CHRISTMAS: ANGLICAN CLERGY URGE NIGERIANS TO EMBRASE LOVE AND RECONCILIATION
By: Safiya Dabban
Anglican clergy have urged Nigerians to embrace love, peace and reconciliation, describing the Christmas season as a critical moment for healing, forgiveness and renewed hope for the country.
Delivering a Christmas message during the service, the Vicar, All Saints Anglican Church Wuse Zone 5 Abuja, Venerable Ernest Onohua, said the celebration of Christmas in 2025 was a reminder of God’s faithfulness to humanity through the gift of Jesus Christ, whom he described as the Saviour of the world and the Prince of Peace.
“We thank God for another year of Christmas. God has been kind and faithful to us by giving us His only Son,” Onohua said, adding that without the coming of Christ, humanity would have remained without hope. He explained that while the first Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, Jesus Christ, the second Adam, restored mankind through love and peace.
The cleric challenged Christians to reflect the character of Christ in their daily lives, especially by resolving conflicts and living peacefully with others. According to him, Christmas is a time to settle differences, forgive one another and demonstrate love, as instructed in the Scriptures.
“God is love, and those who follow Him must live in love. We pray that it shall be well with us and with our nation as we prepare for the coming year,” he said.
Also speaking, Venerable Emmanuel Okorafo from the Diocese of Anglican Missionary Congregations (AMC), Europe, emphasised the need to keep Christ at the center of Christmas celebrations, warning against reducing the season to mere festivities.
He described Christmas as a season for reflection, forgiveness and reconciliation.
“Christ is the King of peace and the embodiment of God’s love. This is a time to forgive, make amends and enter the new year with a clean slate so that God’s blessings can abound,” Okorafo noted.
Worshippers at the service expressed gratitude and joy for the celebration. Mr Rogers, a member of the congregation, thanked God for life and good health, saying the well-being of his family was his greatest joy this Christmas.
The celebration concluded with prayers for peace, unity and progress in Nigeria, as worshippers looked forward to the new year with faith, gratitude and renewed commitment to love and peaceful coexistence.