…After Inaugurating Diocese, Lay President
By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
At last, Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr Oliver Ali Aba, on Sunday in Calabar, inaugurated the Diocese of Atamunu and enthroned Rt. Rev. Barr. Otuekong Ukut, Ph.D, as the pioneer Bishop of the diocese, otherwise known as Methodist Cathedral of Favour, Atamunu, Calabar.
The church also presented elder Dr. Gabriel Etim-Ben Inyang as the Lay President of the Diocese of Atamunu, to join hands with other stakeholders to move the church forward.
The Prelate urged the newly installed pioneer bishop to cater for the church, just as he would have taken care of his flock, calling for patience, tolerance and hard work in order to take the church to enviable height.
Dr Aba said, “Have care for your followers. Do not joke with the issue of infrastructural development, if need be, initiate a scholarship fund to take care of intelligent and indigent students, who are willing to go to school.
In his exhortation, shortly after accepting the responsibility of a bishop, where he promised not to betray the confidence reposed in him, Otuekong said, “I will fight immorality, evil act that is not in tandem with the tenets of the Christian faith.
The pioneer bishop, who spoke on the theme: ‘Contending With the Faith,’ “I shall do everything within my reach to move the church forward.
“I shall fight immorality, corruption, and evil acts which prompts men of faith to deviate from Christian norms and values. I would oppose all acts that work against humanity.”
Drawing a biblical inference from the Holy Bible, from the Book of Jude 1:3, the brand new bishop assured the church of living up to expectation, promising not to betray the church.
He said, “Like Jude, who fought immorality, opposed all the deities in the days of old. I would do same.
“I charged you Christians to do same, so that our nation can become a better place for us to co-exist in peace.
“I promise to stand for the truth, just like John Wesley, one of the fathers of faith, who handed over Methodist to the people on the foundation of truth in 1842.”
He charged all the men and women of faith to stand up against all odds that undermine Christian faith and oppose gay marriage, which if not checked on time stand the chance of destroying the society. We oppose gay marriage in totality.”
