A PROCLAMATION For A Day of Fasting and Praying for the Abducted Nigerian Girls by The Board of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Whereas, our hearts are deeply troubled and our minds profoundly disturbed by the abduction of more than 300 girls from their school in northeastern Nigeria by the Boko Haram terrorists on April 15; and Whereas, after three weeks, 276 of the girls are still missing and are reported to be suffering unconscionable abuse and denigration of body and spirit; and Whereas, we feel the anguish of the parents, siblings, and friends whose loved ones have been captured; Whereas, this horrific action takes place during this period of history when exploitation of women, children, the poor, and the otherwise vulnerable is accepted by many as sound perspective, the justifiable use of strength, and even aligned with Christian principles; and Whereas, we applaud the efforts of the Obama administration and other world leaders to lend support to the Nigerian government in their attempt to rescue the girls; but Whereas our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ taught us that to dispel some evils requires more than power and might, but are not affected “except by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21); NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, call upon authorized governments and other authorities throughout the world to engage in sustained, meaningful endeavor to effect justice for the disenfranchised and to end economic exploitation of the weak and poor; and NOW, THEREFORE, we petition all communities of faith who call upon the one Sovereign God, to join us in a day of fasting and praying to petition the Almighty to visit us with God’s amazing power and grace to effect the resolution of this grave insult to the humanity of the Nigerian school girls and the wretched grief of their families, and to give us a witness that will urge upon the hearts of humankind the cessation of exploitation, abuse, and other wickednesses toward disenfranchised people all over the world; WE DO HEREBY PROCLAIM Friday, May 30, 2014, a day of fasting and prayer in the name of the one God who is in us all and above us all. All this we do in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and pray that the Lord will have mercy upon us. Amen. Signed: (Bishops, active and retired, of the A.M.E. Zion Church) President of the Board- Rt. Rev. Dr. Seth O. Lartey Senior Bishop- Rt. Rev. George E. Battle, Jr. Bishop Richard K. Thompson Bishop Louis Hunter, Sr. Bishop Kenneth Monroe Bishop Darryl B. Starnes, Sr. Bishop Dennis V. Proctor Bishop Mildred B. Hines Bishop W. Darin Moore Bishop Michael Angelo Frencher Retired Bishops Bishop Joseph Johnson Bishop Marshall H. Strickland Bishop Nathaniel Jarret Bishop George W.C. Walker, Sr. Bishop S. Chucka Ekemam, Sr. Bishop Warren M. Brown
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 15:03:37 +0000
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