Barr. Nnawuchi heads CATOL dedication committee

The Anglican Diocese of Owerri has set up a committee to organize the dedication of the Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord (CATOL) on May 6, 2017.
The committee, headed by Sir Ndukwe Nnawuchi, the Registrar/Clerk of the Diocese as well as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) also has Rev. Canon Echi Nwogu, one of the chaplains of the Knights in the Diocese, as secretary.

The move was sequel to the approval of the Primate and Metropolitan, His Grace Most Rev. Nicholas Okoh for the dedication of the cathedral church.

The Anglican Bishop of Owerri, Rt Rev. Cyril C. Okorocha Ph.D, who made this announcement at an emergency Diocesan Board meeting held at the Cathedral early last week, also endorsed the setting up of sub committees to work under the Central Committee, They include Finance, Publicity, Protocol, Works and Transport, Welfare and Entertainment, Worship, Prayer, Accommodation, Medical, Think-tank, and Security and Youths Sub committees.

Bishop Okorocha, expressed confidence that the dedication committee under the chairmanship of the Registrar/Clerk would do a good job. He recalled that Sir (Barr) Ndukwe Nnawuchi, had chairmaned a committee of that magnitude in 2011, when the House of Bishops, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) attended a five-day standing committee meeting in the same Cathedral.

In his acceptance speech, the Senior Advocate thanked the Bishop, whom he described as indefatigable, for considering him fit and worthy to handle such an assignment again, and promised that he and his committee members would do their best to make the dedication and consecration ceremonies notably successful.

In another development, the Lord Bishop of Owerri Rt. Rev. Cyril C. Okorocha Ph.D, has frowned at the spirit of disobedience being exhibited by some of the Clerics in the Diocese.

The Bishop stated this at the Diocesan Board meeting, while commenting on the update on the Diocesan Stewardship,

He noted that, some of the Clerics have cultivated the habit of sometimes withholding the remittance of stewardship to the Diocesan office, while some, he said, work against the laid down principles, through their misapplication of funds to projects in their respective parishes and stations, without prior approval to do so, or by first finish the payment of their stewardship, from which they are paid their monthly salaries, before embarking on such projects.

The Prelate reminded them that the moratorium placed on building projects, has not yet been lifted, but stated clearly that eternity is irreversible, and as such, should realise that they were not to work for here on earth, but for heaven.

The Lord Bishop, however used the occasion to express delight that a good number of the Priests in the Diocese have proved to be worthy ambassadors of the Diocese each time they had the opportunity to attend workshops and training session.

Earlier in an admonition, that preceded the business of the day, the Clerical Synod Secretary of the Diocese, the Reverend Canon Chike Samuelson, who took his text from the book of Nehemiah Chapter 2, reminded the Diocesan Board members of the purpose of summoning the meeting, and challenged all the faithful in the Diocese, to rise to the occasion of coming together, to see that the remaining work on the Cathedral was completed before its dedication on Saturday, May 6, 2017, adding that, no one dare constitute himself into the positions of Sanballat and Tobiahin during this auspicious occasion.

The C.S.S, who is also the Administrator of the Uratta North Archdeaconry (UNA) cited the case of Zerubabel in the Bible, and warned that no one person can do the work alone, stressing the need for all to make themselves instruments for the completion of the building of the Cathedral before the scheduled of the dedication ceremony.

(c) Christian voice newspaper