Update from Dane Smith
With the renewal of diplomatic travel, the US Government has recently reengaged with the Troika (U.S., U.K., Norway) in active diplomacy in South Sudan. In September Special Envoy Stuart Symington traveled to Juba with other members, meeting with President Kiir, Vice-President Machar, plus church and civil society representatives, urging the leaders to pursue a peace dividend by constituting the legislature and completing the appointment of state and local officials.
They then proceeded to Rome in early October for Sant’ Egidio-sponsored talks with non-signatories of the R/ARCSS. (South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance, which includes Gen.Thomas Cirillo (NAS), Lam Akol (NDM), and two other groups.) Those talks, which followed a cease-fire agreement in January, violated by both sides, reportedly endorsed a Declaration of Principles as a basis for further talks between commanders in November. Despite these negotiations, Stimson Center reports that violence against civilians has been much higher in 2020 than 2019, most of it from inter-communal violence.
The United Nations World Food Program, which received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, reports that unprecedented flooding has “plunged 700,000 into a hunger and livelihoods crisis.” Nearly half of South Sudan is under water. Jonglei is the hardest hit area, constituting a third of the 700,000 affected. 85,000 are displaced. The WFP is currently feeding 300,000.
On October 6th the UN Human Rights Council released a report from the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan stating that in 2017 and 2018 government forces deliberately withheld food and other essential resources from the Luo and Fertit populations in Western Bahr al-Ghazal, then under SPLM-IO control. Troops were encouraged to pillage their villages, thereby using starvation as a weapon of warfare in violation of international law. The same is true for forces loyal to Riek Machar in Central Equatoria State. These actions, according to the report, destroyed the social fabric of many rural communities.
From Khartoum, Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo, Primate of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, reports that the priorities for his Province are: peace, return of refugees and displaced people under conditions of food security, no more killing of innocent civilians or rape of women, and freedom of worship.
The main news out of Sudan is floods, the worst in decades. They have badly hit not only Khartoum, but also Blue Nile, Sennar, and North and West Darfur. The UN reports that 1.4 million people are food insecure, 800,000 homeless, and 21 dead. Politically, the GOS formally signed the Juba Agreement with the Sudan Revolutionary Front, which included major Darfuri rebel groups (Justice & Equality Movement (JEM) and Minni Minawi), but not SPLM/N Abdelaziz al-Hilu and Darfuri rebel Abdelwahid al-Nur (SLM). Negotiations continue with al-Hilu, based on a separate truce signed in Addis. Prime Minister Hamdok fired the Governor of Kassala after violence there.
Executive Director
November Surprise
AFRECS is holding a Zoom Webinar! You won’t want to miss it! Executive Director, Dane Smith, will moderate a panel in a Q&A session about AFRECS’ Purpose, Programs and Plans: Panelists are AFRECS President Phil Darrow; Rev. Joseph Bilal, Vice Chancellor of the Episcopal University of South Sudan; and Jackie Kraus, member of the Task Force on Dialogue with the South Sudanese Anglican Diaspora.
Where? the CEEP Network*
WHEN? Veteran’s Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020
TIME? 3:00 PM-EST
Just log into CEEPnetwork.org, CLICK “Upcoming Webinars/Resources”,
scroll down to click “Register Here” and follow the prompts. Enjoy!
*CEEP = Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes
The Sudanese and South Sudanese Diaspora in North America
A conference of South Sudanese pastoral leaders serving congregations in the United States, scheduled for a Kansas City airport hotel in April 2020, had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 epidemic. This conference was intended to help the Task Force on Dialogue with South Sudanese Anglican Diaspora, created by the General Convention of The Episcopal Church in 2019 and chaired by the Rev. Ranjit Mathews and Bishop Alan Scarfe of Iowa, to learn from pastoral leaders’ varied experience across the United States. (Canadian congregations were not included.) Members include Bishop Martin Field of West Missouri, Ms. Jackie Kraus of Chicago, Mr. Buck Blanchard of Colorado, and the Rev. Michael Kiju Paul of Texas, with assistance from the Rev. Stan Runnels, retired priest of West Missouri. Meanwhile, Sudanese and South Sudanese Christian congregations are continuing their life together — apart.
Multilingual Maryland Fellowship
In the region of Baltimore, Maryland, South Sudanese Christians who formerly met at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in the suburb of Towson are maintaining their fellowship by teleconference. In response to the restrictions on face-to-face gatherings during the Coronavirus epidemic, this group takes to their telephones every Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. Songs are sung – in English, Arabic, and even in Lingala by one Congolese member. Petitions and thanksgivings are spoken, testimonies and a word of encouragement are offered, and members are strengthened for the week to come.
Among the leaders of this fellowship are Immanuel Hakim, a building contractor, James Okeny, a counselor with a City of Baltimore-funded housing assistance agency; and Dr. Edward Eremugo Kenyi, a researcher and international public health advisor specializing in maternal and child health. Some members participate additionally in more established congregations, such as Greater Grace in Towson, where for the past seven years Kenyi has been studying in their Bible College.
The Right Reverend Robert Ihlof, retired Episcopal Bishop of Maryland, who currently assists in the diocese, has offered to consult with these leaders as they search for an appropriate meeting place, looking ahead to the time when worship and other activities can resume in person.
New South Sudanese congregation joins the Diocese of Iowa
A new congregation in the Diocese of Iowa is that of Trinity Cush Episcopal Church, based in Des Moines. Admitted as a congregation on October 24, 2020 during the annual diocesan convention, Trinity Cush is composed of members of the South Sudanese Diaspora, principally of the Dinka tribe.
Two South Sudanese Pastors prepare for Ordination at Virginia Theological Seminary
Joseph Allak of the Diocese of Nebraska and Samson Mamour of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia are in their third and second years, respectively, of fulltime study towards the Master of Divinity degree. Joseph, after spending two years in residence in Alexandria, Virginia, has returned with his wife and four children to his home parish of All Saints, Omaha, where he will complete his final year of study on-line . One of the remaining courses he must complete is in church administration. Samson is back in residence at the seminary in Alexandria for his second year. His family remains at home in Roanoke, Virginia, where Peter Alier provides pastoral care for the congregation which meets at St. James Episcopal Church, and the Rev. Susan E. Bentley provides oversight.
Alek, Abuk, Alaak, and Yuot Alaak, with wheels, at Virginia Theological Seminary, 2019
Tale of Two Dioceses: Nzara, Episcopal Church of South Sudan, and Iowa, Episcopal Church of the United States
Since 2012 the Dioceses of Nzara and Iowa have maintained an active companion relationship, providing mutual prayer, fellowship and support. The bishops involved, including the Rt. Revd. Alan Scarfe, have found the relationship mutually transformative in terms of support, encouragement, and fellowship.
One important project in the Diocese of Nzara is the new Good Samaritan Birthing Center, a pre-natal and birth clinic serving over 500 mothers and infants every month. The Center was made possible thanks to a generous United Thank Offering grant supplemented by an International Development Grant from the Diocese of Iowa. The building was constructed by the faithful in Nzara town using local resources and labor. It is staffed by trained midwives who travel on bicycles to attend mothers in remote areas. The Center contains essential medical and clinical equipment, and the Mothers’ Union of South Sudan has assumed the responsibility of maintaining the inventory of basic equipment. This very successful project has already led to a lower mortality rate in Nzara for mothers and infants.
by the United Thank Offering of The Episcopal Church
In February 2020 a large wildfire broke out in Nzara, displacing thousands of South Sudanese, leaving them without food or shelter. The Diocese of Iowa raised $15,000 to help Nzara with fire relief.
The Diocese of Nzara is launching an awareness campaign against Covid-19. The United Thank Offering has approved a grant to support this effort, supplemented by an International Development Grant from the Diocese of Iowa.
Another area of progress in Nzara is access to clean water. Aqua Africa, a non-profit organization based in Omaha, Nebraska, has built the first water tower in Nzara, operated and maintained by local personnel. This year deep wells in five remote villages in the Diocese have also been completed by Aqua Africa. These projects began with discussions that took place at the AFRECS conference in Des Moines, Iowa in 2016 — an example of the way the network which is AFRECS can lead to unexpected successes.
AFRECS Actions
A donation of $6,200, collected by the Sudanese Community Church and St. John’s Cathedral in the Diocese of Colorado in memory of the late beloved Fr. Ayyoubawaga Bushara Oja Gafour, was transferred in October to the Diocese of Kadugli, Episcopal Church of Sudan. These funds will be used by Bishop Andudu Adam el-Nail to support education for girls.
On Oct. 14, after the burning of the cathedral and killing of the dean at Makol Chuei, $2,000 was sent to assist the Diocese of Athooch, in the Internal Province of Jonglei, Episcopal Church of South Sudan, where the bishop is the Rt. Revd. Moses Anur Ayom.
On Oct. 15, Thomas H. Staal was elected to the AFRECS Board of Directors. Tom retired in 2019 as Counselor after a career with the United States Agency for International Development, starting as an emergency program officer in Khartoum in the aftermath of the East Africa famine of the mid-80s, then as a Food for Peace officer covering Ethiopia, southern Sudan, Uganda, and Somalia. Born in Bahrain to missionary parents, raised in Iraq and Kuwait plus boarding school in southern India, he holds degrees from Hope College (Michigan), Columbia University, and the National Defense University. Prior to his work with USAID, Tom had been country representative for World Vision International in Sudan, 1985 -88, and government relations representative for Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) in Saudi Arabia, 1977-83. Tom’s wife, Ann, formerly taught music at the International School of Khartoum and Rosslyn Academy (Nairobi), earned an M.A. in theology at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, and is ordained in the Mekane Yesus Ethiopian Church.
Board Members editing this issue: Gwinneth Clarkson and Richard J. Jones