Carol E. Barnwell reports for the Diocese of Texas:
In 1987 Agook Kuol joined the ranks of 20,000 Lost Boys of Sudan who were displaced or orphaned during a second civil war (1983-2005). Separated from his brother in the bush, the then 14-year-old witnessed death and walked more than 1000 miles to a refugee camp in Ethiopia. An unimaginable journey, yet, today, he joins the Diocese of Texas as a church planter.
Kuol has lived enough for many lifetimes in his 42 years. Fleeing the violence and the threat of being conscripted into the rebel army, Kuol fared better than half of the children who died along a similar epic journey; victims of exhaustion, starvation, disease, killed by rebel forces or eaten by wild animals.
“I saw many people die, but we survived,” he said of the Lost Boys. “God was the only way we could live. That is the reason I am dedicated to God. I am a remnant of the atrocities.”
… He met Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Bishop Andy Doyle at a national gathering of Episcopal black clergy held in Houston in 2016. “I told Bishop Doyle, ‘This is your flock. God will move you to assist,’ and the Bishop has gracefully embraced our congregation,” he said.
“The gift of being a part of the Anglican Communion is that we are connected to broad and diverse network of Christian leaders across the globe,” said Jason Evans, diocesan missioner for missional communities. “As the Houston area becomes home for an increasing number of people whose birthplace is another country, it is important that the Diocese partner with leaders who know and understand these cultures and can provide the pastoral leadership as well as gospel announcement in ways respectful of those cultures,” he added.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
