The Archbishop of Lokoja Province and Bishop of Minna Diocese, Anglican Communion, Most Revd Daniel Yisa, has charged women not to push their husbands into desperation by making the home uncomfortable for their spouses.
In a sermon delivered during the opening service for the five-day retreat for clergy wives, organised by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, and hosted by the Cathedral Church of St. Peter's Minna, the bishop said that it was only when leaders have peace at home that they will be able to concentrate on their duties.
Daniel Yisa frowned at church leaders who always want to be served by the members of their congregation instead of being servants themselves, adding that many church leaders were making access to their offices and homes difficult for the people they were shepherding.
"Some of us who are church leaders treat our fellow priests with disdain; our members do not have access to our homes even as we have free access to God; what type of leadership do we portray to the public?" he queried.
He admonished leadership at all levels to live a life worthy of emulation and advocated for constant discipleship.
In her address, Mothers' Union President and the wife of the Primate, Church of Nigeria, Most Rev'd Henry Ndukuba, Mrs. Angela Ndukuba, said that as partners in shepherding God's people, they were expected to look up to the Holy Spirit to enable His words to make an impact on their lives so that, by extension, they impact the women and girls under their tutelage as priest wives.
Mrs. Ndukuba charged the women to partner with and support their spouses to effectively shepherd God's people.
The senior clergy wives' retreat is an annual event that brings together senior wives of clergy of the Church of Nigeria and the Anglican Communion from across the country with a view to having a cross-fertilisation of ideas, experiences, and testimonies concerning faith in Christ and also equipping them to build the body of Christ to which they are ministers.
This year's event, which has as its theme "Shepherding God's Flock," taken from the books of Psalms 23:1 and 1 Peter 5:1-4, emphasises the importance of leading by example and protecting the shepherd they lead.
The five-day retreat is expected to be wrapped up on Saturday, August 19.