Commentary: The First Session Of The Fourth Synod Of The Anglican Diocese Of Amichi

^{WRITTEN BY CHUKWUEBUKA CHUKWUEMEKA}
The Anglican Church, everywhere, gathers once a year at the Diocesan level to deliberate on issues affecting the church and her mission.

This takes its biblical roots in the Council at Jerusalem as recorded in Acts chapter fifteen. In keeping with this tradition therefore, Dioceses set out time to reflect, review, and re-strategize on ways of furthering her objectives. This is known as the Synod.
This year, the Anglican Diocese of Amichi will be holding the First Session of her Fourth Synod at Saint Stephen’s Church, Osumenyi from Wednesday sixth to Sunday, June 10, 2018. The Bishop and his entourage will arrive Amichi tomorrow. There will be a brief service to flag off the synod, which will be followed by the blessing of the land of Osumenyi by Bishop Ephraim Ikeakor.
The coming of the synod to Osumenyi is a great home coming. It would be recalled that the inaugural synod of the Diocese of Amichi was hosted by Saint Stephen’s Church, Osumenyi, just six months after the Diocese was inaugurated. The history of Christianity, which began in Osumenyi in 1912, is one that is told with great nostalgia. The open arms with which their forbears received the gospel cannot be forgotten in a hurry.
Since the end of the last year’s synod, the Anglican Diocese of Amichi has remained ever vibrant. To the glory of God, the Diocese now has a College of Nursing Sciences to train nurses, midwives and public health workers. The College of Nursing Sciences, Diocesan Hospital Amichi, is the first of such institution by any Diocese in the Church of Nigeria. This is a landmark achievement, bearing in mind that the Diocese is still less than 10 years since its inauguration in January, 2009.
Equally, our indefatigable and visionary Bishop, The Right Reverend Ephraim Ikeakor, has contracted a reputable company to provide 24 hours Fibre Internet with radio last mile services to the Diocese. When fully deployed, the facility will connect the College of Nursing Sciences, Holy Child Convent, Amichi and Master’s Vessel Seminary, Osumenyi to world class libraries. The internet service will be able to connect all institutions of the Diocese in all locations within the Diocese. This will guarantee that all the Diocesan programmes could be streamed live on various platforms from anywhere within the Diocese.
The Holy Child convent, Amichi took another quantum leap within the year as the school got a tastefully furnished Chapel, an administrative block, examination halls, school library and laboratories. The ultra modern complex was dedicated on November 26, 2018 by His Lordship, The Rt. Rev’d Ikeakor. Other projects under execution are the multi million naira ultra modern secretariat complex, the women ministry kitchen complex and the multipurpose shopping complex. They are all nearing completion.
The theme of the synod is “thou shall not steal”. The Bishop, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, chose this theme as a way of stirring the conscience of the society to this divine injunction as contained in Exodus chapter 20, verse 15. It is very apt today, especially in a society such as ours where there is full scale looting of public treasury. A society tottering under the heavy burden of social injustice, political victimization, economic rape and ethnic/religious cleansing surely needs to hear this holy injunction.
Same goes for the church, which has suddenly become a playground for rascals and charlatans who defraud the unsuspecting public with gimmicks in the name of miracles and prosperity. Special highlights of the Synod include the Presidential Address by the Bishop and its launching on Saturday, June 9, 2018 by 11am. There will also be the Synod Thanksgiving service and fund-raising for the Diocesan development projects on Sunday, June 10, 2018 by 10am.
All Osumenyi sons and daughters, all members of Amichi Diocese, friends of the Diocese, well wishers and all lovers of God are hereby called upon to troop out and support the Bishop of our time, the trail blazer, His Lordship, The Right Reverend Ephraim Okechukwu Ikeakor as he continues to push further the frontiers of evangelism and pilot the affairs of this great Diocese to even greater heights. Jesus Christ is our sure anchor!