Voice of the Gospel issue 5

GOSPELVOICE of the Volume 1 Issue No 005 SP 5 USD 3 UGX 3000 KSH 150 October 2010 - December 2010

THE PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN PROVINCIAL STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING

Quarterly Magazine Of the episcOpal church Of the sudan

Wau Enthronment Pictorial Archbishop’s New International Co-ordinator

ECS Standing Committee Meeting In Lakes State

Support Voice Of The Gospel By Donating or

Advertising With Us

JUBA (SOUTH SUDAN)Episcopal Church Of The SudanProvincial OfficeP.O Box 110Juba, SudanEmail: [email protected]

KAMPALA (UGANDA)Episcopal Church Support OfficeP.O. Box 7576 Kampala (U)Tel: +256 414 343497 (Reception) +256 414 272383 (Director)Email: [email protected]

Printed by Infocision Ltd Tel:+256772351362+249914989115

Email: [email protected]

InfocisionA f r i c a

TM

VOICE Of The GOSPEL

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN

Volume 1 Issue No 2 SP 5 USD 3 UGX 3000 KSH 150 March 2009 - June 2009

Pg 11Pg 19Pg 14

Overview Of The Discussions Of

The Round Table 22nd-24 Feb

2009 London UK

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey’s Visit to South Sudan

CongratulationMessages

INSIDE:

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN

PB 1

VOICE Of The GOSPEL


Volume 1 Issue No 3 SP 5 USD 3 UGX 3000 KSH 150 June 2009 - August 2009

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDANHis Grace addressed the congregation in Mingaman church.

His Grace with a prize bull in Mingaman

15.ELECTION OF MOTHERS UNION PRESIDENT:LICENSING OF LAY READERS AND COMMISIONING OF EVANGELISTS BY ECSARCHBISHOP

By Jonathan Mayen Nguen

Last week has been a very busy week for the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan when His Grace the Most Rev. Canon Dr. Deng Bui, the Archbishop conducted the election for the President of the Mothers Union, Juba Diocese of which Dr. Deng is the Diocesan Bishop of Juba.

Outcome of the election was that Miss Margaret Peter Abudi, was elected the President for the MU of Juba Diocese for the term of office of three years as the new Leader.

New Diocesesinaugurated

ECS Education and Training

“IF ABYEI IS PEACEFUL, THE WHOLE SUDAN WILL BE PEACEFUL”

VOICE GOSPELof the Volume 1 Issue No 004 SP 5 USD 3 UGX 3000 KSH 150 Oct 2009 - Dec 2009

EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN

ECS Provincial Theological Education Commission Meets

Role Of The Youth In Development And Spiritual Programmes


Appeal regarding the atrocities in Jonglei and Western Equatoria States

CHURCH’S FIRST ECS WOMAN DEAN OF RENK CATHEDRAL Rev Martha Deng Nhial’

EDITORIAL

HOUSE OF BISHOPS,CLERGY AND LAITY ISSUE STATEMENT ON SUDAN IN

RUMBEK

ECS ARCHBISHOP GRADUATES 24 STUDENTS OF RENK THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

ECS STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING-CONVENES IN LAKES STATE

THE PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN PROVINCIAL

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING

APPEAL TO HER MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF

THE SIGNING OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PEACE AGREEMENT

UK PRIME MINISTER’S LETTER TO ARCHBISHOP DENG

THE DIOCESE OF IBBA HOLDS CONVENTION

PRESS STATEMENT OF THE ECS ARCHBISHOP REGARDING ALL AFRICA BISHOPS

CONFERENCE (AABC).

WOMEN OF ZION CONFERENCE IN UGANDA

CHURCH’S FIRST ECS WOMAN DEAN OF RENK CATHEDRAL: REV MARTHA DENG

NHIAL’

PICTORIAL

ARCHBISHOP’S NEW INTERNATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR

ARCHBISHOP DENG ISSUES ORDER NO 2

ARCHBISHOP’S KEYNOTE ADDRESS IN LAKES STATE –RUMBEK ARCHBISHOP

DENG INAUGURATES THE FOUR NEW ARCHDEACONRIES OF THE ECS DIOCESE

OF JUBA

ECS ELECTORAL COLLEGE CONVENES TO ELECTION OF BISHOPS

RESOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF INTER-FAITH

ARCHBISHOP DENG VISITS AYOD AND LOU NUER AREAS OF JONGLEI STATE ON

GROUND-LEVEL PEACE MISSION:

ARCHBISHOP DENG VISITS AYOD AND LOU NUER AREAS OF JONGLEI STATE ON

GROUND-LEVEL PEACE MISSION:

CONTENTS

THE DIOCESE OF IBBA HOLDS CONVENTION

ARCHBISHOP DENG VISITS AYOD AND LOU NUER AREAS OF JONGLEI STATE ON GROUND-LEVEL PEACE MISSION

THE PROVINCE OF THE ECS PROVINCIAL STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING

4

Mss. Siama LRA abductees

First time for pupils to attempt primary leaving examination in Ibba

We can’t leave God’s work because of LRA attacks said Bishop Kamani

5

8

12

6

4

5

7

9

10

16

17

18

20

21

22

23

25

25

26

32

35

36

37

38

ISSUE No. 005 I Voice of the Gospel I 3

voice of the Gospelvoice of the Gospel

With financial constraints, Voice of the Gospel Newsletter management has been able to publish four issues since

His Grace the Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Sudan, The Most Revd. Daniel Deng Bul yak, assumed the responsibilities as the 4th Archbishop of Episcopal Church of Sudan (ECS).

The year 2009 has been a working year for the Province of the Sudan in structuring the activities of the ECS by laying down development and progress plans to be a sustainable institution.

The Province began decentralization policies to expand and create more dioceses in the more larger dioceses of the previous 25 dioceses to spread the word of God and to promote more activities of the Church Ministry throughout the Sudan. ECS has 31 dioceses now. Some seven more have been created, contested by qualified persons through the electoral college as laid down in the ECS constitution which were presided over by Justice Majok Mading Majok the Provincial Chancellor.

ECS held its Standing Committee Meeting in Rumbek Lakes Statesfrom 20th – 28th November

2009 for the first time in 34 years of ECS’ Independence from the Anglican Communion in 1976. The aim of having taken the meeting to Lakes is the intention of rotation of meetings and important occasions to other dioceses instead of the usual way of holding them in Juba or Khartoum.

As a way forward for the rotation of such events or meetings the next Bishops Retreat will be in Renk in June 2010 and the 9th General Synod is scheduled to take place in Khartoum January 2011.

Meanwhile, the province will continue to happily and joyfully witness the consecration and enthronement of the newly elected Bishops in their new locations where the local populations and believers will participate spiritually and materially

In the drive to reach the word of God to the faithful and beyond His Grace The Archbishop of ECS Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak took another difficult and the most trying journey to Jonglei State as from 25th January-3rd February 2010 in a crusade of Evangelism to preach the word of God and to tell the people in Ayod, Akobo and other parts of Jonglei State in the heart of the Nuer, Murle and the (Dinka) Monyjang land to listen to the word of God, accept each other, forgive each other, reconcile and stop raiding and killing each other for no cause.

The journey to Akobo was a very dangerous one where they travelled in no mans land through the desert for (9) nine hours with his evangelic team committed to the ministry of God’s work.

They saw many bad things like people killed on the way or along the road side. They were also about to be killed but through God’s mercy, they survived over the ordeal at a gun point by criminals or bandits of lawless nature and came back to Juba safely.

The Newsletter has been upgraded to the status of a magazine as from this issue to be “Voice of the Gospel Magazine” instead of the Newsletter.

This Newsletter has many achievements in the frame work of development, spreading the Gospel of Christ in addition to the promotion of good relations with partners and donors around the world.

Editor.

JONATHAN MAYEN NGUEN

EditorJonathan Mayen Nguen

Assistant Phoebe Imenge Levi

Production SupervisorRugaya N Richard ContributorsNicholas RamsdenRt Rev Wilson KamaniRev Can Nelson k NyumbeRebecca Coleman

Special MentionArchbishop David Deng BulRt Rev Anthony Poggo

ECS Communication Commission Chairman

Church Missionary Society

Dave Lewis of Salisbury link-electronic Version

Amati Felix Denis-Photos

ECS UGANDA OFFICEPublisher Communication Commision

Printed byInfocision Africa

MAGAZINE TEAM

I Voice of the Gospel I ISSUE No. 0054

voice of the GospelEDITORIAL

HOUSE OF BISHOPS,CLERGY AND LAITY ISSUE STATEMENT ON SUDAN IN RUMBEK

During the five days sessions of the ECS Standing Committee Meeting in Rumbek, Lakes

States from 23rd - 27th November 2009, the three Houses of Bishops. Clergy and Laity issued a Statement to the Sudanese and he International Community to reflect on the current situations in Sudan, politically and socially.

The Signatories of the statement were:1. His Grace the Most Rev. Canon

Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan for the House of Bishops.

2. The Ven. Reverend Sylvester Thomas Dean of Khartoum Cathedral and Chairman of the House of Clergy.

3. Eng. Barnaba Dumo Chairman of the House of Laity.

The Statement reads: "Blessed are the

peacemakers" Luke 2:14 ; Mark 2:1-11We, the Provincial Standing Committee

of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS), met in Rumbek. Lakes State between 23rd and 27th November 2009, at the generous hospitality of the Diocese of Rumbek and the Government of Lakes State. We wish to give our heartfelt thanks to the Rt. Rev. Alapayo Manyang Kuctiel, Bishop of Rumbek, and H.E. Lt. Gen. Daniel Awet Akot, Governor of Lakes State, for hosting this great meeting and their exemplary hospitality for the entire week of the meeting. It was an excellent opportunity for discussing issues of Church governance, management and structure; the expansion of Christianity in the Sudan, and the state of our great nation today, which we now bring to your attention.

The peace process in Sudan has reached

a critical point with less than five months after the National Elections and just over one year to the referendum on southern self-determination, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is on the brink of collapse clue to contentions over the referendum law, the demarcation of the 1st January 1956 borders, and violence recently perpetrated by other armed groups. We, the Provincial Standing Committee of the ECS affirm our role to act urgently to support the implementation of the CPA: through our internal Church networks, our ecumenical and. inter-faith partners within Sudan and our international partner support.

We express our sadness at the missed opportunity for making the unity of the Sudan attractive since the signing of the CPA. The lack of a reconciliation process, the lack of transparency over

ECS Clergy in Rumbek



the National Census and oil revenues, the failure to repeal or alter laws which are contrary to the spirit of the CPA which guarantees equality and freedom for all, the stalling implementation of the July 2009 Abyei ruling, and the current deadlock over the legislation governing the referendum in Southern Sudan and the popular consultations in Abyei, Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. Unity has not been made attractive.

We strongly condemn all inter-ethnic violence currently witnessed across much of Southern Sudan, the ongoing violence against civilians in Darfur and the violent attacks on civilians being perpetrated by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the south-west of the country. We are committed to doubling the efforts of the Church in bringing peace and reconciliation to our people, working together with the government as a force for unity and love amongst our people who have suffered for so long.

We also condemn the damage being done to the environment by oil companies in Unity and Upper Nile states. Our waterways are being polluted and our people displaced by the profit making of others. We bring this to the attention of our government and the international community, and ask and pray that the resources of our land are fairly utilized in future for the good of all our people.

We call the attention of Sudanese government and the international community to the severe threat of famine in Southern Sudan at this time,

due to the failure of rains in various parts of the country this year. We appeal to our partners to assist the Church in providing for the physical as well as the spiritual needs of our people.The church pledges to use all such support, as well as support from the Sudanese Christians, for the well-being of those facing hunger this Advent and Christmas season.

Tribal differences must be put aside at this crucial time in history and the government must fulfill its duty of providing security for their citizens. God will sit in judgment on those who are working against the rights of their own people. It is the escalation of non-traditional de-stabilizing violence, specifically targeting civilians and the government.This makes registration and voting in the elections and referendum very difficult. The conclusion that is drawn is that this violence is intended to negatively effect the elections and referendum. The Church must act now to counter these effects for the sake of the rights of the people of Sudan.

The Church affirms its support of the National Elections Commission (NEC) in its vital work to make free and fair elections a reality across Sudan. We urge all citizens to register and to encourage others to do so. participating fully in the political process in 2010. The ECS oilers its entire network, personnel and contacts as potential support to the NEC and the elections process.

In post referendum planning, we call on those involved to put the safety, security,

livelihoods and rights of the poorest and most vulnerable first. In the case of unity, issues of national identity, power- and wealth-sharing need to be addressed. If separation issues such as the position of southerners and churches in the north, the arrangements for resources such as oil and water, and the status of Southern Cordofan and Blue Nile, need to be addressed to ensure peaceful relations between the two new neighbours and to guarantee the basic rights of all people in both north and south Sudan.

There is no alternative to the CPA. It must be fully implemented by both signatories and supported by those guarantor governments who promised to do so in 2005. Those international guarantors and stakeholders must take full heed of the crises affecting the country, and be active according to their promises made to the Sudanese people.

We as the Church proclaim "Let the people choose'', and urge renewed national and international focus on the political processes of the elections and referendum, the latter of which must be considered inviolable. As the Church, we support the right of every individual Sudanese citizen to a free and fair say in the future of the Sudan.We welcome support for this work from any and all governemental, Non Governmental organisdations and international institutions and pledge to work with efficiency and integrity for the Sudanese people.

We urge our international partners to take the message of the inviolability of the CPA to their respective governments which promised to guarantee peace in Sudan.

Unless International support for the CPA is urgently stepped up, Sudan is in very real danger of descending back into war which will not harm those people who create it but will again destroy the lives of those voiceless masses for which the Church now cries.

We. the undersigned, therefore urge the Government of National Unity (GoNU) the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the international guarantor nations of the CPA to uphold their promises of equality and freedom to the people of Sudan.Together in the uniting love of Christ.Participants listen in at the conference



While His Grace the Most Rev. Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, ECS Archbishop and

Primate, was on a brief visit to Renk Diocese where he was the first Diocesan Bishop graduated twenty four students from Renk Theological College, a “Diploma” programme.

During the stay of the ECS Archbishop Dr. Deng, he was selected to be the

Chairman of the College Board and a lot of recommendations and resolutions in the fifth meeting of the board on 13th February, 2010 were:-

1. The Board has decided to appoint Rev. Sapana Ader Kuir to be the Principal of Renk Theological College, starting from the date this resolution was issued.

2. Ven. Rev. Sapana Mawat Bol is appointed as the College’s Chaplain.

He is to organize and supervise all • spiritual activities of the College’s life.He shall plan and organize time tables • and invite other trained parish priest to assist in celebrating Holy Communion. He is to support all the students and staff whenever there is a need for prayers and counselling.

3. Rev. Ruben Choi Yuang has been reconfirmed as the College’s Acting Dean

ECS Archbishop Graduates 24 Students of Renk Theological College

Renk Cathedral



of Studies.4. The Board has decided to transfer Rev.

Abraham Noon Jiel, from the College to his Diocese to resume his pastoral duties, due to the following allegations:

• Rev. Abraham Noon didn’t respect the Board resolution when it decided to remove him from being an Ag. Principal of RTC for not being able to exercise good leadership.

• Rev. Abraham refused to show co-operation continually when given any form of assignment.

• Rev. Abraham violated the code of canonical obedience, by not showing respect to any Church’s hierarchy.

The College’s Administration is asked to calculate his dues from the time he was employed in the College and pay him his dues and benefits after clearing whatever belongs to the College on his side.

5. It has been resolved, also that, any Tutor who shows lack of co-operation and refuses to follow the College’s Regulations will surely/likely to be sent back to their respective Dioceses.

6. Also all teachers will be asked to sign a “CONTRACT” within the College to determine the period of time and the general College’s conduct required of him or her as they do their service.

7. All College’s staff and none-teaching staff/employees are strongly requested to distance themselves from anything that causes disunity and disharmony of communities within Renk and elsewhere in Sudan. For they are expected to be light to the blind and to lead others into all truth, good life in Christ.

8. Agriculture should be given priority in the College this year. Both the students and teaching staff must all be involved and committed. A piece of land must be found within the locality to be distributed accordingly. This will help us meet our future needs, to produce food for the College and train all Pastor to be able to stand on their own when they graduate, like the example of old BGC/Mundri.

9. Students feeding programme has been revised and reorganized accordingly. They will to eat meat once a week and eat other types of proteins the other days to balance their diet. We have to plan our budget well to cover up our yearly plans.

10. Rev. Jacob Pancol Majok, will be

the Dean of Students. He will organize students and see to it that they develop their relationship with the staff, the community and other useful activities that promote the College’s life.

11. Rev. John Bui Atem has also been reconfirmed to be the TEH Coordinator in the College. He is to concentrate on this programme as he seeks to expand into other parts of the Cluster in order to use most of his time in preparations for this programme. His salary shall be settled by the TEE Programme and the College’s Administration.

12. The following are to work as part-timers with Renk Theological College in order to meet the vas requirements of the syllabuses in this academic year: Rev. David Kamadala and his wife. Rev. Alexander Ali. Rev. Emmanuel Natana. Rev. Alexander Abdalla and Rev. Daniel Deng Anhiany.

13. The Board have looked into the draft Budget of the College for the year 2010 but unfortunately due to the lack of clarity of the local contributions from all the Dioceses that have their students being trained at this college, the Board has therefore decided the College should continue to work within the present/previous budget, 2009, until there is money to pay them.

14. The College’s Board consists of the following:-

1. The Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul, Chairman.

2. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Hilary Garang Deng, Dept. Chairman.

3. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Garang Atem, College’s Patron.

4. The Rt. Rev. Nathniel Garang Anyieth, Bp of Bor, Member.

5. The Rt. Rev. Eziekiel Diing Ajang, Bp of Twic East, Member.

6. Rev. Sapana Ader Kuir, Secretary of the Board

7. Rev. Ruben Choi Yuang, Ag. Dean of Studies, Member.

8. Rev. John Bol Aten, TEE Coordinator, Member.

9. Rev. Canon Trevor Stuub, principal of NBGC, Member

10. Mr. David Abdala/Nile Commercial Bank/Renk.

11. Member of St. Micheal, Chicago, Member

LIST OF GRADUANDS

1. ABRAHAM CHUTI MAJUCH

2. CHOI DENG ANOK

3. DANIEL BOL KUN

4. DANIEL CHOI AJAK

5. DANIEL DUT DIING

6. DANIEL JUACH DENG

7. DANIEL MACHAR ADOOR

8. DANIEL MAKER ADOOR

9. GABRIEL AKOCH BOL

10. GABRIEL THUCH AGOTH

11. ISAAC CHOI ALECR

12. JAMES ALEIET LICTE

13. JAMES KIIR BANANG

14. JOHN CHOI ABIT

15. JOHN DANG MALUAL

16. JOHN GOCH KNOT

17. JOSHUA UJULU

18. MARK DIING KUANY

19. MICHCAL ABIEL MABIOR

20. MOSES ANUR AYOM

21. PAULO AKOCH MALOU

22. PETER MAKUEI GARANG

23. PHILIP THONKAT

24. SIMON YUOT THON



Throughout the Sudan, more than one hundred and fifty delegates from 31 Dioceses of the Episcopal

Church of the Sudan traveled to Rumbek, the Capital of Lakes State by air and land to attend the Provincial Standing Committee meeting that convened on 23rd - 28th November, 2009.

Rumbek is a historical town that changed hands during the 21 years of civil war between Government and SPLA/M forces in a bid to control it as a strategic area being in the center of Southern Sudan.

This historic meeting in hundred years of ECS at Rumbek was hosted by the Government of Lakes State headed by Lt. General Daniel Awet Kot the Governor, the Diocesan Bishop of Rumbek Rt. Rev. Alapaya Manyang Kuctiel who met the full accommodation and feeding as from 22nd -30lh November 2009.

His Grace the Most Rev. Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, the ECS Archbishop and Primate thanked the Governor and his Government for the generous and kind reception they gave to the delegates at the meeting.

Everything in the Lakes State looks good, peaceful and you can move freely by day and night. There is no curfew of any kind. The cattle rustling and raiding is declining. That means, the security situation is under control.

The Provincial Standing Committee meeting is held after every two and half

years of which the last one was held in Uganda in 2003 before the CPA of 2005.In this meeting, it was attended by three houses. House of Bishops, House of Clergy and House of Laity.

This Standing Committee Meeting is a very important one in the ECS working calendar which is attended by three Houses. It is a forum that works as a parliament or the highest body that discusses all matters of ECS and then recommends to the General Synod, which meets every five years to approve. The items recommended could include amending some articles in ECS constitution. On 23rd November 2009, the meeting was officially opened by the Governor of Lakes State H.E. Daniel Awet Akot, who told the delegates the brief history of Lakes State.

That it is situated in the centre of Sudan, bordering five States, Namely; Unity, Jonglei, Warrap,Western Equatoria and Central Equatoria. That Lakes State is at the radius of 49,000 Square km with semi-arid savannah climate suitable for agricultural activities and forest products

He said that, there are two main ethnic groups in Lakes State which are Monyjang (Dinka) and Jurbel of which the last census results put the population to 700,000 which is not the correct count because most of the population was not reached due to many factors like bad roads and in some parts security. The majority of the people are pastoralists and agriculturists.

After that, His Grace the Most Rev. Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, the ECS Archbishop and Primate addressed the delegates highlighting the entire spectrum of his administration since he took over as the fourth ECS Archbishop, covering the Church, the political and the survival of CPA which he said is the only hope for the Sudanese people to sustain peace and no return to war.

Throughout the five days Standing Committee sessions, the Dioceses and Departments of ECS read their reports to the delegates, foreign guests and observers, so that they could be able to participate in the discussions.

From there, the meeting broke up into three houses, Bishops, Clergy and Laity to discuss briefing papers to each house and draw up recommendations to be presented to the General Synod in January 2011 to approve or advice on others during the implementation of resolutions.

When the agenda of the meeting came to a conclusion, other activities were carried out. Five Bishops were enthroned. Rt. Rev. Joseph Maker Atot of Pacong, Rt. Rev. Isaac Dhieu of Akot, Rt. Rev. Moses Deng Bol of Wau, Rt. Rev. David Akau of Awerial and Rt. Rev. Abdu El Nur of Kassala.

The enthronement of these Bishops was done by His Grace Archbishop of ECS and Primate the Most Rev. Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bul and presided over by Justice Majok Madiing Majok.

ECS Standing Committee Meeting-convenes in Lakes State

Archbishop Deng Bul with ECS staff and clergy



1. General Management.(i) Gradual professionalisation of Church

management structure, with strategic partner support, is to be encouraged in ECS.

(ii) Paid qualified personnel should be sought as and when funds are available

(iii) Seconded technical assistants from abroad should be sought to assist in capacity building, training and a professionalisation drive - by diocesan clusters. Continued management training is essential, though courses and workshops are not always the most effective means

for long term capacity building.(iv) Management structures, personnel

policies, job descriptions and systems need to be legally set up in writing, tailored to the context in which they will operate - e.g. employment contracts, documentation, maps, etc.

(v) New sources of income such as long term investments need to be sought to fund professional staffing in future, though part-time volunteers can be well utilized in parallel to professional staff.

(vi) The Provincial Standing Committee adopted the financial Policies

and employee handbook documents.(vii) A diocesan secretary must be a

qualified and committed Christian but not restricted to those in Holy Orders.

(viii) A provincial personnel policy needs to be properly developed and published, centered on contracted workers for a specified number of years.

2. Provincial salary arrears(i) The Provincial Standing Committee

recognises the provincial salary arrears as a crippling barrier to further provincial development. Internal fundraising towards these arrears, such as giving and better asset management, is to be encouraged, firstly to financially contribute and secondly to show ECS’s seriousness and action on this problem to the partners, “Rightsizing” of the provincial office staff is fully supported and necessitates the clearance of all arrears. Partners are still to be encouraged and assisted in their work to assist in clearing the arrears.

(ii) Any money received in the arrears account should be used immediately to clear debts.

(iiii) All donors to the arrears fund should be issued with a receipt.

3. Fundraising/self sustainability(i) The fundraising effort must be

intensified using the proposal from the Khartoum intellectuals , and Rumbek. The dioceses are to keep the province from falling into further debt.

(ii) There should be a follow up of the intellectual committee findings.

4. The structure of the Provincial Commissions

(i) The Terms of Reference of the Provincial Commissions need to be

THE PROVINCE OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH OF THE SUDAN PROVINCIAL STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING

Rumbek in Lakes state on 23rd November 2009 Reached a conclusive end with the following final resolutions.

Archbishop Deng Bul



reviewed by the provincial committee. Certain Commissions that are not working effectively may need to be streamlined accordingly.

(ii) The provincial commission secretaries/coordinators need to be appraised by the Provincial Secretary, together with two others in a committee, to establish their competence. We recommend retaining the current commissions.

(iii) Full power to run the commissions must be given to the co-ordinators. There is a need for them to work with clear terms of reference and a careful job description.

(iv) Each commission should have the power to raise funds for its own commission. A co-ordinator should be able to react quickly. The Deputy Chairman of the commissions should be within easy contact of co-ordinators at all times and the Archbishop should be consulted when necessary and kept informed.

5.Ecclesiastical structure.Intellectual management capacity,

ability to maintain Church structure and analysis of Christian theological understanding must be added to the list of criteria for establishment of a new diocese. (Can you run a diocese, can you pay for a diocese and do you understand a diocese?) New dioceses must also have an appropriate number of theologically and managerially qualified and resident clergy. All new dioceses must establish their management structure professionally from the outset for self-sustainability. A provincial assessment committee should look into the claims for new dioceses with revised criteria.

(ii) The Diocesan clusters should be included in the constitution. A review of the names of the clusters to include new dioceses should be done.

More dioceses are desirable. They give ownership and people have been encouraged through them, bringing new life. But further, new dioceses should have

clear criteria on spiritual as well as • material aspects At least five well educated and trained • persons to administer the diocese (not necessarily from within the new diocese).

Material criteria should be strictly • adhered to; the bishop’s house must be Complete the car in place and the cathedral complete. At least SDG 24,000 needs to be in the name of the diocese. A completed diocesan office should be • added to be one of the criteria. An adequate time frame for all this should • be developed to allow for completion of the criteria and education and training of personnel.Payment of the pastors needs to be in • place and on time.Education and health services should • be available in the area, though not necessarily run by the Church.The creation of the archdeaconries • should be as stipulated in the Canon Laws.(iv) A Provincial Assessment Committee

should be set up to do a feasibility study into the setting up of more internal provinces in the ECS. They will look at the criteria for setting up a new province, and will look at Overseas examples.

(v) Abyei: The formation of a new diocese or Suffragan sees a need to go through the normal procedure of the House of Bishops and obtain the consent of the people, though the proposed policy is good.

6. Church Commissioners in SudanThe Constitution of the Church

Commissioners of Sudan (CCS) must be ratified by the Provincial Standing Committee when it is ready, and the process of setting up the CCS started as soon as possible.

(ii) Church lands are being lost to land grabbers. All land has to be clearly measured, documented and registered and the certificates acquired. The provincial legal personnel should be always involved.

7 Anglican Communion Affairs(i) The Provincial Standing Committee

ratified the Anglican Covenant.(ii) Dialogue should be maintained with

all the Anglican Communion, regardless of their theological or political ideas, but fellowshipping with them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

(iii) The Provincial Standing Committee should re-affirm the instruments of communion as in the statement to the

Lambeth Conference 2008.(iv) The Provincial Standing Committee

affirms that women are allowed to be ordained and consecrated as Bishops.

(v) The Provincial Standing Committee rejects the ordination and consecration of homosexuals of either gender to any of the three Holy Orders, as well as their participation in other Church jobs.

8.International relations/partnerships

(i) Those Dioceses without partnerships should actively seek them, especially through North American Partners Co-coordinator Jennifer Ernst, who is working on linking all ECS dioceses to American partners, and Canon Ian Woodward in linking Salisbury rural deaneries and cathedral with Sudanese dioceses and cathedrals. More UK diocesan partners should also be sought.

(ii) Partners closer to home can also

Miss Rebecca Coleman



be sought, both within Sudan and within Africa.

(iii) Education and communication on both sides is essential for mutual understanding and partnership.There is a potential need for Memoranda of Understanding between ECS dioceses and their partners,

(iv) Strategizing and prioritizing development initiatives is to be encouraged; Annual reports from the dioceses must be produced in future.

(v) Trainings on partnership must annually be piloted with advice on how to relate to partners and how to understand partners’ mindsets and fundraising methods.

(vi) Partnerships should look beyond money when it comes to support -especially regarding technical expertise, helping Sudan to help itself.

9. Ecumenical and inter-faith co-operation

(i) ECS, through its holding of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) Chair, should urge SCC to take more initiative in advocacy initiatives to show Christian solidarity in Sudan.

(ii) Fees paid or to be paid to various ecumenical councils need to be traced and followed up by the Provincial Administration.

(iii) The work of the Ecumenism and Inter-Faith Commission is recognised, and should be supported and empowered to continue improving relations with other denominations and faiths.

(iv) Members should be appointed to attend upcoming ecumenical council meetings, and Bishop Andudu Adam is assigned to attend the Middle East Council of Churches on behalf of the ECS.

(v) Further dialogue for reconciliation with the breakaway “Reformed” and “Anglican” congregations needs to be continued on a one-to-one basis, and their former leaders and congregations welcomed back into the ECS if deemed fit, as per the July 2005 House of Bishops meeting (Makono Document).

10. Advocacy, the CPA and Sudan politics

(i) Copies of the “Yei document” on the Diocese of Yei’s conference on peaceful elections practices need to be circulated

around the dioceses so that other dioceses emulate Yei Diocese’s example in leading to unity and peace at the elections. The document should be placed on the ECS provincial website.

(ii) Bishops should visit their Elections High Committees to pray with them and support them in their work. Materials would be collected from them for voter education at Sunday services.

(iii) The Church must promote full participation in the politics and election process by their congregation and others. The Church is trusted by the people and so should advise and lead.

(iv) The Provincial Standing Committee should adopt the January 2008 JPRC Conference statement on the Church’s positions on political issues.

(v) The Church should advise the Government on their performance at all levels by making statements to that effect, meeting with government officials and giving constructive criticism.

(vi) Cattle rustling: Government and local chiefs should regulate the movement of cattle from state to state, county to county, Payam to Payam or Boma to

Boma by giving permission and issuing documents. Every effort should be made to prevent the need to move cattle at all There is a need to protect crops from the cattle and to speed up the process of disarmament.

(vii) Disputes involving ecclesiastical boundaries should be solved by committees appointed by the dioceses. Account should also be taken of other denominations’ boundaries.

11. Education Development(i) There is a need to work out a single

policy for selecting any ECS teacher for training’

(ii) There is a need for ECS to work more together with the government in developing a unified and genuinely indigenous CRE curriculum for Sudan.

(iii) The example of the Church and government partnership in training capacity building and administration should be continued and strengthened.

(iv) A standardized school design for construction of educational facilities at different levels should be developed for future roll-out of school construction across ECS.

(v) The church and the government should sit together to discuss curriculum development for southern Sudan.

1.2. Agriculture development(i) The agriculture survey that has begun

should be continued and completed.(ii) The dioceses should be encouraged

to acquire land, and obtain the proper documents and deeds for land that they have.

(iii)The dioceses and province should act to develop their lands with available resources.

(iv)The ECS leadership should work for easier transfer of money from Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD).

(v) The Agriculture Office should work closely with SUDRA so as not to duplicate the programs. It may be necessary in the future to restructure the department and place agriculture under SUDRA.

(vi) As soon as funds are available there is need to expand the office and speed up the employment of an Agriculture Officer to head the programs and ensure sustainability.

(vii) Encourage each diocese to assess Miss Robinson, ECS Agriculture expert



the food shortage and hunger situation caused by the drought and submit this information to SUDRA.

(viii) The standing committee should make a statement to the international community regarding the hunger situation.

13 Health (i)The immediate need is to appoint a

qualified health coordinator. One year’s funding has already been given.

(ii)The recommendations of the health commission report should be taken up by the Health Co-ordinatorfor implementation.

(iii)The Health Co-ordinator will take up the recommendations that for realistic planning with partners, and with structuring the office, staffing, diocesan programs, and relationship with SUDRA.

(iv) The Church should devise means and ways of training a new generation of leaders to take over these departments in the future.

(v) Sustainability is important. We encourage the Health Commission to look at how to build and sustain health programs using donor and partner support, local support, and cost sharing.

14. Mothers’ Union / women’s activities

(i) We recommend that the survey go forward as planned, and that they should consult with the funding agency to hire an expert consultant.

(ii) We recommend that the Mothers’ Union should continue with the process of selecting the second Mothers’ Union worker according to their guidelines.

(ill) We recommend that the process of developing a constitution go forward.

(iv) The Constitution of the Mothers’ Union should spell out the roles of the president, the worker, and the patron who will be the Bishop’s wife.

15 Communication (i) We recommend that the managers

of New Day Publishers who absconded with the money, should be traced, and the money recovered.

(ii) For the former officials of New Day Publishers who deserted their posts, public notice should be made that they should report back, failure to do so will

cause disciplinary action to be taken against them.

(iii) The VSAT program should be continued until it covers all the dioceses that meet the requirements.

(iv) We recommend that New Day Publishers should be revived so that it becomes a ministry to the church and developed into source of income generation for the church through the sale of published items.

The Standing Committee affirms the importance of the VSAT program and offers thanks to the donor. Trinity Wall Street.

(vi) Copyright protection should be given to New Day Publishers’ materials.

(vii) The provincial magazine “Voice of the Gospel” shall be adopted as the official newsletter of the ECS. The dioceses are asked to send information to the Provincial Communication Department for inclusion in the magazine.

16 LiturgyThe Liturgical Commission should

visit each diocese to find what people are using and what they need. They can then build on the work they have already done, including correction of any deviations found. The Commission should be empowered by 10 percent of the collection at all ECS weddings.

(ii) Contextualization, indigenization

and inculturalization needs to be the key aim in the production of a Sudan Prayer Book. The translation of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer or even AS8 does not suit the current situation.

(iii) New rites: thanksgivings, intercessions, celebrating rites of passage, life events, initiation rites, things unique to Sudan need to be included such as: harvest, recovery from sickness, thanksgiving for someone who has died, thanks when there is rain, at a birth or a marriage: wedding anniversaries, students who have passed exams, getting a new job, emerging from war, new peace, when someone survives an accident, when there is healing, getting new things - new possessions. Prayers of intercession: Someone has died, a miscarriage, someone about to be hanged, prayers over the sick, and for a safe journey.

(iv) Baptism of children of second wives and children of single mothers: the parents should be confirmed Christians and this should happen in the context of proper preparation following Mark Ch. 10. Godparents should be committed, confirmed Christians and be mature in faith and age. Teaching and baptism preparation should take place over a minimum over a period of one month.

(v) Marriages that pose a problem: we recommend that the Commission produce a draft liturgical solemnization

Testing ECS- Communication Commision internet



of marriage to include two liturgies - one for Holy Matrimony and one for Blessing of Marriage between one man and one woman. A full period of preparation and counseling should be given and banns of marriages be read on three consecutive Sundays.

(vi) The way we conduct funerals is not consistent. Local idiosyncrasies will always exist (e.g. the direction of burial - differences for male or female) but we should only participate if what we do is done in the name of Jesus. Attendance should not be affected by the rite of burial, but an attending cleric should always aim to give the Word of God.

(vii) The funerals of suicide victims: We should refer to the Kenyan liturgy and the Commission should produce a revised liturgy based on different circumstances and the Sudanese situation.

(viii) We need to recognize what is Anglican and educate around Anglican order -sacraments, gestures for benediction prayer and prayer of consecration in the Holy Communion etc., robes, criteria for selection and training of clergy.

(ix) We need training on liturgy locally and in theological colleges. This is important especially if people are not trained in Anglican colleges.

(x) We recommend that an able pastor from the field who is computer literate be seconded to the Province for a relevant period to draw up draft liturgies for the Liturgical Commission to be piloted and sent for consideration.

(xi) We recommend that the church bake their own altar bread and in rural

areas use of local variants on ‘wine’, such as “Kerekede”, should be encouraged.

17. Clergy pay.(i) All full-time pastors should receive

a stipend.Part-timers can be given incentives

(ii) Mass ordinations and ordinations of untrained priests should be stopped. Mass commissioning of lay readers without training should also stop. Refusing to abide by this will incur disciplinary action from the Province as per the Canon Laws of the ECS. Pastors-in-Charge at all levels should be full-time, paid clergy. Bishops must follow the Canon Laws for the creation of parishes, rural deaneries and archdeaconries with regard to the numbers of trained personnel requiring ordination.

(iii) Stewardship should be taught: giving and tithing. Income should be divided between parish, deanery, archdeaconry and diocese, using the example of Maridi Diocese as a model Sunday collection is not enough. Let us sit down and make a design for raising and using of income with the Parishes. Use income generating projects. Invest in our land and develop it.

(iv) Clergy pay and systems of clergy pay should be discussed and owned by the laity.

(v) There is a need for clergy to be trained on how to manage a parish, rural deanery or archdeaconry. Training should be carried out by bishops and other Church leaders for those clergy already serving before appointment to a position, and should include financial management. Management should be included in theological training for new ordnands.

(vi) Transparency: the lack of openness about the custody of money can hide the true amount of money we have. All money should go through a single pool. All must be accounted for, even the gifts in kind. Gifts in kind should be costed or sold to raise funds for the Church. Strict internal control of financial and reporting systems must be maintained. Documentation of financial policy and the establishment of procedures that will govern the flow of money, including budgeting for income and expenditure, are to be accounted for. At each stage we can give the precise

short report to the Church hierarchy, to be passed on to donors and to give accountability to the partners.

(vii) Recruitment and employment policy with contracts and clear job descriptions is needed in the ECS at all levels.

(ix) Copies of the provincial Canon Laws should be made available to all dioceses.

(x) A proportion of stipends should be put into a provident fund for after service benefits. This needs to be looked at for inclusion in the constitution by the Constitutional Review Committee.

18. Theological Education and TEE(i) A new competent theological

secretary for the Commission must be recruited.

(ii) Translation of the TEE materials into Arabic and local languages should continue and be revived.

(iii) TEE should be revived across the country, and a new system of TEE governance developed by the province. It is proposed that TEE be technically supported by the provincial and diocesan theological colleges and be kept with the approved curricula for the provincial colleges. TEE is to be put under one coordinator.

(iv) New sources of income for TEE must be found.

(v) Encouragement to be given to Bishop Ngaiamu College as it builds up. We should put energy into seeking for greater funding at this critical time for them. Ail provincial theological colleges must apply the financial guidelines.

(vi) The Theological Education Co-ordinator should act as secretary to record the minutes at the theological education meeting.

(vii) Teaching staff should be flexible and be available to teach in all the provincial Colleges

(viii) Continue with the agreed syllabus and make material available to the diocesan bible colleges.

(ix) The Theological Commission Co-ordinator to visit the bible colleges to coordinate and encourage. It is the responsibility of diocesan colleges to register with the State Ministries of Education and with the Provincial Theological Education Commission.

(x) Special attention needs to be given

Rev. Canon Nelson K Nyumbe



to El Obeid, Awei and Abyei so they may receive entrance exams from bible colleges in good time so they can send their students.

(xi) Encourage and establish the use of the Internet and access to the theological material available on it in all theological colleges.

(xii) A way to revive Bishop Benjamin College Juba should be found. The buildings are there but funding is needed.

19 Evangelism (i) New teaching on the centrality

of evangelism Is needed. There should be new expectations of the province in keeping with the launch of the “Decade of Evangelism”. Policy for evangelism to be made clear to the dioceses, a strategic plan to be drawn up and restructuring at all levels.

(ii) Appraise the current personnel of the Provincial Evangelism Department and make recommendations. Ensure that a competent co-ordinator is put in place in the province. The Provincial Evangelism Co-ordinator should be full-time and paid.

(iii) Establish close links between co-ordinator, commission and Church leaders with frequent reporting to the dioceses. There should be full transparency and accountability.

(iv) All Diocesan co-coordinators should meet together before the week of evangelism and meet again each year to evaluate what they have achieved and then communicate back to the dioceses. This is a recommendation based on the availability of funding.

(v) The appointment of a bishop evangelist for the province is a good idea but needs further examination

(vi) Each Bishop should have evangelism as a priority and put the machinery in place: especially for the pastoral care of new converts,

(vii) Letter should be sent to all dioceses to appeal for finance or any kind of resources to support evangelism. Each diocese must have a mechanism for fundraising for evangelism - e.g. having a box in each cathedral for donations towards the Provincial Evangelism Department.

(viii) Take the Gospel to places beyond our borders.

(ix) Produce evangelistic materials like songs, cassettes, films, pamphlets and tracts, take advantage of materials already produced by the dioceses and use the preachers we have in our dioceses to preach in the open air during the week. The Revival Groups can be filmed and recorded. Find young people to work at diocesan level.

(x) Work towards a unified week of witness evangelism in the ECS.

(xi) 10% of the collections from the week of witness should be forwarded to the province for its evangelism programme from each diocese.

FROM THE ARCHBISHOP’S CHARGE(1) Transfer of Bishops from one

Diocese to another.CONSENSUS: Gradual implementation

on a partnership or cluster basis(2) The election of Bishops from non-

local ethnicitiesCONSENSUS: Those from any ethnicity

can be elected Bishop anywhere. Practical implementation of this will be gradual in practice.

(3)The plan for a provincial Bishop. Evangelist.

CONSENSUS: Deferred but with continuing study into the position.

(4)Utilization of the laity in Church administration.

CONSENSUS: The laity need sensitization on their role in the Church before gradually being brought into administrative roles.

(5) Pre-emptive election of new Bishops 6 months before predecessor’s retirement.

CONSENSUS: Defer the issue at the present time, the status quo with bishops retiring before the election process for their replacements should be

maintained.(6) Plans of Chaplain-General Bishop

for the armyCONSENSUS: Issue deferred.(7)Transfer of college principals from

one college to anotherCONSENSUS: Approved, with

qualifications to be looked at.(8)Registration of people and assets

for the new Church CommissionersCONSENSUS: Approved.(9) Encouragement of record keeping

across ECSCONSENSUS: Approved.(10) Development of the new Diocesan

mapCONSENSUS: Approved as a work in

progress that will include the whole country. There should be an annex to the map describing the boundaries of each diocese.

(11) Partner role to fund projects rather than overheads

CONSENSUS: Approved, with alterations to the language.

(12) Financial and employee documents

CONSENSUS: Approved as a working document to be approved by the next General Synod as an addition to the Canon Laws

(13) Commissions or boards.CONSENSUS: Rightsizing is carried as

policy, for further work (14) Familization of all clergy with

the Constitution and AnglicanismCONSESUS:Approved(15) Constitutional RevisionConsensus: In favor of Keeping with

the constitutional procedure before the next General Synod.

(16) Issuing an advocacy statement Consensus: Approved

Evangelist Justin praying with SPLM Soldiers



Rt. Hon Gordon Brown MP, The Prime Minister and Her Majesty's Government 10 Downing Street

London The peace process in Sudan has reached

a critical point, with less than four months to go before the elections and one year to the referendum on southern sudan self determination, the Comprehensive

Peace Agreement (CPA) is on the brink of collapse. Over Christmas there have been well-publicised agreements between the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on legislation set to govern the referendum on southern self-determination and popular consultations in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states. However the reality

is that tensions are rising betwen the peace agreement partners over various still outstanding issues, and in the next year of elections and referendum further violence and a full-scale return to war are real looming possibilities. Iam therefore visiting London to speak to you on behalf of Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS], calling upon Her Majesty's Government, as a guarantor signatory of the CPA, to put more pressure on the NCP and SPLM to confirm the goal of a lasting peace in Sudan, peace which is currently so critically in the balance. At the same time the Church re-affirms its role to act urgently to support the implementation of the CPA through our internal Church networks, our ecumenical and inter-faith partners within Sudan and our international partner support, such as that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Salisbury and the Bishop of Bradford with whom I am visiting you.

The church expresses our sadness at the missed opportunity for making unity of the Sudan attractive since the signing of the CPA. There has been no reconciliation process between North and South. The proper demarcation of the 1956 boarders ahead of elections this year has not yet been done. There has been a lack of transparency over the National Census and transfer of oil revenues to the Government of Southern Sudan. To date (here has been a failure to alter laws which are contrary to the freedom-giving spirit of the CPA. Whilst a revised National Security Law was passed by the National Legislative Assembly recently, this was boycotted by the SPLM and other opposition leaders leading to a continuation of the stalemate over guaranteeing fee and fair elections. The implementation of the July 2009 Abyei ruling has nut yet been seen on the ground.

After numerous political delays and division, the legislation governing the referendum in Southern Kordofan, the referendum in Abyei and popular consulatations in Blue nile states has now been passed However, the tension surrounding the negotiation of this legislation resulted in the detention of senior SPLM and other opposition leaders in early December, which has led to widespread fear amongst the people.

The Church strongly condemns the

Appeal To Her Majesty's Government On The Fifth Anniversary Of The Signing Of The Comprehensive Peace Agreement

Archbishop Deng Bul and his counterpart



Dear Archbishop,It was good to meet you on 11 January

while you were in London and Iam sorry that I was unable to speak with you again as we had planned on 14 January.

The UK is proud to be one of the guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). We believe that the potential the CPA offers for Sudan to enjoy long term peace and stability remains within reach as we discussed however, there are serious challenges which must be addressed to secure this

The British Government is strongly committed to supporting all parties in Sudan in this effort, I remain personally committed to doing all I can to promote peace in Sudan, The UK Minister for Africa, Gienys Kinnock visited Sudan on 11-13 January and underlined our support and desire for progress.

As we discussed the support of the international community will be vital The UK will continue to urge greater international community engagement and help ensure that this is coordinated, cohesive and targeted as we press the parties to fulfil their obligations. As we discussed this includes ensuring the UN has the leadership in place to support this The Troika of UK Norway and the United States will continue to work together with the parties in the year ahead We are providing significant assistance to the forthcoming elections, contributing £12.5m in support and have emphasised the importance of a credible process and freedom of expression On the referendum, there is a need for leadership, and to work urgently on post-referendum issues, such as oil-sharing to increase the prospects for a peaceful outcome This is something that Gienys Kinnock emphasised to representatives of both, the NCP and SPLM during her visit to Sudan.

The UK will continue to support the work of Chatham House in helping the parties address these issues.

Security in the South continues to be one of our primary concerns, including

the inter-tribal clashes and activities of the Lord's Resistance Army, The UK is investing over £200m per year in peacekeeping, stabilisation and peace-building in Sudan and in capacity-building and security sector reform in the South more support is needed from others for such efforts, to reduce the risks of further tension.

The consequences of a return to war are grave However, I believe that lasting peace in Sudan is attainable and the UK will continue to work vigorously to that end What is needed is real political will, both from the international community and particularly, from all parties within Sudan I would like to extend my thanks to you personally and the Church as a whole in Sudan Your work towards peace continues to make a real difference and 1 hope you will stay in close touch with us on your efforts during this crucial year

I am copying this letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury

Yours sincerely, GORDON BROWN

UK PRIME MINISTER’S LETTER TO ARCHBISHOP DENG

current inter-ethnic violence which countinues to rage across much of southern Sudan and Darfur. The most recent example being the killing of 140 civilians in Warrap state, as well as the violent attacks on civilians being perpetrated by the lords resistance army(LRA) in the south west of the country.

Over 2500 People have been killed in the past year in Southern Sudan, 1500 more than in Darfur in the same period, and yet the international community has not yet woken up to this fact. It is the escalation of non-traditional .de-stabilising violence, specifically targeting civilians and the government that will make registration and voting in the referendum very difficult in 2011.

The conclusion that is drawn is that violence is intended to have a negative effect on elections and referendum and the Church urges. Her Majesty's Government to take this violence more seriously for the prevention of further conflict across the country.

There is no alternative to the CPA. It must be fully implemented by both signatories and must be fully supported by those guarantors governments who promised to do so in 2005 .

Those international guarantors and stakeholders must take full heed of the crises affecting the country, and be active according to their promises made to the Sudanese people.

To quote the Chairman of the Sudan National Elections Commission Hon. Abel Alier, the history of sudan is summed up by the phrase “too many agreements dishonoured” the current agreements holding the peace in Sudan are simply pieces of paper, unless the guarantors of the CPA act now, they too will be dishonoured.

The Church proclaims “let my people choose” and urges renewed international focus on the political processes of the elections and referendum, the latter of which must be considered inviolable. The Church supports the right of every individual Sudanese citizen to have a free and fair say in the future of Sudanese citizens who have already suffered years of conflicts. Sudan is in the real danger of descending back into war which will not harm the elites and the politicians, but which will again destroy the lives of the voiceless citizens.

Former Prime minister Gordon Brown



By Rt. Rev Wilson Kamani.

The Diocese of Ibba is one of new Dioceses inaugurated in 1993. The inauguration was during

the 21 years of civil war in Sudan. It has 4 Archdeaconries namely Madebe, Manikakara, Nabanga and Ibba town Central. The vision of the diocese is to envisage

“A God fearing and prosperous community that owns the diocese and sings praises to Lord Jesus Christ.” The diocese exists to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, build the capacity and promote holistic development in the community and its overall objectives are;

Proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the community, Promotion of holistic development in the community regardless of tribe, race and religion and building and strengthening the capacity of people in the community.

The Diocese is guided by the following values in for smooth running. The diocese believes in the Holy Trinity; it believes that all believers are accountable before God. It is committed to transparency and accountability in the daily work, committed to Promote justice and equality in the community, committed to acceptance of one another. The diocese is committed to keeping its integrity; committed to live

in peace with one another, committed to good stewardship of the resources in the Church, committed to Team work in the Diocese, committed to gender inclusiveness and it is committed to professionalism.

The Diocese of Ibba has increased challenges that gained ground as a result of the intensification of the war in southern Sudan. Some of those challenges are the increased rate of illiteracy, brutal attacks by the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), poor infrastructure, need for trained Church personnel and poor socio-economic services. This article

concentrates on challenges which hinder the growth of this Diocese such as high rate of illiteracy and insecurity.

High rate of illiteracy: Since the genesis of this world and colonial period in Sudan particularly western in 1922/23 by Church Missionary Society and the revivals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ibba had been sidelined in the world of development.

During the missionaries there used to be bush schools up to the level or standard of primary two. Pupils used to move on foot from Manzangi 125 miles north of Ibba to

Maridi to attempt entry examination to primary three. Its system continued until 1964 when Anya-nya movement against the unwanted system in Sudan erupted. The movement continued up to 1972 when Addis Ababa Peace Agreement was signed. The civilians in Ibba hoped for a changed system of education, unfortunately the same system continued. Primary school was opened in Ibba in Arabic and later changed to English pattern, sadly enough there used to be only four (4) classes.

Any person who would pass class 4 in Ibba would be transferred every year to Maridi for further education. The same system increasingly continued until to the resumption of the Sudanese People Liberation Army & Movement without pupils in Ibba ever attempting primary leaving examination except this year 2010 that 10 pupils in the diocese of Ibba with support from Church Missionary Society Ireland and the Diocese of Virginia will attempt primary leaving examination.

I have witnessed many friends complaining about the high rate of illiteracy in their areas which is true but with this short highlight of the profile of education in the diocese of Ibba what do

The Diocese of Ibba holds Convention“Can any good come out in the Diocese of Ibba?”

John 1:46-47

4




4




Rt. Rev Wilson Kamani

Education in Ibba Diocese



you say about Ibba? I am fascinated with what is written

in the book which says “there is time for every thing and season for every activity under heaven”. Ecclesiastes 3:1. I think time has come for pupils in Ibba in western Equatoria Yambio for the first time in history since the creation of heaven and earth to attempt primary leaving examination

I invite prayer from the readers for those pupils and let us together thanks to the partners for their commitment to shoulder the burden and the yerning of the community of Ibba in the area of education and other social and economic developmental activities.

Our Lord Jesus Christ one day met with Philip who was from the town of Bethsaida and said to him “follow me”, Phillip also found Nathaniel and told him “we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and about whom the Prophet also wrote-Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph” Nazareth can any thing good come from there? Nathaniel asked “come and see” said Philip.

INSECURITY IN IBBAThe insecurity caused by the Lord

Resistance Army in Western Equatoria has given birth to killing of innocent civilians, serious displacement and instability in the minds of people. The places which have been invaded by the LRA are; Madebe, Igi, Nabanga, Bahamani, Wowo, Namibia Manikakara and the last attack was in Ibba Center in which our youth leader called Jeffery was abducted. That means the whole 4 Archdeaconries in Ibba have been attacked. There have been cases of killing, abduction and displacement in all those places.

Last year three quarter of the civilians in Ibba did not cultivate due to the increased insecurity in the area which resulted to the closure of two parishes which are now non-operational and the Christians are totally displaced that’s the Parish of Wowo and Namibia. As from the date of this article there are over 700 internally displaced in Central Ibba.

In order to restore hope in Christians a 3 days Diocesan convention under the theme “ Your will be done on earth just as it is in Heaven” was organized that draw preachers from Khartoum Rev Canon

Sylvester Thomas Dean of All Saints’ Cathedral Khartoum and Rev Yohans Wajo pastor in-charge of Hai Baraka Khartoum, bishop of Maridi Diocese Rt. Rev Justin Badi, Rev Yepeta Nathan from Yambio, Rev Modi Angelo Bashia. The Archbishop the Most Rev Daniel Deng was the key speaker but due to irregular flights to western Equatoria he couldn’t make it through.

The Minister of social Development H.E Grace Datiro the daughter of the first Bishop for the diocese of Yambio the Rt. Rev Yeremaya Datiro who spent three consecutive days attending the convention. Likewise the Commissioner of Ibba County H.E Rev Moses Bakote attended the convention as well. The 3 days convention strengthened the hearts

and minds and it restored hope in people. Over 2000 participants attended the convention from all the archdeaconries and the invited quests.

Rev Wajo gave a touching message to Christians on giving and tithing. He said whether you are old or poor you need to give to God. The result of Rev Wajo’s message was realized during the offertory on Christmas day when men were properly beaten by women whose contribution was SDG 1,580 while men’s offertory was less by SDG 290. All speakers who were invited to speak in the occasion were/are terrific speakers. Bishop Justin Badi the Diocesan bishop of Maridi Diocese presented an informative message on Christians Marriage which was accompanied by an interlude.

What was wrong in Nazareth? There were many false prophets in Nazareth those days, and then what is\was wrong in Ibba? High rate of illiteracy, need for trained Church personnel, lack of clean water, internally displaced people (IDPs), poor source of income, poor infrastructure and insecurity. Come and see an invitation from the diocese.

In regards to the Diocesan strategic plan of Ibba copies are available. Any person who would like to read can contact us through [email protected] or [email protected]

5

Whether you are old or needy you must give to God Rev Yohans reiterated

H:E Grace Yeremay Datiro minister of social development western Equatoria during diocesan convention in Ibba.

A family of LRA victims in Ibba

Since the genesis of this world and colonial period in

Sudan particularly western in 1922/23 by Church Missionary Society and the revivals from

the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ibba had been

sidelined in the world of development.



IntroductionI would like to brief you on the just

concluded All Africa Bishops Conference (AABC) that took place in Entebbe, Uganda from the 23rd to 29th August 2010. This is the second such meeting with the first one having taken place in Lagos, Nigeria in October 2004.

ParticipantsThe conference was attended by 398

Bishops from the 13 African Provinces in Africa. The Sudan sent a delegation of 37 participants consisting of 34 ECS Bishops, the Provincial Secretary and the two Deans of the Cathedrals in Juba and Khartoum.

Welcome The Church of Uganda which hosted

the conference made us welcome. The Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Luke Orombi, and the members of the Church of Uganda accorded us kind hospitality.

We were warmly welcomed and addressed by the Ugandan President, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and the Uganda Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Apollo Nsimbabi. The President hosted the Bishops to a state dinner at his Entebbe State House.

Theme

The conference was organised by the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa (CAPA) under the theme, Securing our Future: Unlocking our Potential (Hebrews 12: 1-2).

PurposeThe purpose of the conference was to

mobilise bishops to overcome obstacles that they face in their various ministries in their missions and to provide them with information, skills and tools to accomplish their ministries. To achieve this purpose, a number of speakers handled different topics ranging from topics on leadership, the environment, investment, family life.

Conference ResolutionsThe conference came out with 26

resolutions on various issues. One of the resolutions that I would like to draw your attention is resolution number 22. This is the resolution on the Sudan; this came as a result of a special session that was held on the Sudan and other countries in Africa where there are conflicts. This included the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar

Statement from Sudanese BishopsOn behalf of the Sudanese delegation,

I released a statement updating the conference on the situation in the Sudan.

I also called on the Bishops to pray for us especially as we are now approaching the January 2010 referendum. We expressed our concerns over the delay in preparation for the referendum

On post referendum planning, we called on those involved to put the safety, security, livelihoods and rights of the poorest and most vulnerable first. In the case of unity, issues of national identity, power and wealth-sharing need to be addressed. If separation is chosen, issues such as the position of southerners and churches in the north, need to be addressed to ensure peaceful relations between the two possible new neighbours and to guarantee the basic rights of all people in both north and south Sudan.

Primates Statement The Archbishops and Primates of the 13

Provinces in Africa also met during the conference. We discussed a number of issues regarding our ministries in Africa.

In one of the meetings, we had a face-to-face meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Rowan Williams. We shared our hearts openly and with transparency, on some of the issues that threaten the Anglican Communion. We committed ourselves to continuously support and pray for him and for the future of our beloved Communion.

Prayers with the Sudanese community in Kampala

A day before the conference, a number of ECS Bishops travelled early to meet and pray with the Sudanese community in Kampala on Sunday 22nd August 2010. We briefed them on the situation in Sudan and encouraged them to pray for the January 2011 referendum.

Conclusion I would like to thank you all for coming

to this press conference.The Most Rev’d Dr. Daniel Deng Bul

YakArchbishop and PrimateProvince of the Episcopal Church of the

Sudan &Bishop of the Diocese of Juba

PRESS STATEMENT OF THE ECS ARCHBISHOP REGARDING ALL AFRICA BISHOPS CONFERENCE (AABC)

Arch Bishop Daniel Deng with other Bishops from Sudan



Members of the Episcopal Church of Sudan led by the most Reverend Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak, pastors, youth and the

Sudanese Community living in Uganda attended The women of Zion conference in Uganda.

The theme of the two day conference, organized by The women of Zion Association in Uganda was “Restoring our fortunes, Renewing our Faith and Interceding for our future. The theme of the conference was taken from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy (30:3).

The Chairlady of Women of Zion, Mrs. Sinkinesh Malesh said that this theme was relevant to their situation as Sudanese due to the fact that many of them are still living in exile.

She added that the theme was also about asking for God’s mercy and praying for their beloved country Sudan because of the disturbing news they keep receiving from Upper Nile State and other militias like Mr. George Ator who are shedding innocent blood.

Mrs. Malesh said Sudanese were grateful to the people, Government of Uganda and President Museveni for their support and love for the people of Sudan. They asked the church leaders present to speak out against mistreatment and harassment of Ugandans living and working in South Sudan if it is true that they are being mistreated.

The topics discussed by different speakers at the conference included Christian family and Christian values, anger management in the family, turning challenges into opportunities and the role of women in ministry which was the main topic.

The two day conference took place between 21-22 August at Africa Bible University in Lubowa, Entebbe, Uganda. During those two days, the Sudanese community in Uganda and the Bishops worshipped, prayed, danced and dined together.

WOMEN OF ZION CONFERENCE IN UGANDA

Arch Bishop receiving certificate of appreciation from women of Zion.Right is Rev. John Malesh

Participants at the conference

Mrs. Mary Alfred Wani, founder Women of Zion Association

The Chairlady of Women of Zion, Mrs. Sinkinesh Malesh



CHURCH’S FIRST ECS WOMAN DEAN OF RENK CATHEDRAL: Rev Martha Deng Nhial’REV MARTHA DENG NHIAL Who is she?

Rugaya Richie

She is Married to Lt. Col. Abraham who is a Southern Sudan Police officer stationed in Juba ,She has been married for 22 years

and has six children plus one grandchild. Nhial was one of the firs-t women to be ordained in Sudan.

The Episcopal Church of the Sudan decided, in 2000, to begin ordaining women to the diaconate and priesthood. The then-Bishop of the Diocese of Renk, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Deng Bul Yak, now Sudan's Archbishop, chose Nhial for ordination because of her leadership skills, faith and her desire to evangelize the people of Northern Upper Nile State, where Renk is located.

She was ordained a Deacon in 2003, and a priest on Palm Sunday in 2005. Since her priesting, she has served as priest associate, priest-in-charge and then acting dean of the Renk Cathedral. In each case, she was the first to hold those positions.

Dean Martha is the first woman priest to be dean of a cathedral in the whole of Sudan

She is one of the first women priests to be dean of a cathedral in the whole of Africa.

“When Archbishop Deng asked me, I told him that the Lord is calling me to go to teach people, as Jesus says in the Gospel. This is the work I do for God."

In Sudan, she said, "Before, we did not ordain women. Now, the Episcopal Church has given women the freedom to be ordained as priests and has given them confidence. Women bring very different leadership to the church, in the way that they teach and bring people together. We work for unity and love and sharing."

Bishop Ezekiel Kondo of the Diocese of Khartoum presided over the enthronement as Renk had not yet got a resident Bishop.The present Bishop is the Rt. Rev. Joseph Garang Atem Zorial.

Bishop Joseph Garang Atem believes Nhial was made dean "because of her faithfulness and evangelism and strong mind for mission. "She has a good vision for the care of her people, which we observed during the time of the civil war -She took care of the orphans and widowsof the war. We saw it again at the Renk Bible School, where she studied before becoming a priest. She has all of the characteristics of a good leader."he said.

Rev Martha Deng Nhial

Infocision Africa and New day publishers informs our esteemed readers of Voice of the Gospel that 2011 Calendars and Diaries will be out by December 2010.

We offer the following services where the magazine will also benefit.

Printing and Publishing•T-shirts, school Uniforms supplies•Printing Hymn Books ,Bible and other Christian reading materials•Project proposal writing and Projects design and Management•NGO and CBO websites and links•Newsletters•Stationery and office equipment supplies.•

Contact us on

NOTICE

Tel: +256772351362+249914989115 Email: [email protected]


TM




Nzara Consecration & Enthronment pictorial

Wau Enthronment Pictorial


ECS Standing Commitee Meeting in Rumbek (Pictorial)

SHORT BIO: I am the new International Coordinator in the Office of Archbishop Deng. My role involves managing the correspondence between the Sudan office and the partners around the world. No day is the same so it's fairly difficult to give you 'A Day in the Life of the ECS International Coordinator' but I can say that through this job, you get to meet various people from other churches and NGOs that are keen to make things happen in Sudan. One of the things I love most about the job is the opportunity to accompany the Archbishop on visits he makes to different parts of the country. I write a report after every visit in order to keep partners informed on ECS news. I've been here for 5 weeks and so far I've been to Yambio, Nzara, Wau and Rokon so I've seen many new places. Sudan is an extremely big country with a lot of diversity, so you don't have to go very far to find differences. As for home, I live on the cathedral compound in Juba and share a house with Tina and Trevor Stubbs from the UK and Robin Denney from the US. We also have sociable neighbours

so it's really nice to have a base in Juba amongest all the hustle and bustle where you can be yourself and have a laugh. Juba is a very vibrant place to live in and is also changing all the time. For me, the most notable changes are the improvements in the roads. One day you're travelling along a very bumpy dirt road and a few days later, you find it's been tarmacked all over! It certainly makes car journeys a lot more comfortable.

More about myself: I am 21 years old. I was born and grew up in Britain but my family are from Ghana. When in England, I live in West London. I finished a degree in history at Oxford last summer so my new surroundings are not like anything I've really experienced before. I am having a good time in Sudan so far and learning a lot about the culture, the languages and the way of life. Despite having irregular power, and not having a fridge in the house, I'm glad to be here working amongst so many great people and getting the chance to see the differences between what my life was and what it's like now.

Archbishop’s New International Co-ordinatorMISS REBECCA COLEMAN:

His Grace The Archbishop of ECS The Most Rev. Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bul, has issued Order No.2 of 5th March

2010 for the postponement of election of the Diocesan Bishops of Aweil, Medan, Yirol and Cueibet until after the general elections.

His Grace The Archbishop and primate of the Episcopal church of the Sudan has also directed that all the diocesan Bishops remain in their respective dioceses to assist in making up a free, fair and acceptable elections to avert political crisis or any kind of upheavals throughout the country.

He also directed that all priests should remain in their various parishes to help and counsel the citizens during the process of the elections for a peaceful outcome of the election..

As, the Archbishop and Primate of the Episcopal church of the Sudan, following the current political situation on the election

campaign in the country, the Episcopal Church needs to get involved in our respective dioceses to play a bigger role by encouraging al the political parties, all he Contesting candidates in the government and entire citizens to have peaceful election in our country.

Therefore, I The Most Rev.'Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bul, Archbishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, do hereby postpone the election of the diocesan Bishops of Aweil, Medani, Yirol and Cueibet dioceses as scheduled to a further date after April government elections.

I am hereby asking all the ECS Diocesan Bishops and all the clergy in the country to be in their respective dioceses and parishes to encourage the citizens to be vigilant and reconcile the political parties and contesting individuals campaigning to restrict themselves to the guide lines and norms

ARCHBISHOP DENG ISSUES ORDER NO 2Miss Rebecca Coleman:

Archbishop Deng Bul

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and I welcome you to this August meeting.

I want to give special thanks to the following people and organizations who have made the meeting possible: Bishop Alapayo Manyang and the whole Organizing Committee; all the ECS bishops and their dioceses who have contributed to the costs; the entire Government of Lakes State and especially the Governor H.E. Daniel Awet Akot for their contributions and generous hospitality in Sudan

Church Association in UK for their generous contribution, and ACROSS and MAP both of whom have played a crucial role in conveying delegates to Rumbek.

St. Paul encourages us to use our talents in the services of God and have prophesied proportional to our faith.St. Paul goes on to stress about hard work and encourages people to act on their strengths. Let us leave the physical development of our people and focus on the strength of the Church itself as a crucial institution in the fabric of a community that is recently torn apart by war.

St. Paul says that we should never flag in zeal but be a glow with the spirit and serve the Lord. Let us take up this challenge we are going through today.

Christ said to St. Peter that “On this rock I will build my Church”. My goals are to build ECS as a church built upon the rock and sure foundation of educated indigenous trained people both clerical and lay who understand Church structure, are honest in their business and are trained in the faith as well as being filled with the spirit.

ECS progress in spiritual and physical development during my 19 months in office as the Archbishop has been steady. I made pastoral tours to all Dioceses in Southern Sudan bar one (Ezo), and have inaugurated seven new dioceses, namely:

TerekekaPacongAkot

Twic EastAweilNzaraWad MedaniI have also inaugurated the Suffragan

Sees of Awerial, Bentiu, Yeri, Kassala and Barolo. The dispute over the area of Wonduruba in Central Equatoria has now been settled, and the area will henceforth be part of the Diocese of Rejaf.

During my visits to these places mentioned above, they appeared self sustainable and proved by their actions that whilst they do not require any external support, they should be allowed to have links with the Anglican world as independent Dioceses.

ECS bishops have now set up a good example in the transfer of leadership peacefully. The late Archbishop Joseph Marona, former Dean of the Province Eluzai Munde, Bishop Levi Hassan, Bishop John Ruate, Bishop Manasseh Dawidi, the Late Bishop Wilson Arop, Bishop Henry Cuir Riak and Bishop Michael Lugor have all retired gracefully in the past few years, handing over to new, younger bishops.

This indicates that the Church is back to her maturity and the ball is back to the clergy to respect their canonical vows which they made before God, to the leaders, and to remain obedient to them so that quarreling and division are no longer there.

The remains of the first late Archbishop were brought back to the South and his bones reburied behind All Saints Cathedral, Juba, as symbolic in the hearts of the Sudanese Anglican Church in all marginalized areas and as a final homecoming, both spiritually and physically.

Committees of intellectual members of the ECS, the “Intellectuals’ Committees”, have now been established in Khartoum, Juba and Rumbek to assist the Church in strategizing, fundraising and relating with other bodies such as government.

An agriculture department for the. ECS was established this year, to help the province generate income, and to

support the dioceses in their efforts of reducing the hunger gap. It has assisted the dioceses with training, advising and networking with NGOs. Despite lack of funding, a 10 acre farm was planted, and a grant for USD 81,500 was approved for the purchase of agriculture equipment. Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) has agreed to support the programme for the next year.

The Education Office is now fully operational at a high capacity. A grant from the British and Dutch financed “Basic Services Fund” (BSF) of around $2 million which has been won, lasting until June 2010 for a country-wide teacher training programme. A Land Cruiser has been acquired through BSF and World Relief; the Office is contributing to government curriculum development, especially Christian Religious Education; and the Office is excellently headed by new Provincial Education Co-ordinator Rev. Emmanuel Lomoro. The Office provides on-going school construction assistance to dioceses and has been praised by international partners including the British Ambassador to Sudan.

Dr. Katie Rhoads is now assisting the Health Commission with a mobile clinic service and in the setting up of a fully-operational Health Office to be based in Juba. Funding has been offered by the Christian Health Association of Sudan (CHAS); and strategic assistance has also been offered from various overseas partners including the Salisbury Medical Link. Clinical training is being provided in Yei by Poppy Spens. Salisbury Medical Link

ARCHBISHOP’S KEYNOTE ADDRESS IN LAKES STATE –RUMBEK



has agreed to fund a Provincial Health Co-ordinator for one year - either a doctor or a medical assistant - to head up a newly active Provincial Health Office.

Nicholas Ramsden has been working as my International Co-ordinator in the Office of the Archbishop for over a year, providing a previously absent focal point of contact for all Church partners. He has reported on all my diocesan visits, worked w i t h me on strategizing t h e future of the ECS a n d can explain

easily to our o v e r s e a s col leagues

aspects of the Sudanese Church that we ourselves cannot easily convey. It is my understanding that all partners have been thoroughly pleased with this role of my office.

VSAT internet facilities are being funded by Trinity Grants, Wall Street, with internet to be brought to 9 Sudanese dioceses in 2009. The programme is going to be rolled out to eventually cover all the ECS dioceses.

I was given a Land Cruiser by the Office of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). A second vehicle for the use of the Office of the Archbishop has been donated by the Diocese of Virginia.

A sound system for tours and evangelism work has been personally donated by me together with a generator donated by the Manager of Rock City Hotel, Juba.

As I told you in my first pastoral letter at Christmas 2008, “I have a dream and I want you to dream with me. Let us restore

hope, peace and justice to our people and bring about reconciliation.

We are to work hard to help our communities be reconciled. We are to work hard to help our communities love each other, under our motherland. The New Sudan is for us all”.

I am calling on you, the higher authority in ECS and the government of the people to uphold the rights of the people of Southern Sudan, Abyei and all the marginalized communities to decide their destiny and to ensure the success of the election and the referendum scheduled in 2011.

Let them decide their future whether for unity or separation in a free and fair process. It is on this ground I affirm my commitment to work hard for the unity of our Church. I want a united ECS, a Church that is not governed by tribalism. A Church

that will preach the word of God.2. Welcoming pastors back to ECSSince I came in as the fourth

Archbishop, we have welcomed back a number of priests who were misled by former Bishop of Rumbek, Gabriel Roric Jur. They are as follows:

Archdeacon James Yuat Choi Waat,Archdeacon David Kamandala, former

BGC teacher,Archdeacon Riath Jalaba,Rev. Joseph Garang of Kongor

ArchdeaconryWe are still waiting to receive others

such as Mayom Athian, Wilson Garana and Andreya Wal Nyandia back to ECS and for that I hereby appeal to them all. I also welcome Bishop Peter Bol Arok to return to Sudan from Kenya so that we can place him in Sudan to serve God and our people in the ECS.

The ECS community must welcome all of them back with the love of Christ and not to look at the Church on tribal or ethnic lines. True faith in Christ will drive people back to the Church as way back in 1938. Revival came and died out, so beware that this division, tribalism, hatred and corruption can destroy the love of God and the community.In future the transfer of bishops and clergy from diocese to diocese will help to reduce tribalism in the Church. According to the ECS Constitution, Article 19, Clause (I), the Archbishop has the power to transfer bishops from diocese todiocese, and I am asking this Standing Committee to approve of this policy and be ready to lend support to the process. If bishops who are to be transferred they will be given support and assistance in their new positions by the province.

Welcoming the new dioceses:When I became Archbishop I found so

much of the unfinished job of setting up the new dioceses. This has taken me a lot of time to complete.

I welcome the Bishops of the new dioceses which have increased the number of dioceses from 24 to 31. It is for this that I am asking for the amendment of the constitution to cater for the new dioceses and other new jurisdictional adjustments.

I want people in this meeting to know that these dioceses have fulfilled the criteria and that they have a cathedral, a

Archbishop Deng Bul



house for their Bishop and a car.Some of the old dioceses have been

left undeveloped waiting for support to come, but their support comes from the congregation while the old Bishops’ support is ending in 2010 so the new Bishops will be better off.

Therefore, I congratulate the new dioceses for the new steps they have taken and I appeal to all of you to be able to sustain our Church not to look at the outside support. What we need from outside is technical support and not salaries or the upkeep of the Church personnel.

A good number of bishops have retired this year like Bishop Henry Riak of Wau and Bishop Michael Lugor of Rejaf. Others will be retiring next year. I want to thank the Diocese of Wau administration for the good gift they gave to their bishop, a house of 4 rooms. It is the first of its kind in the history of ECS, setting a good example to other dioceses in future. I hope others will follow.

I want to give thanks to Alok Company under the management of Garang Deng Aguer for giving the former Juba Cinema to the Dinka congregation to be their “Emmanuel Parish Church”. May God bless his company for us.

3. The Vision of ECS:For the coming eight years, ECS’s

vision is to see “a strong Church on a strong indigenous foundation”. The war destroyed the fabric and the foundation of society in Southern Sudan and shattered the people’s confidence and productive capacities.

The Church must play a prominent role in reforming bodies, minds and spirits for the purposes of creating a peaceful, prosperous and self sustaining society. A strong Church built on the bedrock of faithful servants cannot be done by changing social, political and economic tides, so the people have to own the Church and all the faithful must be involved in Church developments.

A. A FAITHFUL, LOVING AND

TRUSTING CHURCHThe Christian faith provides the means

to rectify habits and patterns that set humans to war. It stands against power politics. It questions entrenched patterns

of division. It proclaims an alternative narrative that defines who we are in relations with God, with one another and to the world.

As faithful disciples, Jesus Christ loves us. We carry this message to successive generations, trusting that each will honour their duty to God, the country and to all creation.

B. A TRANSPARENT

CONFIDENT, SUSTAINABLE

CHURCHThe Church must demonstrate

faithful stewardship through honesty, accountability, confidence and sustainable management of its human and capital resources. “For to all those who have, more will be given and they will have in abundance but from those who have nothing even what they have will be taken away”

(Mt. 25:29).Accordingly, we seek to move our

Bishops and priests away from their dependency on outside incentives, as this is neither an indigenous nor a sustainable solution to the Church’s cost. Bishops and priests are the servants of the Church and the Church should pay them.

C. A CHURCH CONFIDENT IN

DOCTRINEThe Church must develop a single

doctrine and liturgy that are distinctly Sudanese yet wholly Anglican. The Church must stand up for its beliefs on the word stage without undue influence from the interests of prospective funders.

D. A RESPECTED ECSThe faithful witness of the Church

depends upon the respect it is afforded locally and internationally. Church leaders who have misused funds have tarnished the reputation of the Church and must atone and repent. Christ must be put above the division caused by personal allegiance. We must unite in the same mind and the same purpose. To that end, the bishops and the clergy will encourage broad community involvement and inclusion in the affairs of the Church to dispel ignorance, corruption and mistrust.

E. ECS AS AN INTEGRAL PART

OF THE NEW SUDANThe Church must participate in the

nation building of post-war recovery and to advocate for Dr. John Garang’s vision of a new Sudan, where all peoples, tribes, languages and religions are afforded true respect. The Church must work with the government to ensure that a secular society respects all faiths.

A divided Church and a divided nation cannot achieve their goals; instead they must be united to serve the nation. I am focusing to transform the ECS from a small minded, unrealistic, dependent and static entity into a forward-looking, united, self confident, dynamic Church that exercises its unique gifts fully while sustaining interdependence within the Anglican Communion. This mission demands significant restructuring of the whole institution and its personnel and this cannot be accomplished without the financial and human investments of our trusted partners all over the world.

4. STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR

THE ECS - PRIORITY NEEDS:There was a crisis within the ECS

because a large number of people were ordained or began working for the Church as laity with very little training, mainly due to the war. Some of these people have now reached high positions such as archdeacons, canons and even bishops - often with very little knowledge of the Bible, ecclesiastical traditions, liturgy or global Anglicanism. Instead these people have brought individualism and material gain as alternative motivations for working in the Church. This must be reversed if the ECS is to stand on firm, trained, indigenous and holy ground:

I am asking all the bishops to be more concerned about the standard of their priests and the process of a person being ordained to holy orders. The individuals must be agreed upon by their congregations, be upstanding moral people with good private lives, and must be supported by the people and the Church.

The following departments are to be run by voluntary/self funded personnel at provincial level, until



such a time as the province has become much stronger financially: a) Evangelism, b) Worship and Liturgy, c) Youth.

Communication remains a major challenge and ECS lacks effective communication systems to be able to communicate effectively both within Sudan and internationally. But we thank Trinity Parish in New York who has agreed to set up VSAT internet connections in every Sudanese diocese in order to ease communication problems.

Provincial Office refurbishment is still required.

The Archbishop is still using the old missionary desk. Evangelism needs to be strengthened and supported to be able to reach out to other parts of Sudan and beyond. Soon we are going to appoint Bishop for Evangelism for the whole Sudan.

Peace-Building, Reconciliation and Advocacy is essential to the well being of the people of Sudan. The Peace, Justice and Reconciliation Commission has been holding workshops to help communities move from

a culture of war towards building peace with one another. In the run up to the 2010 elections and 2011 referendum, there is an urgent need to intensify these activities if this country is not to return to war.

Rehabilitation and relief for IDPs and returnees is required, given on-going displacements in Darfur, Abyei and Western Equatoria due to violence. Such care from the Church will set a good example and is a practical demonstration of the gospel message.

Agriculture and food security will be worked on in order to fully utilize our God given resources. I have appointed Ms.Robin Denney, an agriculturalist from the Episcopal Church of the United States, to be the ECS External Agricultural Consultant and to assist us in developing an ECS Agriculture Office.

Education remains a central element of the Church’s mission and is crucial for the future of the nation. The successes of the ECS Education Commission in teacher training and school development will continue and grow as ECS has proven capacity to

deliver in education. Our Provincial Education Office is now managing a $2m programme of country-wide teacher training funded by the British and Dutch financed Basic Services Fund (BSF).

Health care in Sudan is minimal particularly in the South. The dioceses will continue to offer some basic primary health care, but the needs are enormous. My dream is to have at least 4 ECS hospitals in the country, one in the North, one in Bahr EI-Ghazal, one in Upper Nile and one in Equatoria. The historic Lui Hospital will be the one for Equatoria, but is currently in a terrible state and needs a lot of work to be done.

Capacity building and leadership development in theology, liturgy, management and finances are urgently needed as the Church requires a new generation of qualified post-war leaders in every walk of life.

Reconstruction of churches can be done by local communities who provide bricks, timber and the labour force as demonstrated by the IDP congregations of Eastern Equatoria.

Mr Amaati Felix Denis (R) ECS IT Expert inspecting one of the VSAT projects



However, more support is still needed.

Professional mission personnel from overseas are to be encouraged - we need professional expertise such as teachers, agriculturists, nurses, doctors and other technical professions. Money can be diverted, wasted and badly spent, but a committed expert individual can help to teach others and set up systems that will last a lifetime.

ECS continues to have a good working relationship with its partners, most of who are not simply sources of development funding but are also brothers and sisters in Christ. Recently, Salisbury Diocese has pioneered even closer ties with the ECS dioceses by assigning each diocese a direct link with a Salisbury rural deanery. In this way lasting, personal relationships between communities can be built up and no diocese of the ECS is left friendless. ‘

Changes within the ECS management in 2009 have and will continue to make partnerships easier to manage and will increase the communication between the Sudan and oversees partners, keeping partners abreast of developments.

ECS looks to standing interdependently in a worldwide Church: self sufficient, but ready to learn from others. Partnership

must be two way and I fully endorse and encourage this in the future.

Abyei AreaIn May , 2009, I visited Northern Bahr

EI-Ghazal including Abyei. The Synod of the Diocese of Wau passed a resolution relinquishing Abyei to be administered by the Office of the Archbishop for easy supervision from the province. Therefore Abyei will now be a missionary See under the Archbishop, and I am requesting this Standing Committee to allow me to appoint a Suffragan bishop for Abyei. Due to the sensitivity of the area, the Church must demonstrate its presence close to the people on the ground, providing both spiritual and physical care for its flock. This will be the work of such a Suffragan bishop, who will be under the Province.

Abyei is a bridge between North and South linking the people of Sudan. The territory is defined as an area of nine Ngok Dinka (Jieng) Chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905.

During the referendum, the people of Abyei will cast separate ballots by which the people of Abyei will choose to be either in the South or the North. Through this difficult time the Church must work closely with the people of Abyei.

5. The ECS position on the

political situation in the country,

especially Southern Sudan:In March and April 2009 in Jonglei

State, fighting between the Lou Nuer and Murle tribes erupted into large scale fighting. We were told that several hundred civilians were killed, over 5,000 displaced and a large number of women and children abducted.

In January 2009 there was similar violence between Dinka and Shiluk in Malakal. These clashes across Southern Sudan are a stark reminder of the challenges that tribal conflict pose to the protection of the civilians and of the successful implementation of the CPA.

There have also been clashes between the Jur and Agar in Lakes State and the Mundari and Bari in Central Equatoria State. The people who do this have defiled the earth because they have murdered their own brothers and sisters and have broken the ever lasting covenant between them and God. They have betrayed the rights of the people of Southern Sudan.

Woe to their work of darkness; highways are deserted because of your behaviour, woe to you as the land is mourning.

Dear delegates, in May 2009 the government released the census results which recorded the Southern Sudanese

population as 8,263,490. This figure was rejected by the government of Southern Sudan.

The CPA told us that the unity of the Sudan was to be given a chance and that unity would be made attractive. As the Church, let us create awareness within our communities and accompany them in deciding their own destinies. We are to make sure that our people are not deceived again. We are to advise all the politicians in the Sudan, wherever we meet them, that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is no longer just for the NCP or SPLM or any other parties: it is the property of the Sudanese people as said by the late Dr. John Garang de Mabior. If there are some elements within us who are working to undermine the CPA, we are to pray to the Almighty God to expose those elements

ECS VSAT project



within us, we do not know them, but God knows and sees them and even knows their names.

Because of this I am appealing to all the ECS to be alert and to constantly pray for the peace of the Sudan at this crucial time of the elections and the referendum. Let these tribes Jieng, Nuer, Murle and the rest be informed that they have provoked God’s anger on their communities and they have rebelled against God and against the people of the Sudan. The current situation is therefore a curse and you will have to bear the guilt upon yourselves.

Requests and recommendations:In conclusion I am asking the Standing

Committee to consider the following for approval in order to ensure the continued growth and good governance of the ECS:

Transfer of Church personnel between dioceses and geographical areas should happen for the Church not to be seen to be involved in tribalism and local self-interest. I am requesting the approval of this Standing Committee for me to begin by transferring six bishops to each other’s dioceses for six months as a “Pilot Project” or trial. These bishops will then report on the experience and advise on future policy for transfer of bishops all over the country.

Bishops should not be elected on tribal or regional lines. Any capable priest can be elected Bishop from anywhere in the country, and Bishops should not restrict themselves to working in their home areas unless there are very strong reasons necessitating this.

I would like the Standing Committee to approve the notion that all ECS members must take responsibility for the Church’s administration and the development of the Church. This is to release the bishops and clergy for purely spiritual work, as I have seen that laity can lose their faith when they see their spiritual leaders constantly engaged in everyday administration. The clergy are for spiritual work, the laity needs to be used more effectively for administration and development.

I would like to propose that the system of electing, consecrating and enthroning Bishops of the existing dioceses be altered so as to take place in the

six months leading up to the retirement of the incumbent bishops. This will make for a smoother hand over of authority and work to the incoming Bishops and will allow the outgoing Bishop to introduce his successor to the local people and government before retirement.

6. I am requesting the Standing Committee’s approval to look for a Chaplain General of the Armed Forces, who would be a Suffragan Bishop under the province.This is because our army, which suffers from many social problems, health issues and lack of orientation towards peace time professionalism, requires the spiritual care and guidance of the Church at this crucial time in our history. Care for our army is part of the Church’s responsibility towards building our nation.

7. College principals are to be transferred from college to college to learn more about different colleges and the whole country.

8. All parishes must register their Christians and pass these details to their dioceses in order to form the basis of a Church Census that will eventually be compiled at provincial level. Similarly, all dioceses should record their assets and pass this information to the province. In the long run this information will form the basis of a “Church Commissioners of Sudan” to manage the contributions and assets of the whole Church.

9. There is a great need to keep accurate records in the ECS to ease the handing over of roles from one incumbent to the next. All diocesan secretaries must keep good records of diocesan business that can be copied to the provincial headquarters.

The provincial departments must do the same. Both departments and dioceses will report to this Standing Committee, so the reports must also be well kept and filed.

A new map of the Sudan of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan requires your approval.

10. The ECS must in future restrict its requests for overseas support to projects and technical support. The payment of salaries and running costs is not a job for our partners; it is a job for our own Church, the ECS. In this way the restructuring and self-sustainability that are required for a strong, well run and united Church can be achieved.

11. I am requesting this Standing Committee to approve two of the attached documents - the “ECS Financial Policies” document, and the “ECS Employee Handbook”. These drafts have been formulated with expert technical assistance and need to be passed for effective future governance of Church funds and personnel.

12. I would like to propose that the Provincial Commissions structure for the Departments be downsized to one of Boards only.

13. All members of the Standing Committee should read and be aware of the laws in the ECS Constitution. Incoming bishops and newly ordained clergy should be given copies to familiarize themselves with.This should be part of the theological training of new pastors, and familiarization with global Anglican practice which should be the norm for incoming bishops.

14. The Standing Committee should approve an amendment to the ECS Constitution to include the seven new dioceses and other jurisdictional Adjustments of the last two years.

15. The Standing Committee, as the high authority of the ECS, should endorse a united ECS policy on the situation in Sudan as we approach the elections and the referendum, based on the paramount of peace and the right of the individual to have a fair say in his or her destiny.

Bishops should not be elected on tribal or regional

lines. Any capable priests can be elected

bishops from anywhere in the country,



By Nicholas Ramsden

The Juba Diocesan synod that met in the early December 2008 approved the splitting of the

Juba Town Archdeaconry into three new archdeaconries - the main sub-diocesan administrative unit in the Anglican Church - Gabat, Munuki and Kator. Alongside these geographical units would be a forth “floating” archdeaconry comprising Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) chaplaincies. Over the past month His Grace the Archbishop has visited each

new archidiaconal headquarter parish to present the certificate of each new archdeaconry to the new archdeacon in person.

On Sunday 20th September His Grace inaugurated Gabat Archdeaconry, based in ECS Buluk Parish near the Police Headquarters in Hai Gabat. His Grace was warmly welcomed by the parishioners of Buluk and a host of clergy from the new archdeaconry, before beginning the inaugural service in the church - still a local material building which stands besides the foundations of the planned

new permanent church.The service was a combined Bari and

Moru congregation service of Morning Prayer from the Bari Prayer Book. His Grace gave the sermon following the office, outlining his strategy for developing the Diocese of Juba into three archdeaconries, and giving advice to the people on the point of Church structure being for the unity and salvation of the people:

“There will be three archdeaconries created in Juba plus an archdeacon for the chaplains of the Army, Police and Prisons services.” “Isaiah 57:14 talks of clearing the

Archbishop Deng inaugurates the four new archdeaconries of the ECS Diocese of Juba

Juba Diocese Cathedral



way, preparing the road and removing the obstacles. In the same way, Juba Diocese must build up the country and work as a team to remove obstacles that the Devil throws in our path.”

Christ sent out his Apostles in towns to make disciples of all nations. Similarly all Christians must work together to counter the mistakes, obstacles and sins of the country and the world - kill tribalism by working together as Christians” “God knows all secrets so do not let your personal prestige get the better of your love for God. Work together for the good of your new archdeaconry, for the Church and for the country.” In this way the new archdeaconry must be a means of spreading the uniting love of God - not the divisions of tribalism and corruption that gives the Church’s bad reputation,” Let us prove the Northern rumours that Southerners are backward, tribalistic fighters is wrong by fully accepting Christ and being fully united in Him. Otherwise we will be slaves forever because of our in-fighting.”

Take on the responsibility of a new archdeaconry fully - care for your people,

visit all, preach the Word and work hard to change Juba for the better.”

There then followed the inaugural liturgy of the archdeaconry, during which all members of the new Archidiaconal Council were required to swear to uphold the principles that His Grace had outlined in his sermon. Once this had been done, the certificate of Gabat Archdeaconry was presented by His Grace to the Archdeacon, Ven. Eliakimo Kenyi Nyombe, to much rejoicing from the assembled.

Following the service the inaugural Archdeaconry Meeting was held, chaired by His Grace. The Archbishop outlined the key work of spiritual and economic development that the new archdeaconry must embark on in its witness to Christ as a new part of the structure of the Church of God. He specifically emphasised the need to care for young families and teenagers, to support the clergy through strict financial regulations, transparency and timely payment of salaries, to plan well for development projects both income generating and poverty reducing, and to use intellectual and well-placed members of the congregation to further the work of God

. On Sunday 27th September His Grace

inaugurated Munuki Archdeaconry, based at ECS Munuki Parish on the south side of the Gudele Road in Munuki. Leaving from his residence at 10.15am with a large delegation including visiting ex-Bishop Gwynne College lecturer Rev. Andrew Wheeler and current New Bishop Gwynne College Interim Administrator Canon Trevor Stubbs, the Archbishop was again warmly welcomed by the Munuki congregation, the service starting at around 11am.

The format of the service was the same as at Gabat, being a Bari Prayer Book service of Morning Prayer, giving the Archbishop the chance to preach to the people following the office and having the liturgy of inauguration following the sermon.

His Grace again preached on the unity required in the Church as part of God’s people. “We are created to be God’s team” he told the congregation, warning them of the evils that tribalism could wreak and telling the people that despite their independence as an archdeaconry, they had to work interdependently with the rest of the diocese, the Episcopal Church of Sudan as a whole, and with the entire worldwide Church.

The certificate of the archdeaconry was presented to the Archdeacon Ven. James Maker. Towards the end of the service His Grace was presented with a goat as a present from the congregation on the occasion of the archdeaconry’s inauguration. Following the service there was a similar short administrative meeting to that in Gabat, the archdeaconry administration presenting a printed report to His Grace that outlined the achievements, membership and requests of the new archdeaconry.

On Sunday 4th October His Grace inaugurated Kator Archdeaconry, based at ECS Kator Parish in Atla-Bara C, south Juba. This time he was accompanied again by Canon and Mrs. Stubbs, as well as by Norwegian Consul to Juba, Stein Erik Horjen, and his Sicilian wife Danielle Rapisarda, who is due to begin teaching at New Bishop Gwynne College in January 2010. Stein Erik used to work for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Southern Sudan before he joined his country’s diplomatic mission to Juba, and as the husband of a masters degree holder in theology has a very good understanding of what the

Church can do for Sudan. The service was held under awnings

erected outside the small local-material Kator Parish Church, and again the format of the service was familiar - a Bari Prayer Book service of Morning Prayer followed by the archidiaconal inauguration liturgy. His Grace preached, welcoming the Norwegian Consul and thanking Norway for their role in brokering the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan’s civil war in 2005. He continued to emphasise the teamwork of the Church, talking of the new archdeaconry adding a member to the ECS family and quoting Ecclesiastes on teamwork:

“Southern Sudan is infected by the disease of tribalism in its heart, and is not progressing because of this disease. Only uniting behind God can cure us of this disease, stop the fighting and lead to progress.”our calling is to serve others, not ourselves, present - we must be different, looking to serving others and looking to a united future.””Don’t just complain - do something about the problems - take responsibility!”

Following the inaugural liturgy, His Grace presented the certificate of the Archdeaconry to the Archdeacon Ven. Jonathan Dici.

“The Church of Christ is not divided on tribal lines. All of us are Christians. If we can kill tribalism in the Church in Juba, we can change all of Southern Sudan.” “Just as St. Paul talks of running towards a goal, so must we. The Church must take collective responsibility for its people:

On Sunday 18th October His Grace inaugurated the Army Chaplaincy Archdeaconry at the Chaplaincy Parish Church, Custom, Juba. Unlike the other services, this final event was scheduled earlier, beginning at around 8.30am. The service was also in Dinka, unlike the other inaugurations, as the chaplaincy caters mainly for Dinka servicemen and their families.

The service was one of Morning Prayer from the Dinka Prayer book, interspersed with performances from the Sunday school children and the renowned “Youth Mama” - the mainly female performers who, starting in exile in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya during the war, act out moral stories in traditional Dinka song. The performances were as usual excellent - the Youth Mama performing a story of



some women milking cows who are set upon by evil spirits and use the power of their faith in Christ to defeat them.

The guest preacher was the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Garang, Bishop of Bor and Dean of the Province of the ECS. He accompanied the Archbishop’s delegation to the service, and preached on the reading from 2 Corinthians about the “cost of discipleship”. Bishop Nathaniel emphasised the need to put Christ first in our lives, to bare our cross though the many struggles and strife that affect our lives, and to be prepared to stand up for our faith. Using military terminology for the benefit of the servicemen, he likened good Christians to a good army - always being united and alert for enemies, ready to sacrifice themselves, and planning well for the future. He said that Sudanese Christians had to be real Christians, praying for peace and considering Christ always, especially outside the church in our daily lives, and concluded with an appeal for all to be part of a global Christianity, as Christ is everywhere.

Following the inaugural liturgy - the only part in English - the Archbishop presented the certificate of the archdeaconry to

the Archdeacon for the Chaplains, Ven. John Majak Thon. There followed the familiar presentation of a report for His Grace in a short meeting following the service, highlighting useful figures on the membership of the archdeaconry and requesting assistance with certain projects.

After being treated to a final meal, including the traditional Dinka food Awal-wala, the delegation departed at around 3.30pm.

This concludes the Archbishop’s current tour of Juba Diocese. His Grace will remain in Juba this week before the elections of new ECS bishops in All Saints Cathedral on Saturday 24th October 2009.

Points of action1. Diocese of Juba need strong

evangelism because Juba is receiving all the different cultures within the southern sudan and from other parts of sudan

2. If the Diocese of Juba can work hard towards the unity of all Christians, from different tribes the unity of the people of southern sudan can be achieved

3. Juba diocese need more elect ional priests to deal with electional and the high learning institute such as Juba

University and others.4. Juba need 4 peace conferences

within the four archdeaconries before we go for the coming referendum in 2011

5. Juba Diocese to change quickly, the Diocesan staff. Archdeacons and all the priests in Juba must be transparent with their their vongregations that will bring trust and confidence to each other and it will be very easy for all the tribes in Juba, build trust to each other and they take to the whole of Southern Sudan

Points of action following the inaugurations of the archdeaconries: the way forward for a better Diocese of Juba

From His Grace the Archbishop and Bishop of Juba

1. Due to the cosmopolitan nature of Juba and the growth of Juba as a mixing pot of all the cultures and traditions of Sudan and abroad, Juba needs strong evangelism from the ECS.

2. Since Juba is host to all the tribes of Southern Sudan and beyond, the Diocese of Juba must work hard towards the unity

of Christians from different tribes and the stamping out of tribalism amongst Christians. If the unity of Christians in Juba can be achieved, the unity of the

people of the South can be achieved.3. The Diocese of Juba must work

towards training its clergy and having more intellectual priests. This will lead to better ministry, especially towards the intellectual laity and institutions of higher learning such as Juba University. The Church’s intellectual members must be well ministered to, welcomed to participate fully in the Church and included in Church processes so that Goad can use them to build up a strong ECS.

4. The Diocese of Juba needs to conduct four peace conferences within the four archdeaconries before the approaching referendum in 2011.

5. The staff of the Diocese of Juba must be open to change and to being transferred between posts. The archdeacons and all clergy must be transparent with their congregations in order to build trust and confidence in the Church and in each other, again working to reduce tribal mistrust and the potential for division. These practices and attitudes must be first demonstrated in Juba so that they can be spread to the rest of Southern Sudan.

Archbishop Deng Bul



The Most democratic, orderly, peaceful and transparent election in the long history of ECS for about

100 years, was held on 24th October 2009 at the All Saints Cathedral Juba and presided over by Justice Majok Mading Majok the ECC Chancellor, which was covered widely by the Media Radio, TV and Newspapers.

Over one hundred delegates turned up from the 24 dioceses of ECS throughout the Sudan to elect the new Bishops from seven (7) dioceses namely:

1. Diocese of Rejaf2. Diocese of Wau3. Diocese of Pacong4. Diocese of Nzara5. Diocese of Twic East6. Diocese of Terekeka

For new Bishops some came unopposed Rt. Revd. Micah Laila Dawidi of Terekeka, Rt. Revd. Isaac Dhieu of Akot, Rt. Revd.

Joseph Maker of Pacong and Rt. Revd. Samuel Enosa of Nzara.

The other three were Contested. Twic East Diocese was won by Rt. Revd. Ezekeiel Diing Ajang, Wau Diocese was won by Rt. Moses Deng Bol and Rejaf Diocese was won by Rt. Revd. Canon Enock Tombe Stephen.

Before the process of the Electoral College, the congregation of the delegates, observers and hundreds of cheering crowd was addressed by His Grace. The Most Revd Canon Dr. Daniel Deng Bol Yak, The ECS Archbishop and Primate, drawing the attention of the attendants of the importance of such a day in the history of the Church of God to choose the leaders among the people of God to do the work on their behalf.

He said that the power of God is to transform the communities to do good things in the society. The power of God is

to heal the wounds through reconciliation, forgiveness, co¬existence and to tolerate each other and live in peace. By this way the communities would respect their church leaders who have the love for their people.

Dr. Deng told the audience that church leaders and any leader in a given society should be committed and must observe all kinds of freedoms like freedom of opinion, freedom of expression and freedom of movement in any location they are assigned to.

A leader in the church of God is expected to be committed to bring hope to his flock. This hope could come through the assistance of God. During this wonderful process of democracy in the church of God for wider participation of the masses among the people of God. Six areas headed by Assistant bishops have been created and six candidates stood unopposed.

ECS Electoral College Convenes to Election of Bishops

ECS conference



The Southern Sudan Inter faith Conference on the Muslim -Christian Dialogue held in Juba

Raha Hotel in Juba late last year Under the Theme "Sustainability of Peace and the Enhancement of National Unity", with the distinguished representatives from friendly countries, deliberated on scientific and academic issues that raised the concern of the participants and consulted on how to realize the Conference objective for a complete

peaceful religious co-existence. The total number of papers presented was 10, including the contributions of the scholars from Nigeria, Uganda and Khartoum which applied the models for Muslim-Christian understanding and co-existence, and a film show from the Inter-faith Mediation Centre from Nigeria.

The Conference called on the Directorate of Religious Affairs in collaboration with partners to invite trainers from the Interfaith Mediation

Centre in Nigeria to hold Interfaith Conflict Transformation Trainings in three states of Southern Sudan as a beginning.

Provisions and the Resolutions of the Inter-faith Dialogue shall be the following;

A. Religious Leaders need to encourage the spirit of religious co-existence by engaging and teaching their followers through the institutions of Churches and Mosques, and their institutions, e.g. training centers, should open up for all.

Resolutions and Recommendations of Inter-Faith

His Grace Archbishop Daniel Deng BulHis Grace Paulino Lukudu, Catholic Archbishop of Juba



Emphasize the theme of peace in • churches and mosquesShould practice what they preach and • teach so that they lead an exemplary life for the societyShould participate in the further • development ofthe content ofthe civic voter education trainingShould be involved in monitoring the • electoral process should emphasize on non-violence during electionsShould support the involvement of the • foreign observers in all the electoral process should ensure that all political parties should be allowed to participate freely should create awareness through workshops, seminars, media, family, and in public rallies to enable public understanding about elections and its procedures in collaboration with the electoral commission are to ensure and encourage the ground by organizing workshops on conflict resolution and managementShould have interventions in areas of • HIV/ AIDS and Care,. Human Rights, HIV treatment parental care, HIV prevention, Antiretro viral Services, support vulnerable children, Good Governance, Domestic violence and culture of nonviolence Religious leaders should fully • participate in the implementation of the CPA The Religious leaders are urge not to used racial religion in inciting conflict within the existing religious communities as such in DarfurB. The religious programs in media

should be expanded to accommodate inter-faith Religious dialogues for citizens to respect each others' religions and beliefs

C. Sudanese different religious groups should get lessons learnt from other countries represented here in this inter-faith dialogue to improve perceptions regarding Religious dialogues to create harmony in the society D. The Ministry of Gender, Social Welfare and Religious Affairs should promote interfaith dialogue as a policy to enhance peace building, conflict 'resolution and reconciliation for better co-existence

The Ministry of Gender in collaboration with the Ministry of Education should review religious curriculum in schools involvement of other countries in the

dialogue processes is critical in our country Sudan

E. Establishment of networks for interfaith dialogue on local, national, and regional level, e.g. Great Lakes Region, South Africa Truth and Reconciliation,the Nigerian approach for interfaith dialogue, and other mechanisms for conflict resolution.

F. The Ministry of Gender should take the lead in the implementation of all these interventions.

ChallengesA. The religious leaders are not

participating in governance issues,B. Financial support from abroad

should be used for the benefit of people of all religions without discrimination

C. Religious Leaders are not adequately represented in official government activities to solve community conflict in the Sudan.

D. Religious Institutions should be allowed to bring humanitarian aid to people in conflict and to be a voice of those in conflict whose voices are not heard (e.g. Darfur).

E. Non-co-existence between the new Sudan Religious Leaders and old Sudan religious leaders needs to be addressed. Therefore we request the government to exert more efforts to promote harmony between them.

F. Lack of inclusion of Religious Leaders in seminars/workshops to discuss important national issues at all governmental levels

G. Lack of response to humanitarian crisis in the Sudan posts challenges to religious leaders. Sustainability of peace in Sudan

A. Identification of religious leaders in organizations of meetings among themselves to enlighten the citizens

B. Set up interfaith forums to discuss areas of mutual interests at all levels

C. Encourage interfaith conferences at national and at grassroots levels

D. Encourage exchange visits between religious institutions at all levels

E. The religious leaders should influence legislation to make fair decisions or laws

F. Ministry of Education Science and Technology should include aspects of major religions in social studies curriculum

G. Common public appearance of top religious leaders to discuss peace issues

H. Religious institutions should discourage politicization of religions

Co-existence between religions in Sudan

A. Accept and respect each other the way they are, despite their faith

B. Dialogue in good faithC. Implement all the articles

concerning religions in the CPA and Interim National

Constitution of Southern Sudan and State Constitution

D. Encourage exchange visits of both faiths in particular on religious occasions

E. Promote freedom of worship and respect places of worships (Churches and Mosques)

F. Allow room for mediation in solving problems

G. Avoid generalization (of individual mistakes)

H. Form inter-religious councils from states to boma levels

RecommendationsA. Follow the recommendations

and the formation of the committees for Inter-faith Dialogue for Southern Sudanese and state levels

B. Inter-faith dialogue should be done on the level of states

C. Dialogue of this nature should be done every year in the whole Sudan

D. Formation of the religious interfaith councils in the states and at county and boma levels

E. Enhancement of communication networks between religious institutions and governments

F. Christian and Muslim institutions should work together to get more recognition, encouragement and cooperation from the governments for their efforts to take care of vulnerable groups

G. Religious leaders need to be invited and encouraged to resolve conflicts

Way ForwardA. As soon as possible similar dialogue

at the state level should be launched with the help of partners

B. Peace commission should be working in harmony and dialogue with religious leaders



In Early February this year, Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, the national leader of the Episcopal

Church of the Sudan, finalised his two week tour of some of the worst violence-affected areas of Jonglei State, Southern Sudan. During the visit the Archbishop travelled to Ayod, Gauweer, Waat, Uror and Akobo – areas populated by the Lou Nuer peoples who have recently been worst affected by seemingly on-going tribal conflict that threatens to severely disrupt the elections and referendum procedure in Jonglei State.

The ECS would like to heartily thank the Government of Jonglei State for its close support throughout the tour especially the Governor of Jonglei State, Kuol Manyang Jok, who donated SDG15,000 for the hiring a vehicle to transport 50 accompaniers with the Archbishop for 11 days.

WHY?

The violence in Jonglei has damaged society and left people traumatised and hateful of one

another – hatred which is now deeply ingrained and which must not be allowed to remain to corrupt relationships between the people of Jonglei from generation to generation. In this the Archbishop sees the role of the Church as spreading Christ’s message of peace and reconciliation that will prevent such hatred causing recurring revenge attacks and further violence. If this is allowed to happen the people of Jonglei will not only destroy their own lives, but will damage the elections and referendum procedure in the coming months – an occurrence which Archbishop Deng is not prepared to allow to happen as the Church stands idly by.

THE MESSAGE:

Consequently the Archbishop followed his successful advocacy visit to London in January 2010

with ground-level follow up. The leader would come to the people, the Church

would be seen to be the ground-level instrument of peace that His Grace had declared it to be in person to the Archbishop of Canterbury, UK Parliament, Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister.

Whilst originally conceived as an ecumenical peace mission designed to include government as well as diplomatic representation, in the end the time constraints on organisation led the ECS to take it upon itself to travel alone to Jonglei and spread a united Christian message, whilst at the same time educating people who have never experienced democracy before how their actions affect regional, national and even global politics.

Continuing the message of his 2009 visit to Bor South, Twic East and Duk counties of Jonglei, Archbishop Deng preached a message of peace, love and reconciliation. He challenged people as to why they were still fighting when martyrs such as the late Dr. John Garang had fought for 21 years and died in the cause of peace? He stressed that ongoing hatred and violence only served those enemies of peace who wished to see war return and the Southern Sudanese people eternally undeveloped – especially in the coming months of the elections and referendum. Finally he accused those fighting of putting their own selfish desires above the good of their communities, country and God, recalling the story of Cain and Abel to point out that brothers should not fight, and those that do face God’s judgement.

The Archbishop asked the Lou Nuer to work together for peace and justice between the neighbouring tribes of Dinka, Murle and Nuer of Nasir in the northern part of the State. The Archbishop asked them to heal wounds and reconcile.

URGENT APPEAL TO THE GOSS AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

There is no proper road east of Waat going to Akobo. If this area is not made accessible it will only

continue to marginalise the people of the area, giving them no hope for the future

and no means of survival but armed crime, thus perpetuating a state of insecurity. Something must be done this dry season to improve access to such marginalised areas.

The levels of insecurity in the area are still very high. Whilst the lack of people carrying weapons shows that the Lou Nuer peoples of the area have been largely disarmed, the Murle are still well armed and are using this discrepancy to continue to attack Dinka and Nuer.There is now serious threat of famine in the areas visited. With no rain for over six months there is now very little food available in these counties. Famine is a real possibility – help needs to come now, this dry season, whilst accessibility is decent, in order for the government and international community not to be sorry tomorrow with hunger deaths on their conscience.

There is a drastic health provision gap in northern Jonglei State. People here have very little chance of health care. Health provision NGOs should make more of an effort to serve people in this area, which should be urgently prioritised for health care delivery.

All these problems of course stem from each other. Marginalisation and failure of people to experience a peace dividend breeds crime and insecurity, which in turn breeds fear, suffering, hunger and a lack of basic service provision. A strategic effort is needed by the government, together with the UN and other international actors, to tackle these problems together, especially in the run up to crucial elections and self-determination – both of which will be adversely affected if the current cycles of hatred, violence and suffering are allowed to continue.

The Episcopal Church of the Sudan therefore appeals on behalf of the people of Ayod and Lou Nuer counties, all the people of Jonglei, and all the people of Sudan for a concerted effort to bring peace, development and stability to this area.

[ “I bring you peace, my peace I give you” ]

ARCHBISHOP DENG VISITS AYOD AND LOU NUER AREAS OF JONGLEI STATE ON GROUND -LEVEL PEACE MISSION:

Urgent appeal regarding roads, security, famine, health, clean water and education



THE ADMISSION OFFICE, MAIN CAMPUS, Kansanga Ggaba Rd.Kampala- UgandaTel: +256414-663813Mob: +256772-322 563Fax: +256 414-501974

RWANDA ARTEL near stade Amahoro

NAIROBI, KENYATTA AVENUE,Uganda House 3rd FloorRoom 19P.O. Box 34771,

Tel, +254-20 246275, Nairobi

DAR ES SALAAM OFFICE, GHANA,Ohio Avenue,Posta House, 8th Floor, Room 808Tel: +255- 784271486/+255787717134/+255754599827

KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF OPEN EDUCATION AND DISTANCE LEARNINGChartered by the Government of Uganda, Member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Member

of the Association of African Universities, Member of Inter University Council of East Africa

MASTERS AND BACHELORS DEGREES ON DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMMESEPTEMBER IN-TAKE

Organized to suit your convenience and affordability.

PROGRAM DURATIONMBA(General) 2 YearsMBA( Banking And Finance) 2 YearsMBA(Supplies And Procurement) 2 YearsMBA(NGO Management) 2 YearsMBA(Local Government) 2 YearsMaster In Public Administration 2 YearsMaster Of Conflict Resolution And Peace Building 2 YearsMaster Of Education Management And Administration 2 YearsBachelor Of Public Administration 4 YearsBachelor Of Commerce 4 YearsBachelor Of Conflict Resolution And Peace Building 4 YearsBachelor Of Guidance And Counseling 4 YearsDiploma In Commerce 2 YearsDiploma In Conflict Resolution And Peace Building 2 YearsDiploma In Public Administration 2 YearsDiploma In Guidance And Counseling 2 Years

Bachelor Of Education In Arts 3 Yrs 2 yrs (Extension)Bachelor Of Education In Sciences 3 Yrs 2 yrs (Extension) Bachelor Of Education (Primary Option) 3 Yrs 2 yrs (Extension) Bachelor Of Education In Early Childhood Education 3 Yrs 2 Yrs (Extension)Bachelor Of Education In Special Needs Education 3 Yrs 2 Yrs (Extension)Bachelor Of Education In Guidance And Counseling 3 Yrs 2 yrs (Extension)Diploma In Primary Education In-Service 2YrsDiploma In Secondary Education 2 Yrs

KIU in collaboration with ORIENT BANK (Bank PHB Uganda) offers you a student tuition fee loan.•

IN- SERVICE PROGRAMMESAppropriate for practicing teachers who aim at achieving a higher qualification in their profession. Upgrade your qualifications

and enhance your opportunities of reaching the pinnacle of your career.

Entry requirements (Distance learning)

A degree from a recognized institution of higher learning for a masters’ degreeA diploma from a recognized institution of higher learning for a bachelor’s degreeWorking experience in the relevant field

Entry Requirements (In-service)Secondary School Teachers

Uganda certificate of education (U.C.E) with at least 3credits and 2 two subsidiariesUganda Advanced Certificate of Education (U.A.C.E) with at least two principal passes

Diploma in education (secondary) Primary School Teachers

Uganda advanced certificate of education (U.A.C.E) with at least Two Principal PassesDiploma in Primary Education Grade 111 Certificate

APPLY ONLINEDownload an application form online at www.kiu.ac.ug,fill, attach your academic documents and 3 passport photographs and post it to: Kampala International University, P.O Box 20000 Kampala-Uganda or attach it to E-mail:[email protected] or physically submit it to our offices below: Application forms will paid for on submission.

Printed by infocision Ltd teL:+256772351362+249914989115 emaiL: [email protected]

• For subscription contact ECS Kampala Office

JUBA (SOUTH SUDAN)Episcopal Church Of The SudanProvincial OfficeP.O Box 110JubaSudanEmail: [email protected]

KAMPALA (UGANDA)Episcopal Church Support Office

P.O. Box 7576Kampala (U)

Tel: +256 414 343497 (Reception) +256 414 272383 (Director)

Email: [email protected]

People from every Tribe and Language of the Sudan Reconciled before God and Worshiping the Lord Christ

(cf. Rev. 7.9)


TM

Documents

Voice of the Gospel issue 5