Presiding bishop calls for 'A Season of Prayer for Sudan'
Episcopal News Service. September 15, 2010 [091510-01]
Matthew Davies
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is calling on Episcopalians to observe "A Season of Prayer for Sudan" as the war-torn African nation prepares for a critical referendum to determine its future.
Acknowledging Sudan's fragile state following decades of civil war, Jefferts Schori said in her Sept. 15 letter that the Episcopal Church can stand in solidarity "with our brothers and sisters in Sudan as we enter a season of preparation by prayer, study, and action." (The letter is published in full below.)
Scheduled for Jan. 9, 2011, the referendum will enable the southern Sudanese to vote on whether to secede from the north or remain a unified country.
The referendum was one of the major terms of Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which was signed in January 2005 by the two warring parties -- the Government of Sudan in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in the south -- bringing an end to a 21-year civil war that claimed more than 2 million lives and displaced about 7 million people.
The agreement also called for the equitable distribution of oil revenues, drawing of fair borders, and the development of democratic governance throughout the country. The north has been criticized for failing to live into the terms of the peace agreement.
"I want to challenge us as a church to pray for the people of Sudan, to learn more about the forces driving the violence, and to advocate for a peaceful referendum, and whatever the outcome, a peaceful future," Jefferts Schori said in her letter.
Resources for use by congregations and dioceses to observe the season of prayer are available here.
The Episcopal Church's long-standing support for Sudan is manifested through its partnerships and companion diocese relationships, programs supported by Episcopal Relief & Development, and advocacy work of the Office of Government Relations.
There are currently four Episcopal Church missionaries posted in Sudan.
Current companion relationships include Albany (New York) with the Province of Sudan, Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) with Kajo Keji, Chicago with Renk, Indianapolis with Bor, Missouri with Lui, Southwestern Virginia with the Province of Sudan, and Virginia with the Province of Sudan.
The newest companion relationship, between the dioceses of Rhode Island and Ezo, was established in November 2009.
The U.S.-based Episcopal Church also has a number of Sudanese congregations and communities of faith as a result of the "Lost Boys" of Sudan, who immigrated to the United States as refugees beginning in 2001, Jefferts Schori said.
The Episcopal Church of Sudan -- with its four million members, the vast majority of whom are based in the south -- is considered one of the largest non-governmental organizations in southern Sudan and is strategically placed to serve its people in the face of such great adversity.
"The Episcopal Church of the Sudan ... has been a leader in seeking basic human rights, including religious freedom, as well as the hard work of peacemaking," Jefferts Schori said in her letter, adding that "many observers believe there is a high likelihood for a re-emergence of violence in the build up to the referendum or in its aftermath, particularly over religious prejudice and control of the oil resources."
Other areas of major concern in Sudan include escalating tribal conflict and increased violence inflicted by the Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel organization whose soldiers are prolonging a two-decades-long terrorist campaign gruesomely marked by widespread massacres and child abductions. Meanwhile, a conflict lingers in the Darfur region of western Sudan where Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, casually attack civilians and refugee camps.
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of the Episcopal Church in Sudan, who is scheduled to visit the U.S. in October, also issued a call to prayer during the Aug. 23-29 All Africa Bishops Conference. "The global church must stand united in support of our brothers and sisters who daily witness to faith in Jesus Christ whilst suffering to do so," he said. "If this does not happen then Christianity in northern Sudan has the most uncertain future and may even be facing destruction."
Deng was welcomed as an international guest in July 2009 to the 76th General Convention, which in Resolution A033 urged "continued advocacy and prayer from all Episcopalians for peace with justice in the Sudan." General Convention specifically called for "internationally coordinated efforts to care for and resettle the several million refugees and persons who have been displaced internally as a consequence of the Sudan's long-running conflicts."
In another resolution (D007), convention requested the presiding bishop to designate a period of several weeks in 2010 as a Season of Prayer for peace in Sudan, "where our churches are urged to include prayer for peace in Sudan in each public liturgy..."
Letter from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
September 15, 2010
My brothers and sisters in The Episcopal Church:
The Episcopal Church in Sudan has been a significant national leader and source for peace and reconciliation throughout the hostilities and wars in recent decades. Sudan is facing a referendum in January 2011, during which most observers expect that Southern Sudan will vote to become a separate nation.
As a fellow member of the Anglican Communion, Sudan's fragile state is a matter for our own concern. Most of us know something of the violence and bloodshed in Darfur, which has been well publicized in the media. Many of us know about, and have even met, some of the so-called "Lost Boys" of Sudan, who immigrated to the United States as refugees beginning in 2001. The Episcopal Church now has a number of Sudanese congregations and communities of faith as a result.
Episcopalians have begun to learn about the violence that continues to face the people of Sudan both in south and north. The warring factions in Sudan reached a peace agreement in 2005, which diminished the level of violence, but did not end it. Part of that Comprehensive Peace Agreement called for a referendum on self-determination and possible independence for Southern Sudan, to be held in 2011.
The current political entity called Sudan is the result of its colonial history, linked with both Egypt and Britain. Since independence in 1956, it has been wracked by civil war and ongoing political and military violence. Sudan has significant natural resources, especially in the form of oil, most of which is located in southern Sudan. The centralized Sudan government in Khartoum is led by President Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with international war crimes Southern Sudan has a share in the national government, and is largely autonomous as a region. Northern Sudan is primarily Muslim and Shari'a law is the basis for justice. Southern Sudan is home to Christians and those who practice African traditional religions.
The Episcopal Church of the Sudan has approximately 5 million members, and has been a leader in seeking basic human rights, including religious freedom, as well as the hard work of peacemaking. Many observers believe there is a high likelihood for a re-emergence of violence in the build up to the referendum or in its aftermath, particularly over religious prejudice and control of the oil resources.
The world has a significant stake in peace in Sudan, for any violence unleashed there can quickly destabilize the surrounding nations of Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Central Africa, Chad, and Libya. The Sudanese bishops I met in 2008 told me vivid stories of watching arms being moved into southern Sudan by jeep and camel. Those bishops and their congregations, and many, many civilians around them, yearn for peace – for the ability to raise families and crops, to educate their children, and to worship God as they choose.
The United States is a nation founded on principles based on religious freedom, self-determination, and control of the resources of the lands we occupy. Native Americans would challenge those who came later about all of those principles and the ways in which they were (not) upheld, yet most Americans, whatever their heritage, see those principles as foundational. The United Nations holds similar principles as basic to human rights. Sudan is in the throes of a national struggle for basic freedom and human rights.
I want to challenge us as a Church to pray for the people of Sudan, to learn more about the forces driving the violence, and to advocate for a peaceful referendum, and whatever the outcome, a peaceful future. Our churchwide staff has prepared resources for use in your congregation and diocese.
The Episcopal Church can stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Sudan as we enter a season of preparation by prayer, study, and action. As we approach the season of preparation for the Prince of Peace, we pray that his reign may be made real in Sudan. The prayers and labor of people throughout the world can help to prepare the way.
I remain,
Your sister in Christ,
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate