AFRECS E-Blast: January 26, 2023

Posted on by AmerFriendSudan

Peace and Reconciliation Conference – Diocese of Ibba
January 5-9, 2023
(The full report with photos was shared by Buck Blanchard, Denver, Colorado and edited for length)

The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Ibba started the New Year by coordinating a Peace and Reconciliation Conference entitled “Let’s Love One Another.” The conference drew participants from Ibba, Yambio, Juba, and Maridi.  Attendees included all party politicians representing Ibba in the National and State government, all Pastors in the Episcopal Diocese of Ibba including representatives from Roman Catholic Church, Chiefs at the Payam and Boma levels, women and youth representatives, the County Commissioner, Payam administrators and representatives of local organizations. In all, 177 people attended the gathering.  A full report with recommendations and follow-up steps was prepared and circulated to all stakeholders.

The Ibba gathering focused on experiential learning, facilitated discussions and celebrations of traditional culture.  The goal of spreading information to the Payams and archdeaconries, emphasizing the importance of peaceful co-existence, particularly between politicians and youth, was successful.  The participants explored the importance of providing education and health care to all members of society as a means of enhancing peaceful relations.

These ongoing efforts by the Church and civil society to engage people across different tribes and parties, continue to improve the peace and security of local communities. The program was covered and shared on air by South Sudan Broadcasting service, Miraya FM Yambio, and Eye Radio.
Rajaf Bishop Enock Tombe spoke on Peaceful Coexistence. Ibba Bishop Wilson Kamani and the County Commissioner facilitated the discussions.
Bishop  Wilson Kamani handing the resolutions and recommendations to the Deputy Governor of Western Equatoria.
Peace Football Tournament and other games took place.  It was a wonderful exercise for the youth after which the Maruko Team took home the trophy.
Women were an important part of the discussions.
Traditional dancing and cultural celebrations are a part of the conference.
A diverse group of politicians engaged in discussions.

Notable Comings and Goings
Thomas Staal, an AFRECS board member and former USAID Mission Director in Ethiopia from 2009 to 2012, will return to Ethiopia from May to August as acting USAID director (formally Front Office Advisor). 

Ethiopia is the second largest country in Africa, with a population of over 110 million people.  The USAID Mission there is one of the largest in Africa, with programs in health, education, agriculture, economic growth, private sector development, support to local civil society, and democracy and governance.  It also has a very large humanitarian assistance program, especially focused on the Tigray region in the north of the country, which is just emerging from a very brutal two-year civil war.

Karen Bass, former Congresswoman and Chairman prior to January 3rd of the Africa Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, is now the mayor of the City of Los Angeles, California.

Ellen Davis, professor of Bible and practical theology at Duke University’s Divinity School and a member of the AFRECS Board, is teaching a class (“Hope for Creation”) on preaching biblically in response to climate emergency. She and Jerusha Neal, professor of homiletics, draw on texts across the whole canon, from Genesis to Revelation.

Andudu Adam el-Nail, bishop of the Diocese of Kadugli and Nuba Mountains, travelled from his home in the U.S.A. to attend the November synod of the Episcopal Church of Sudan in Khartoum.

R. Casey Shobe, formerly of the Diocese of Rhode Island, now rector of the Church of the Transfiguration, Dallas, Texas, has begun conversation with the Executive Director of AFRECS about a future visit to South Sudan.

This Mission Thursday, hosted by the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudans (AFRECS), will be held on Zoom at 1 p.m.  Free registration is accessible here at Eventbrite for this opportunity in mission networking.

AFRECS executive director Dr. Dane Smith, a former US ambassador and envoy in Africa, will host the webinar, assisted by Dr. Richard Jones, retired mission professor at Virginia Seminary.  Mother Harriet Baka, longtime head of the Mothers’ Union in the Sudans will open the session, be followed by brief presentations by Episcopalians pursuing mission companionship with Sudanese Christians.  Q&A will close out the one-hour session.

The Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS) is a rapidly growing faith community in a country characterized by communal violence and a dysfunctional government.  ECSS is bringing Jesus’ message of good news to the poor at the local level through literacy, livelihood generation and trauma healing with help from AFRECS.  It is also building the newly accredited Episcopal University of South Sudan.

The Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS) operates in a country where more than 90 percent of the population are Muslims.  It has enjoyed greater autonomy since the overthrow of Islamist President Omar Bashir in 2019, though the transition to democracy was halted by the military in 2021.  The ECS has been growing in the Nuba Mountains area to the south.

A consultant and lecturer on international peacebuilding, with a recent focus on faith-inspired peacebuilding, Dane Smith was US ambassador to Guinea and Senegal, special presidential envoy to Liberia, and senior advisor to the US Government on Darfur.  He was deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Khartoum, Sudan.  He and his wife Judy were Peace Corps volunteers in Eritrea.

A Blessing
(from the service bulletin of The Church of the Holy Redeemer, Denver, CO)

The world now is too dangerous

And too beautiful for anything but love.

May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.

Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.

Your lips, so you speak nothing but the truth with love.

And may your heart be so opened, that your love, your love, changes everything.

“Future atrocities not inevitable, if the world acts now” says Holocaust Museum staff
Following up on their July 2022 visit to South Sudan, two staff members of the Washington DC U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Prevention of Genocide now report continued use of rape in local conflicts and the fomenting of strife by national government leaders who seek to detach military assets from opposition leaders. They call for more judges, prosecutors, investigators, and lawyers to handle cases involving conflict-related violence.

Map and details at: https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/South_Sudan_Policy_Brief_January_2023.pdf
We are deeply grateful that contributions from you, our supporters, continue to nurture AFRECS in expanding our impact.  You make a difference in the essential peacebuilding work of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, so needed in these challenging times. We hope you will make a contribution to support AFRECS’ work with the people of the Sudans and will offer a prayer for them. You can contribute online at https://afrecs.org or send a check made out to AFRECS to P.O. Box 3327, Alexandria, VA 22302.
An index searchable by keyword and by date is available at www.afrecs.org/news under “E-Blast”. This issue was prepared by Board members Anita Sanborn and Richard Jones. We welcome your reactions, contributions, or submissions of news or photographs (preferably with captions) addressed to anita.sanborn@gmail.com.