Another Nigerian Brethren congregation has suffered an attack during
worship, shortly before leaders of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria
(EYN--the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) are to gather for the
Majalisa or general church council, equivalent to the Annual Conference
of the US church.
EYN’s 66th Majalisa is scheduled for April 16-19 on the theme,
“Reclaiming Our Heritage as Peace Church in Such a Time Like This.”
On Sunday, April 7, gunmen suspected to be part of the radical
Islamist group called Boko Haram attempted an attack on an EYN
congregation in the city of Maiduguri in the northeast of Nigeria. The
attack came while the congregation was in worship, and a Nigerian
television station reporting the incident noted, “Today’s incident marks
the first time that an attack will be launched on a church in the
Maiduguri metropolis in broad daylight during Sunday service since the
Boko Haram insurgence heightened in the area.”
Worshipers told
the TV stations that about five gunmen opened fire into the church,
during the sermon, but that soldiers who were stationed at a post in
front of the church immediately repelled the attack. One soldier was hit
by a bullet but was treated and discharged from hospital, the TV
station reported.
Since that attack, others have followed reports an EYN leader by
e-mail. In one incident last week 16 people were killed in an area of
Adamawa State, with six more injured--and a majority of those affected
were members of EYN, the report said. On April 8, one person was shot
dead in Gwoza following the attack on a Christian district head in that
area of Borno State, and in another incident a group of Christians
playing cards near the Gwoza general hospital were shot and killed.
Majalisa to be on theme of peace
Church of the Brethren general secretary Stan Noffsinger has sent a
letter to EYN general secretary Jinatu Wamdeo and to the Nigerian
Brethren as they gather for their annual meeting this week. Noffsinger
was to have spoken at the Majalisa, but canceled his trip to Nigeria out
of concern for the added burden and expense to the Nigerian church for
the extra security that would have been required for his public presence
at the event.
Noffsinger’s letter expressed his regrets and the continued concern
of American Brethren for “the safety and wellbeing of the members of
Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria.... We can hardly imagine the struggle you
are living with as a people committed to Christ’s witness of
nonviolence,” he wrote. “Your witness of Christ’s peace to the US Church
of the Brethren has been profound in ways that move our hearts deeply
toward our Lord.... You are known and will be known globally as a people
who are Living Stones of Christ’s Peace.
“I will be ceaseless
in praying for you and the General Council in the coming days,”
Noffsinger wrote. “May the 66th General Council gathering in Christ’s
name, be a witness of the Christ light in Nigeria.”
“We are
encouraged by your words of love, concern, and commitment,” wrote Wamdeo
in response. “We are grateful for your prayers which we believe sustain
us in the midst of persecution. The lost peace could not be found
unless we keep talking to our Lord Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace.
Indeed we are together in good or in bad situation. We will continue
praying for peace in the entire world.... Extend our gratitude to all
Brethren whom we know are in deep concern for us. Thank you very much
for your commitments and ceaseless prayers for Nigeria.”
Find the full report on the attack on the EYN congregation from Channels Television at www.channelstv.com/home/2013/04/07/gunmen-storm-church-during-service-in-maiduguri/
Source: 4/18/2013 Newsline
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