NCPC boss sensitizes church leaders on pilgrimage

The Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Mr John Kennedy Opera, has called on church leaders to encourage their members to go on holy pilgrimage to Israel, Rome or Greece. He disclosed this recently in Abuja while on a sensitisation visit to Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Abuja, during their 18th annual diocesan synod held at Liberation Methodist Church Gwarinpa, Abuja. The NCPC helmsman stressed the importance of holy pilgrimage, to Israel by Christians, as it is an injunction from God 'that Many people and strong nations shall come to seek the lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord' (Zechariah 8:22). He explained that every Christian who embarked on pilgrimage to Israel with the mind to pray would become spiritually transformed at the end of the spiritual exercise. According to him, 'the pilgrimage we are doing is a spiritual one.' In the words of Opara, 'I want to encourage our spiritual fathers to sponsor people in the church because pilgrimage is for those who are spiritually rich, but materially poor.'He stated that the commission considered it important to collaborate with the church leaders to ensure that more church leaders and workers were encouraged to go on holy pilgrimage. He decried a situation whereby people hid under the name of pilgrimage to abscond while in the holy land. He thus advised the spiritual fathers to guarantee members with impeccable characters who would come back spiritually transformed. He told members of the Methodist Church family that the commission had introduced two pilgrimages in one year. He explained that this year, the first airlift of the pilgrims would commence on March 27, to the second week of April, while the second pilgrimage commenced in October and end in December 2012. The NCPC boss used the opportunity offered by the church to advise and encourage Christians to pray more and be steadfast in their prayers as the present security challenges facing the country would soon be overcome. Earlier, the Prelate, Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Dr Sunday Ola Makinde, in his address at the synod presented on his behalfby the Methodist Bishop of Nyanya Diocese, RT. Very S.R Notey, welcomed members to this year's Synod. According to His Eminence, the theme of the conference of Methodist Church Nigeria and that of the synod this year is 'Behold, I am doing a new thing' (Isaiah 43:19). He further affirmed, 'Indeed God is doing a new thing in our land, church and families. We might not see it or realise it, but His presence and mercies among us are enormous. On the state of the nation, the Prelate urged Christians to pray and fast more than never before to curb or totally put an end to the situation, stressing that 'the peace in Nigeria is a fragile one.' According to him 'Nigeria must be an indivisible entity.
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