Nigeria bishops: "We are in a deadly struggle for the soul and survival of our nation"

From Nigeria-

The House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) met under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of the Most Rev. Nicholas D. Okoh, Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria for our annual retreat at the Ibru Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, from January 3rd-9th, 2011. 158 bishops were present. We were blessed by the opportunity to spend time together for prayer, worship and teaching at this beginning of a New Year filled with opportunities and challenges.

The theme of our retreat was ‘A Living Sacrifice’ (Romans 12:1). The Bible studies, led by Bishop Zac Niringiye from the Anglican Church of Uganda, and the various teaching sessions all emphasized the critical importance of surrendering ourselves fully to God’s will and purpose if we are to show the world the power of transformed and dedicated men and women of God. We were challenged to see that so often our failure to live a sacrificial life robs the world of the witness and presence of a church that is able to offer genuine hope to people who are desperately in need of such a testimony. We were reminded again that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a total commitment and affects every aspect of our daily lives including our marriages and families, our stewardship of the resources entrusted to us, and our attitude towards those in authority and those who are in need.

Meeting together as bishops of the Church of Nigeria in Delta State during the rerun of the contested election for Governor of the State we were very conscious of living at a time of great tension in our nation. The ability to conduct a free and fair election, an essential and necessary condition for the future of democracy in our nation, has been seriously compromised by the breakdown in basic security on the roads and in our communities. We are concerned that those who have no credible or hopeful project for our beloved nation may have engineered this breakdown and we urge Federal and State officials to be on ‘red alert’ and be in firm control to ensure a peaceful transition.

More here-

http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acns/news.cfm/2011/1/14/ACNS4766