Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

The Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has approved the creation of nine new Missionary dioceses.

Approval for the new dioceses was given in Enugu at the just concluded National meeting attended by members of the House of Bishops, the clergy and the laity.

New Mission Strategy

The Missionary Dioceses include Badagry, Ogbomosho, Igala and Zonkwa. Others are Arochukwu/Ohafia, Ikwuano, Isiukwuato, Ogoni and Kubwa.

The Anglican Communion now has a total of 91 dioceses in Nigeria including the newly created. Under the new mission objectives of the Church tagged Mission 1-1-3, Nigerian Anglicans hope to double its more than 17-million population by 2007.

The Primate of Nigeria, the Most Revd Peter Akinola believes the creation of more dioceses is a strategy to enhance church growth and effective administration.

Retirement

Meanwhile two Bishops of the Anglican Communion will be retiring this year. They are the Rt Revd Joseph Omoyajowo, Bishop of Ijebu and the Rt Revd George Bako, Bishop of Lokoja and Former Director-General of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.

Endowment Fund

Another major decision of the summit was a resolve to further strengthen the Vision of the Church initiated by Archbishop Akinola shortly after his election as Primate in 2000. In Enugu, the spotlight was on improving a sound financial base under the Endowment Fund (EF).

Earlier the Primate in his opening address called for a reappraisal of the EF, as majority of dioceses have waned in their commitment. "We are held back by the Endowment Fund not being fully gathered as and when it ought to. It is now left for us Standing Committee to decide how... to move the programme forward,' he said.

Key objectives of the one billion naira Endowment Fund are to support rural dioceses, mission and evangelism, while reducing the assessment paid by the dioceses.

The meeting agreed to embark on new measures to accelerate the achievement of the one billion naira benchmark by 2006. Till date only 305 million has been realised.

The next Standing Committee meeting will be hosted by the Diocese of Kaduna in March 2005.

Article By Peter Onwubuariri Church of Nigeria News