:::::::.....CCRN ABUJA PROVINCE.....:::::::

BACKGROUND
Those who formed what is known today as Abuja Archdiocesan Service Team (ADST) of Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria (CCRN) in 1985 came from various background. The people and the group would not claim to be as organized as we are having it today. Many of the members were Catholics of outstanding qualities while some were nominal Catholics. Because of some weaknesses, defense of the Catholic faith became very difficult. As a result of this, the new religious sect known as Pentecostal Churches capitalized on this shortcoming and founded CCRN as a fertile fishing ground for their members. Many were unable to withstand the slightest provocation from the church authority. They abandoned the church, joined any of these new breed churches or established churches of their own.
This was the scenario from the early to late 80’s when the then Archbishop of Abuja His Eminence, Dominic Cardinal Ekandem of blessed memory announced the indefinite suspension of CCRN in the Archdiocese. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.
We wish to recall that some of the pioneer members of the renewal had earlier embraced the new movement in the church in other parishes, dioceses and provinces before coming to Abuja for greener pastures. Some young and zealous Catholics were also ministered to and they embraced the renewal. However, whatever background one had as a Catholic, one was expected to undergo the seven or eight weeks life in the spirit seminar, belong to at least one ministry in the renewal, be a member for some years, serve in one sensitive position or the other in the prayer group before he/she should be recommended to stand election in the Archdiocese.
INAUGURATION OF ADST
The Archdiocesan Service Team (ADST) formally took off on the 3rd Sunday of March 1985 at our lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-cathedral Garki with delegates from 5 prayer groups fully established. They were:

God’s Temple Community-St Joseph Catholic Church, Gwagwa
Light of the World Prayer Group-Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Garki
Christ the Savior Prayer Group-St Mary Nyanya/Karu
New Life Prayer Group-St Paul Catholic Church, Gwagwalada
Christ the king prayer Group-St Matthew Catholic Church, Karmo

The following officers were elected:
Chairman-Bro Joseph Obeto
Vice chairman-Bro.Thaddeus Chukwu
Financial Secretary-Sr.Blessing Njoku (Bro.Elias Anyanwu took over from her when she left the church)
Treasurer- Bro. Clement (Bro. Obineme E. C took over from him because of his inefficiency).
P.R.O- Bro. Anthony Nwoko.

It has to be noted that these officers were selected to nurture the young organization to maturity. Reverend Father Willy Ojukwu was appointed the Chaplain while Reverend Sr. Mary Tukuh was appointed spiritual adviser.

FIRST OUTING
The first outing organized by this young executive committee (EXCO) was the celebration of the feast of Pentecost in June 1985. It was hosted by Christ the savior Prayer Group, St. Mary’s parish Nyanya / Karu. The celebration being the first of its kind attracted many Catholics some of which eventually joined the renewal. The chaplain and the spiritual adviser were in attendance. Rev. Fr. (Dr) Moses Nnajiofor from Onitsha Archdiocese was also a guest. The celebration lasted for 3 days.

INITIAL SET BACKS / PROBLEMS

Our initial problem was the inability to convince some Catholics about the genuineness of the renewal in the Catholic Church. Some were of the view that the Pentecostals had penetrated into the church to destroy it.

Some priests were very skeptical about the renewal. This created obstacles for the establishment of the renewal in some parishes and outstations.
2) Some overzealous members/leaders left the Catholic Church for other Churches due to little disagreement with the Church’s hierarchy or maybe because they were not well grounded in the Catholic doctrine.
3) The suspension of the renewal in the Archdiocese in October 1989.

However, all these were seen as an act of God to strengthen the members who preserved.

GOOD NEWS
The arrival of His Grace Most Rev. Dr .J.O. Onaiyekan as the co-adjutor Archbishop of Abuja was received with great hope because of his commitment to the Renewal, our prayer was answered and in October 1990, the ban was lifted with Rev. Fr. Frances Kale as the chaplain. This was a welcome development and we quickly reconvened. With the full support of the Archbishop and the Chaplain, we took evangelisation as our major project. The renewal started spreading like wild fire and the presence was felt in almost all parts of the Nigeria Federal Capital Terretory (FCT) Abuja and beyond.

The same EXCO continued until 1991 when the general election was held and some new blood was injected into the committee.

Those elected were as follows:
Chairman- Bro.Joseph Obeto (returned opposed)
Vice Chairman-Bro.Ernest C. Obineme
Secretary-Bro. Ben Nwaso
Assistant Secretary-Sr.Judith Madugwe (May her soul rest in peace)
Financial Secretary-Bro.Elias Anyawu
Treasurer-Bro.Thaddeus Chukwu

These officers completed two terms in their respective offices until 1998 at another general election, new officers were elected while some founding fathers went into retirement from active service.
The following were elected into different offices
Chairman-Bro. Peter Okeugo
Vice Chairman-Bro. Ephraim Ogbo
Secretary- Bro. Samuel Anuolam
Assistant Secretary- Barr.Linus Okwute
Treasurer-Bro. Shuaibu Ojenya

These young and energetic men took up the challenge and were able to make a remarkable impact.

PROGRESS AND GROWTH

The CCRN made steady growth after the suspension was lifted in 1991.The renewal has now over twenty prayer groups and a population of over twenty thousand members.
The celebration of 10th anniversary in 1995 under the able leadership of Bro. Joseph Obeto was very remarkable. The Archbishop officiated at the mass with many priests at the religious in attendance. The first maiden almanac was launched and many brothers and sisters, priests and religious were honored.
The renewal has over the years successfully organized many workshops, revivals, crusades, seminars and conferences.
The first Abuja provincial conference was hosted by the Archdiocese in 1996.
The CCRN had acquired two plots of land within the FCT for her retreat centre and other projects.

CONCLUSION
The history of CCRN in Abuja will not be complete without mentioning our one time chaplain Rev. Fr. Brain Borne who stood by us during the most trying period. He was appointed in January 1989 and in October the same year, the renewal was suspended. This missionary priest though stayed for very short time with us was a great shepherd. He was always with us especially at that trying period. We really love him.

Finally the under listed are the current service team members who were elected in 2004 during the general election.
Bro. Raph Uzochukwu – chairman
Bro. Paul Ogwuru – Vice Chairman
Bro. Donatus Ugwu – Secretary
Bro. Shuaibu Ojenya – Financial Secretary
Dr. Paul Onyenekwe – Treasurer
Evangelizer Chris Ezema – P.R.O

May the name of the Lord be praised both now and forever through Christ our Lord. Amen.


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	HISTORY AN OUTLINE HISTORY OF CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL OF NIGERIA (CCRN) ABUJA ARCHDIOCESE BACKGROUND Those who formed what is known today as Abuja Archdiocesan Service Team (ADST) of Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Nigeria (CCRN) in 1985 came from various background. The people and the group would not claim to be as organized as we are having it today. Many of the members were Catholics of outstanding qualities while some were nominal Catholics. Because of some weaknesses, defense of the Catholic faith became very difficult. As a result of this, the new religious sect known as Pentecostal Churches capitalized on this shortcoming and founded CCRN as a fertile fishing ground for their members. Many were unable to withstand the slightest provocation from the church authority. They abandoned the church, joined any of these new breed churches or established churches of their own. This was the scenario from the early to late 80’s when the then Archbishop of Abuja His Eminence, Dominic Cardinal Ekandem of blessed memory announced the indefinite suspension of CCRN in the Archdiocese. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Amen. We wish to recall that some of the pioneer members of the renewal had earlier embraced the new movement in the church in other parishes, dioceses and provinces before coming to Abuja for greener pastures. Some young and zealous Catholics were also ministered to and they embraced the renewal. However, whatever background one had as a Catholic, one was expected to undergo the seven or eight weeks life in the spirit seminar, belong to at least one ministry in the renewal, be a member for some years, serve in one sensitive position or the other in the prayer group before he/she should be recommended to stand election in the Archdiocese. INAUGURATION OF ADST The Archdiocesan Service Team (ADST) formally took off on the 3rd Sunday of March 1985 at our lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-cathedral Garki with delegates from 5 prayer groups fully established. They were: God’s Temple Community-St Joseph Catholic Church, Gwagwa Light of the World Prayer Group-Our Lady Queen of Nigeria, Garki Christ the Savior Prayer Group-St Mary Nyanya/Karu New Life Prayer Group-St Paul Catholic Church, Gwagwalada Christ the king prayer Group-St Matthew Catholic Church, Karmo The following officers were elected: Chairman-Bro Joseph Obeto Vice chairman-Bro.Thaddeus Chukwu Financial Secretary-Sr.Blessing Njoku (Bro.Elias Anyanwu took over from her when she left the church) Treasurer- Bro. Clement (Bro. Obineme E. C took over from him because of his inefficiency). P.R.O- Bro. Anthony Nwoko. It has to be noted that these officers were selected to nurture the young organization to maturity. Reverend Father Willy Ojukwu was appointed the Chaplain while Reverend Sr. Mary Tukuh was appointed spiritual adviser. FIRST OUTING The first outing organized by this young executive committee (EXCO) was the celebration of the feast of Pentecost in June 1985. It was hosted by Christ the savior Prayer Group, St. Mary’s parish Nyanya / Karu. The celebration being the first of its kind attracted many Catholics some of which eventually joined the renewal. The chaplain and the spiritual adviser were in attendance. Rev. Fr. (Dr) Moses Nnajiofor from Onitsha Archdiocese was also a guest. The celebration lasted for 3 days. INITIAL SET BACKS / PROBLEMS Our initial problem was the inability to convince some Catholics about the genuineness of the renewal in the Catholic Church. Some were of the view that the Pentecostals had penetrated into the church to destroy it. Some priests were very skeptical about the renewal. This created obstacles for the establishment of the renewal in some parishes and outstations. 2) Some overzealous members/leaders left the Catholic Church for other Churches due to little disagreement with the Church’s hierarchy or maybe because they were not well grounded in the Catholic doctrine. 3) The suspension of the renewal in the Archdiocese in October 1989. However, all these were seen as an act of God to strengthen the members who preserved. GOOD NEWS The arrival of His Grace Most Rev. Dr .J.O. Onaiyekan as the co-adjutor Archbishop of Abuja was received with great hope because of his commitment to the Renewal, our prayer was answered and in October 1990, the ban was lifted with Rev. Fr. Frances Kale as the chaplain. This was a welcome development and we quickly reconvened. With the full support of the Archbishop and the Chaplain, we took evangelisation as our major project. The renewal started spreading like wild fire and the presence was felt in almost all parts of the Nigeria Federal Capital Terretory (FCT) Abuja and beyond. The same EXCO continued until 1991 when the general election was held and some new blood was injected into the committee. Those elected were as follows: Chairman- Bro.Joseph Obeto (returned opposed) Vice Chairman-Bro.Ernest C. Obineme Secretary-Bro. Ben Nwaso Assistant Secretary-Sr.Judith Madugwe (May her soul rest in peace) Financial Secretary-Bro.Elias Anyawu Treasurer-Bro.Thaddeus Chukwu These officers completed two terms in their respective offices until 1998 at another general election, new officers were elected while some founding fathers went into retirement from active service. The following were elected into different offices Chairman-Bro. Peter Okeugo Vice Chairman-Bro. Ephraim Ogbo Secretary- Bro. Samuel Anuolam Assistant Secretary- Barr.Linus Okwute Treasurer-Bro. Shuaibu Ojenya These young and energetic men took up the challenge and were able to make a remarkable impact. PROGRESS AND GROWTH The CCRN made steady growth after the suspension was lifted in 1991.The renewal has now over twenty prayer groups and a population of over twenty thousand members. The celebration of 10th anniversary in 1995 under the able leadership of Bro. Joseph Obeto was very remarkable. The Archbishop officiated at the mass with many priests at the religious in attendance. The first maiden almanac was launched and many brothers and sisters, priests and religious were honored. The renewal has over the years successfully organized many workshops, revivals, crusades, seminars and conferences. The first Abuja provincial conference was hosted by the Archdiocese in 1996. The CCRN had acquired two plots of land within the FCT for her retreat centre and other projects. CONCLUSION The history of CCRN in Abuja will not be complete without mentioning our one time chaplain Rev. Fr. Brain Borne who stood by us during the most trying period. He was appointed in January 1989 and in October the same year, the renewal was suspended. This missionary priest though stayed for very short time with us was a great shepherd. He was always with us especially at that trying period. We really love him. Finally the under listed are the current service team members who were elected in 2004 during the general election. Bro. Raph Uzochukwu – chairman Bro. Paul Ogwuru – Vice Chairman Bro. Donatus Ugwu – Secretary Bro. Shuaibu Ojenya – Financial Secretary Dr. Paul Onyenekwe – Treasurer Evangelizer Chris Ezema – P.R.O May the name of the Lord be praised both now and forever through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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