Global Methodist Church breakaway faction, that a church cannot be instituted on conflict, and cannot be established by seizing the property of another church”. He noted.
The Bishop appealed to Governor Agbu Kefas to open up the Church’s property that has been sealed as a result of the issues that engulfed the church, and enable members to celebrate Christmas in their churches.
“I come to you as a servant and not a Lord or King who sees himself above you. I am aware of the crisis that has plagued our Church for long and I can not exonerate myself of all blame. I ask you to forgive me. We have to mend the broken cracks. We would treat everyone justly and fairly without discrimination.
“I call on our brothers of the Southern leadership that the time has come for us to put our differences aside and unite to create a better future. Let me also call on our brothers of the Global Methodist Church to rethink their actions. You can not establish a Church by taking the property of another Church.
“It is also very important to clarify that we are not a gay Church. The Church does not, in any way, support homosexuality. That is total misinformation. We are founded on strong Biblical principles and we stand steadfast on them,” the Bishop submitted.
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