4 March 2010
Dear Friends,
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and
scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this
parable to them, saying:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not
leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And
when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls
together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which
was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,
if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9
And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbours together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for
I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:1-10)
The lost sheep and the lost coin are great stories which Jesus told and they have such an impact in their truth and application
for our world today. I did not know that I was lost until Jesus found me. I did not know how precious I was until I came to know
Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Sometimes I sat in my room alone, shedding tears of joy and thankfulness like a precious coin
returned to its owner and available for spending – and quite honestly, I would rather be spent by my owner than be spent by
Satan! As I continued my growth in Christ I became more secure when I got to know that I was a lost sheep and the shepherd
had found me. What gives me security here is that the Master takes me on his shoulders and will never again allow me to
become lost. Instead of yelling at me, he cuddles me. Not knowing that I was lost, I had been wandering in the wilderness but
now, worn out and hungry, he cuddles me around and makes it his responsibility to feed me, protect me and shelter me.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
It is reassuring that this Saviour is so very much around; he is alive and if he can save us from being lost and from being mis-
spent by the devil, he surely can save us from anything! Indeed he has saved us from hell, from everlasting death, from the
powers of Satan, from darkness and eternal damnation. This assurance is so great, so vast and so true: no power, no
suffering, no persecution is too big for him to cope with.
As examples of what we face today, let me give you the stories of two Trinity Churches. Holy Trinity, Rikkos, was a growing
Anglican church, mostly made up of young traders, with a zeal and passion for mission and evangelism. They had
successfully, within three years, built a church and a Vicarage on a piece of land in Rikkos. During the September crisis in
2001, eight members of the church were killed in their houses and their bodies chopped to pieces and thrown into the river;
others were taken away by the Muslim attackers and disappeared. We were struggling to recover from our losses when in
May 2002 another member of the same church was killed in that area. Most of the members of the church fled from the entire
Rikkos area. After that members were reassured that they could worship and develop the church all over again, which they
did. Again in 2008 the church was heavily attacked by Muslims; the vicarage was looted and destroyed as well as the main
church,. The church, whose membership had been depleted drastically, is now in danger of temporary closure because our
Muslim neighbours will not allow Christian worship in the church.
The second example is Trinity Chapel near the junction leading to Bauchi and Bauchi Ring Road by the University quarters.
The members of Trinity Chapel are mainly students from the University with a few of their staff and other families. They had
bought musical instruments and audio equipment worth millions of naira, constructed the fencing of the church, bought new
robes for the choir and decorated the church waiting for full dedication by the Bishop. A day to the dedication, the Muslim
attackers demolished parts of the church, burnt it down, looted the equipment and turned the joy of the students into sorrow.
The young people would not be deterred, however, and after putting together their resources they began work. Then there
came a fresh attack in January 2010. What is even worse is that in spite of the curfew, their block-making machine was
dismantled and stolen at night. Their workers on the site are constantly being harassed or beaten up. Holy Trinity Rikkos has
not worshipped in a church for over fourteen months; Trinity Church is worshipping, but without a roof and under constant
threat of being attacked again.
If Jesus had not found me, a lost sheep, a lost coin, where would I have been? What would I have been doing in the face of all
these provocations, frustrations and outright hatred. Our Saviour has found us, but precisely for that reason, the world now
does not like us; we have left them. The world, however, cannot make our Saviour drop us out of his hands. This is our
message in Lent 2.
The Lord be with you,
+The Most Rev. Dr. B. A. Kwashi
Archbishop of Jos
Dear Friends,
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and
scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this
parable to them, saying:4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not
leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And
when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls
together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which
was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,
if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9
And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbours together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for
I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:1-10)
The lost sheep and the lost coin are great stories which Jesus told and they have such an impact in their truth and application
for our world today. I did not know that I was lost until Jesus found me. I did not know how precious I was until I came to know
Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Sometimes I sat in my room alone, shedding tears of joy and thankfulness like a precious coin
returned to its owner and available for spending – and quite honestly, I would rather be spent by my owner than be spent by
Satan! As I continued my growth in Christ I became more secure when I got to know that I was a lost sheep and the shepherd
had found me. What gives me security here is that the Master takes me on his shoulders and will never again allow me to
become lost. Instead of yelling at me, he cuddles me. Not knowing that I was lost, I had been wandering in the wilderness but
now, worn out and hungry, he cuddles me around and makes it his responsibility to feed me, protect me and shelter me.
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!
It is reassuring that this Saviour is so very much around; he is alive and if he can save us from being lost and from being mis-
spent by the devil, he surely can save us from anything! Indeed he has saved us from hell, from everlasting death, from the
powers of Satan, from darkness and eternal damnation. This assurance is so great, so vast and so true: no power, no
suffering, no persecution is too big for him to cope with.
As examples of what we face today, let me give you the stories of two Trinity Churches. Holy Trinity, Rikkos, was a growing
Anglican church, mostly made up of young traders, with a zeal and passion for mission and evangelism. They had
successfully, within three years, built a church and a Vicarage on a piece of land in Rikkos. During the September crisis in
2001, eight members of the church were killed in their houses and their bodies chopped to pieces and thrown into the river;
others were taken away by the Muslim attackers and disappeared. We were struggling to recover from our losses when in
May 2002 another member of the same church was killed in that area. Most of the members of the church fled from the entire
Rikkos area. After that members were reassured that they could worship and develop the church all over again, which they
did. Again in 2008 the church was heavily attacked by Muslims; the vicarage was looted and destroyed as well as the main
church,. The church, whose membership had been depleted drastically, is now in danger of temporary closure because our
Muslim neighbours will not allow Christian worship in the church.
The second example is Trinity Chapel near the junction leading to Bauchi and Bauchi Ring Road by the University quarters.
The members of Trinity Chapel are mainly students from the University with a few of their staff and other families. They had
bought musical instruments and audio equipment worth millions of naira, constructed the fencing of the church, bought new
robes for the choir and decorated the church waiting for full dedication by the Bishop. A day to the dedication, the Muslim
attackers demolished parts of the church, burnt it down, looted the equipment and turned the joy of the students into sorrow.
The young people would not be deterred, however, and after putting together their resources they began work. Then there
came a fresh attack in January 2010. What is even worse is that in spite of the curfew, their block-making machine was
dismantled and stolen at night. Their workers on the site are constantly being harassed or beaten up. Holy Trinity Rikkos has
not worshipped in a church for over fourteen months; Trinity Church is worshipping, but without a roof and under constant
threat of being attacked again.
If Jesus had not found me, a lost sheep, a lost coin, where would I have been? What would I have been doing in the face of all
these provocations, frustrations and outright hatred. Our Saviour has found us, but precisely for that reason, the world now
does not like us; we have left them. The world, however, cannot make our Saviour drop us out of his hands. This is our
message in Lent 2.
The Lord be with you,
+The Most Rev. Dr. B. A. Kwashi
Archbishop of Jos
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ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF JOS
TRINITY ANGLICAN CHURCH, JOS