By Our Correspondent
The Vice Chancellor of Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta state, Prof. Timothy O. Olagbemiro has adivised Nigerians to use the period of the Christmas to reach out to the needy in the society.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the Nine Lessons and Carols of the institution, the VC said the season was all about giving as Jesus is the reason for the season.
He said said; Today we are having Christmas Carol together where the students are actually trying to show their talents and to able to invite other churches that came here to sing with us. This is the celebration of Christmas. Christmas is a time of happiness, time of joy and we are all celebrating together.”
. The VC who presented a special number ( O Little Town of Bethlehem)added that; “This land was quite empty, nobody was here, and no soul was here except animals and insects. Now we are here to inhabit the land, we should celebrate Christ in this land and we want to add value to people around here.
I believe this time is a time of giving, Christ was given to us by the Almighty God, he is a gift to us to redeem us from all our sins, and we should also be gift to others and be example to others by giving to them. When the Lord talked to the Shepherd, we wondered who the Shepherds are”.
According to him,”These are the rural people in the society. People that had nothing, no education, yet he gave them a gift and called them by telling them the story. Since he gave them that grace to have the story, we should also have the grace to tell others the story about the birth of Christ”.
Nigerians, he said,” should realize that without God we are nothing. The birth of Christ was given to us because of our sins and we should be able to accept Him as our Lord and Saviour. Nigeria cannot be anywhere without God. We are religious but we are not righteous in Christ. It is not religiosity that is important but it is worshipping of the Almighty God by accepting Him that is very important.”
“I feel quite happy that we are fulfilled that we have touched lives; in our own little programme, the young ones, the eldest, the middle ones have seen that truly this Birth of Christ is real and we should celebrate it with joy and happiness in order to see people laugh. Seeing gladness in their faces makes me happy,” he said
The VC also said, “Our students, I think we are bringing them up gradually in the way of the Lord. We let them know that nobody gets anywhere without God and also let them know that others are building their talents. Many of them have talents too, they should able to come out to join the other youths in showcasing their talents with something that is good, something that is real, something that touches lives.”
“You could see the young ones dancing and happy. That is what we want to do by putting laughter on the faces of people. It is very important and that is our key goal and we have achieved it tonight. We are bringing up our students in the right way of God. It is a tertiary institution but we have the birth of Christ as our base”, Prof Timothy Olagbemiro stated.
In his exhortation, Pastor James Ugbede harped on the need for Nigerians to draw closer to God for their personal salvation.
He also used the opportunity to implore the rich to show greater love to the poor at Christmas and always.
According to him; ” Christmas is here again, let us prepare a place in our hearts to receive the Child Jesus; we should draw closer to God and as we celebrate Christmas, let the rich in the society share with the poor and also remember them after Christmas”.
Our Correspondent reports that several churches took part in the maiden edition of the Christmas Carols of the Edwin Clark University, Kiagbodo, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.
