AFRECS Board Advocacy and Meeting

The board of the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan met last week in Washington, DC, and northern Virginia. 


Thursday was spent in advocacy for the people of Sudan and South Sudan with American legislative and executive officials. Board members were briefed by staffers from the office of Special Envoy to Sudan Ambassador Princeton Lyman, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Democratic Institute, and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Afterward, we attended a briefing of a subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs by Ambassador Lyman, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Anne Richard, and Nancy Lindborg of USAID. And at various times during the day, we met with our own and other Representatives and Senators to talk about the urgent need for humanitarian aid in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, as well as other pressing issues related to the two countries.

AFRECS board president Bishop David Jones with Congressman Frank Wolf, a longtime Congressional advocate for Sudan issues.

Friday the board had an all-day retreat to discern AFRECS' mission going forward. Our statement will appear in the blog and on our website within a few days. Saturday morning we carried out the necessary business related to continuing advocacy in light of the constantly shifting circumstances in the Sudans, financial matters, and our presence at General Convention. 

Friday evening we took part in a candlelight prayer vigil for the Sudans at St. Mary's Church in Arlington, Virginia using the Propers for Peace (BCP 930). With thanks to Father Andrew Merrow, the rector there, for putting it together, we are happy to share the scripture, prayers, and format of what was a very moving service:

A Prayer Vigil for Sudan and South Sudan

I. Welcome

Bell tolls

Reading: Micah 4:1-5

Lord's Prayer

BCP page 815 Prayer #3, Prayer #6

[silence, 20 minutes]

II. Bell

Ephesians 2:13-18

BCP page 816, #5

BCP page 815, #4

[silence, 20 minutes]

III. Bell

Colossians 3:12-15

BCP page 833, #62

BCP page 258, #18

[silence, 20 minutes]

IV. Bell

Matthew 5:43-48

Closing prayer for Sudan and South Sudan

Blessing

An Update from Ellen at Bishop Gwynne College

posted with permission


Dear Friends & Family,

One morning several weeks ago, I had breakfast under the tent at the ECS Guest House here in Juba. I sat at table with a friend - who is also a bishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS).  He asked me how the students had done on their tests.

"Well," I said with an eye on the time, knowing that I would need to be leaving soon to make the ten minute walk to the new BGC campus & arrive on time for morning devotions. The answer would have to be brief.

"Well, you know I teach three courses." He nodded, based on our previous conversations. "In two of the courses the test results were good & I was pleased, as were the students. On the third test, though" and here I shook my head & wrinkled my nose, "the results were not so good. So the students must study and take the test again." We shook our heads together at the disappointing news. "I don't think the students liked that so much," I said, "but I think they understand after seeing the results."

With understanding, the bishop laughed gently. "You don't think they liked that so much," he said.

"No, but I think they understand that we need to work together. I consider that the test results are as much my responsibility as theirs," I said wrapping up my bread & boiled egg to take with me & eat later for lunch. I put them in my book bag and looked at the small clock I keep nearby. "Now, I really have to go," I said.

"The clock tells you to go now," he said & I nodded. We wished each other a good day before I departed for my regular brisk morning  walk.

A week or so later, we revisited this topic at another, more relaxed breakfast meeting under the tent at the ECS Guest House. As I expected, the results of the next test were much more positive, enabling us to build on a firm foundation in this course - introduction to sociology - and move forward.

As I mentioned earlier, the other two courses - Paul's letter to the Romans and introduction to the New Testament - are going well. Overall, I believe we're moving in the right direction. I know I'm learning from them and I trust they are learning from me as well. By the grace of God, I feel sure we are enriching each others' lives as we spend time together learning the assigned material.

###

Another place where I frequently spend time in my daily life in Juba is at the house of friends, Larry & Rebecca. Both of them have been here in what is now the capitol city of South Sudan for approximately two years. That means they both experienced the peaceful Referendum held in January 2011 and then the Independence Day Celebration six months later, on July 9th.

Each of them has shared their gifts & talents with the Church, through the ECS, during their stay in this newly formed country. Within the next few  months their time of service here will come to an end. They will be moving on to continue their lives of service in different settings. Only the good Lord knows the details of their future as they approach this time of transition. Please keep them in your prayers.

Their house serves as a community house as well as serving their personal needs. It's fair to say that 'deferred maintenance' has been the practice of their landlord.

That part is obvious. What is not so easy to see with eye sight is how much spiritual community has come in the doors & been absorbed in the walls of this house.

On any given Sunday, it is customary for an after church gathering to take place at this house where coffee, tea, and rolexes are served. Here in Juba, a rolex is not a usually a wrist watch, but an egg roll made for breakfast & bought from a neighborhood market stall.

Over time, many people have accepted Larry & Rebecca's invitation to come around for a bit of social time after the 8 o'clock church service at nearby All Saints' Cathedral. One recent Sunday in Lent, more than a dozen people sat in a circle in the living room of this remarkable house. At the request of one of the guests, those present agreed to the unusual practice of introducing themselves to the group at large, rather than carrying on the usual practice of  conversation in small groups.

Here is a sampling of those who were in the circle of friends that day:

- Two people from India who are working in the field of micro-finance - lending small, well-placed amounts of money to individuals who need funding for their projects & promise to repay the loan.

- Two from Iowa - a father who has been involved in mission work for his lifetime and his son who is completing a year of independent study as a  freshman in college here in South Sudan.

- A woman who recently came from Alexandria, Virginia to be an officer for an NGO - a non-governmental organization.

- A man who has lived here for four years, moving from Michigan to serve as a consultant to translating the Bible into local native languages.

- An African woman who directs CCC which stands for Confident Children out of Conflict, an organization which gives shelter & nurture to young girls who otherwise would be on the street.

- Someone working with the Tear Fund, which originates in the United Kingdom & focuses on relief and development at various locations around the world.

- And finally, a woman from Uganda who has been working in Sudan for five years with CHS - the Christian Health Service - setting up health clinics in many, often remote, locations. She shared that she is now a new grandmother and looks forward to the day when she can move & live closer to the little one.

Together, what we shared that day was community in a holy, spiritual sense. Many times, I have seen it happen here in this humble abode. The Spirit works with us where we are and we all have many blessings.

As I sign off for now, I send you greetings from Juba, South Sudan & wish you well wherever you are. Please send us prayers for peace & stability in this new nation.

Until the next time, may God continue to bless you & yours,
Ellen+


PS
You may send a tax-deductible, charitable gift to American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan:

AFRECS Treasurer
3737 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22304

Please be sure to put my name on the memo line. Faithfully, EJH+

News and Views from the Rev. Robert North in Nzara

Father Bob North, who is currently living and working in Nzara, sent us this message about our focus on the crises in Sudan and South Sudan with a detailed update on the Diocese of Nzara as representative of the great swaths of South Sudan that are not involved in the conflicts going on.

I read with great interest the E Blast from AFRECS each and every week. I find myself now in my 13 month of living "on the ground" in S. Sudan. What I hear described weekly in such horrific detail has virtually no relationship to what I experience daily. I, of course, pray daily for the persecuted Christians in S. Kordefan and Blue Nile states across the border, for those who have long lived in North now being forced to move south, and for an end to the civil strife among the various tribes in Kuguli. I do not in any way want to diminish, hide or ignore any of these conflicts, BUT....What is far too often, however, missed or ignored is that the vast majority of this new nation of S. Sudan is at peace. Even here in the south west where the Lord's Resistance Army sowed seeds of unimaginable terror a full two years ago we have now been enjoying a full 18 months without any major problems. The ECS Diocese I work for, Nzara, is now reopening the parishes and chapels in the formerly LRA affected areas. The Roman Catholics are doing the same. Our immediate cluster of five dioceses where Nzande is the major cultural and language group is, of course blessed by not having any oil discovered on its lands. Few of its people fled to Sudan they went in great numbers to the Congo or CAR and have long since returned. They are primarily an agricultural and not a cattle raising area. However, even in vast areas of S. Sudan where none of these factors is relevant the people are enjoying peace.

Development is taking place at a rapid rate. Everywhere the mud walled and grass roofed houses are being replaced by brick walls and zinc sheet roofs, the highways, while still horrible by US or E. African standards, are now passable and full of traffic. People who have spent their whole lives walking everywhere are now riding mini buses, bota botas or bikes. An estimated 85% of the S. Sudan youth are in school as compared to 15% just a few years ago. In just two years in our own diocese of Nzara, one of six new dioceses, we have built:
* a school that has increased from 30 to 175 students
* built two clinics that have only been open 8 months but now serve over 500 patients a month. In two months e have distributed 340 mosquito nets.
* a Training Center that now hosts a wide range of workshops to each women sewing machine skills, increase farmers yields, coach youth on their soccer or football games, train health outreach workers who can help pregnant women and HIV-AIDS affected persons, etc.
* guest facilities for foreign visitors who have come to build an addition to the Bishops home, help in our health centers lab, to train laypersons
 and clergy to conduct small group spiritual growth groups and be better evangelists.
* a Computer Center with internet access and computer skills classes and started a truck business.

I mention all of these developments not to any way boast but rather to point up the fact that many such things are happening all over Sudan. The Church is, despite the great challenges that it faces, to say nothing of the terrible conflicts across S. Sudan's borders and in its midst, moving forward. It would be well to remind your readers again and again that their are many positives that need to be acknowledged even as we face up to the negatives. Too much emphasis on the terrible conflicts that exist rather than on the peace that generally prevails hurts a new nations development. No one wants to invest in something that will be destroyed.  Balance in reporting is what this new nation needs.