Prayer IS Action
God of compassion, you show us your path even in the darkest times. We thank you for all who work to help the helpless, hold out hope to the desolate, and speak for the voiceless in the face of disaster wrought by evildoers. Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer for our brothers and sisters who risk much to aid others, that their actions may be successful and their words of comfort heard.
More prayers for peace in the Holy Land: https://afedj.org/resources/worship-and-prayer-resources/
We Are People of Prayer
Who Says “All Things Work Together for Good”?
https://time.com/6322429/bibles-most-misunderstood-verse/
“…At the very moment when we are caught up in the unspeakable groaning of all creation, the Spirit is working in our hearts to bring us in tune with God’s loving and healing purposes. God made humans to share in his work. We are to be people of prayer at the places where the world is in pain. And in the present time this kind of lament is what prayer looks like. When we take up that calling, we are caught up in the love of God; and God is working all things together for good with those who love him.”
— N. T. Wright, former bishop of Durham, England, now at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. (His new book, Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies, will be published in April 2024 by Zondervan.)
Director’s Update
As we go to press, cease-fire talks on Sudan between representatives of the RSF and Sudan Armed Forces are being reconvened by Saudi Arabia and the US in Jeddah. The regional IGAD leader is present, along with an official of OCHA, the UN humanitarian office.
Concurrently former Interim Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok announced the opening of a preparatory three-day session in Addis Ababa aimed at creating a Democratic Civilian Front. The nearly 100 delegates include representatives of the Forces of Freedom & Change, the neighborhood resistance committees, trade unions, women’s organizations, political parties, and religious and traditional leaders. The session will seek to create preparatory committees for a larger meeting in November. US Ambassador to Sudan John Godfrey is also present.
The Washington Post has reported that, with normal aid channels blocked in Sudan, diaspora organizations in Baltimore, Washington DC, northern Virginia, and Texas, as well as in Canada, Australia, and the UK are providing much of the very limited assistance now reaching the six million internally displaced, currently the largest such population in the world. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/29/sudan-war-diaspora-aid/
In South Sudan, continued flows of refugees from Sudan, 90% of whom are South Sudanese returnees, have overwhelmed Wanyjok and Nyamlel Dioceses in Northern Bahr al-Ghazal and Renk Diocese in Upper Nile. In Renk late rainy season flooding has destroyed buildings and roads. Archbishops Moses Deng Bol and Joseph Garang have appealed for funding for medications and non-food items like blankets, plastic sheets, jerry cans and cooking materials. YOU CAN HELP THROUGH AFRECS!
Dane Smith, Executive Director
Godsend AND Gadfly: A Word of Appreciation from Episcopal Relief & Development
“AFRECS is a Godsend for organizations like Episcopal Relief & Development ….. Episcopal Relief & Development continues to work with the Episcopal Church of South Sudan’s Development and Rehabilitation Agency (SSUDRA). We have especially been supporting refugees who have arrived in Renk after fleeing violence in Sudan. Some of the most vulnerable had to be airlifted to a more secure area, and SSUDRA led that effort.
…..We rely on organizations like AFRECS to provide focus for those compassionate individuals, organizations, and congregations who want to focus specifically on our partnerships in the Sudans. So, please do tell your stakeholders that Episcopal Relief & Development is committed to our partnership with SSUDRA, and that we will continue to support their efforts to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.”
Sean McConnell, Senior Director, Faith & Community Engagement
AFRECS on the Road
AFRECS will be present at the Virginia Diocesan Convention in Fredericksburg November 2-4 and the Maryland Diocesan Convention November 10-11 at the Claggett Center near Frederick. Please stop by and say hello.
Comings and Goings
Diaspora Pastors and the Church in the Sudans
James Ayuen, graduate of the three-year diocesan Iona School for Deacons and pastor of the Dinka-speaking St. John’s Sudanese Congregation, Tekwila, in Seattle, Washington, is praying this month for the peace of Jerusalem and Gaza.
In June 2022 James Ayuen visited Israel and Gaza with the now-retired bishop of Olympia, Gregory Rickels.
Another Iona graduate, Mary Achol Bol Arok, possibly the first South Sudanese woman ordained a priest in the U.S. in the Episcopal Church in 2022, serves in the diocese of Olympia on the staff of provisional Bishop Melissa Skelton. Rev. Mary Achol Bol Arok is Missioner for Pan-African Ministries in Seattle.
Speaking Swahili as well as English, she keeps in touch with a Kenyan congregation, a Kenyan-Tanzanian-Congolese congregation, and an Equatorian congregation — while assisting at St. John’s Sudanese congregation and working as a Licensed Practical Nurse. Her husband Simon Mabior Dau-Angok, father of their five children, shares news of the Sudanese diaspora at info@bscnmedia.org.
When Joseph Pager Alaak was ordained by Bishop J. Scott Barker at All Saints Episcopal Church, Omaha, Nebraska on October 5th, the bishop said, “You may be shorter than some of the tall Dinkas we have known, but you have showed humility and perseverance as you moved from Kongor to Kakuma to Omaha. Despite your nickname, you are no “Little Dinka Man” … You will be a giant as you serve as a deacon.” View the video here.
Bishop Andrew Doyle of Texas is in conversation with Bishop Lule James Kenyi of Kajo-Keji Diocese in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan to support Michael Kiju Paul, rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Wharton, Texas to return to serve fulltime at Kajo-Keji Christian College, an affiliate of the Episcopal University of South Sudan. Originally founded as Canon Benaiah Poggo College, the college offers 4-year degrees in theology, 3-year diplomas in business and primary education, and 1-year layreaders’ certificates in the Bari language.
Thanks to a 20-year companion relationship with the Diocese of Bethlehem in the U.S. and friends in the Netherlands, the college’s buildings in the village of Romogi are well equipped, including a library and solar-powered internet access.
Patricia Kisare, International Policy Advisor for the Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s offices in Washington, DC, attended the inauguration of a new worship space and clinic in the Referendum neighborhood of Juba in 2017, where President Salva Kiir was the guest of honor.
Two links show the ceremony and the services now being provided to the community:
Hope Rising in Juba, South Sudan | ELCA – YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ee_IxEM74g>
A new church for a new country – Living Lutheran <https://www.livinglutheran.org/2016/02/new-church-for-new-country/>
A Day in the Life of a Retired Bishop in South Sudan
Retired Bishop Enock Tombe, retired Provincial Secretary, Bishop of Rejaf, and author of an autobiography In Hope & Despair, writes from his home Juba:
“Today 29/9/2023 I have been invited to attend two marriage functions, one community meeting, and a workshop for Central Equatoria Human Rights Commission in regard to preparation for upcoming Elections in December 2024.This list gives you the high demand for my time and hence my inability to fulfill the expectations of those who have invited me. However, as a retired Bishop, I make the choice based on my priorities! In this case, I will attend the Human Rights Workshop given its importance as it relates to election violence and how to hold the violators to account.”
This issue of the E–Blast was compiled by Richard J. Jones and Anita Sanborn. We welcome your news, comments, or concerns at anitasanborn@gmail.com.