Icon (Close Menu)

Expatriate Sudanese: Unite for Peace

Bishop Samuel Peni of Nzara | Jesse Zink/ACNS

South Sudanese expatriates living in the United States have met to discuss “obstacles and the foundations for reconciliation and peace-building” in South Sudan.

The annual conference of the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudans met in Denver on May 4-6 under the theme “Strengthening the Peacemakers: South Sudan and Diaspora.”

“We realized our need for a stronger and more unified voice,” the group said in a message to issued at the end of the conference. They call on other South Sudanese in North America to unite for peace.

“We sense that the time has come for us as South Sudanese in the North American diaspora to widen the dialogue among our communities, addressing our differences and fears in order to build bridges for peace,” they said. “Although we who participated this weekend had a powerful experience, our gathering lacked a full representation of our entire South Sudanese community.

“Until the diaspora speaks with a united voice, we cannot expect to be heard by the powers that are currently draining the life out of South Sudan.”

The statement described the meeting as “a profound encounter in which we recognized both the burden of trauma that we share and the strength that comes out of our diversity.”

“We believe this is the time for a broader conversation to nurture a compelling voice that will lead to action for peace. We believe that we the South Sudanese communities in North America, like the dry scattered bones in the vision of the prophet Ezekiel, can receive new life when those distinct bones are knit together.”

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Peni, Bishop of Nzara and chairman of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan’s Commission for Peace and Reconciliation, said Sudanese bishops had been on retreat in Rwanda “to learn from our sisters and brothers in that nation that had experienced a traumatic event and to seek healing.”

“We are ready to be advocates and we are ready for all to join us.”

Adapted from ACNS

Matt Townsend
Matt Townsend
Matthew Townsend is the former news editor of The Living Church and former editor of the Anglican Journal. He lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Top headlines. Every Friday.

MOST READ

CLASSIFIEDS

Most Recent

GAFCON Blasts Welby for Endorsement of Gay Sex

The GAFCON Primates’ Council rebuked Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for stating in a recent podcast interview that he believes that sex within any “committed relationship, straight or gay,” is moral, which they call an “explicit repudiation of Christian doctrine.”

ACNA Installs New Archbishop

In a service marked by pageantry, prayers and celebratory bagpipes, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) received its new Archbishop and Primate this week.

Rowe Urges Strategy-Driven Executive Council

“You can only have a helpful evaluative structure if you have a strategy to evaluate,” Rowe added. “Otherwise you end up with what each individual board member thinks is important, a recipe for chaos.”  He also noted that “the staff reports to the CEO, not the board. This has been clear in our canons, but not in practice.”

11/24 Issue Online

The November 24 Advent issue of The Living Church is available online to registered subscribers. In our cover story, Lauren Anderson-Cripps profiles developments...