August 2007

“I will suffer with my people”

By Our Correspondent
NSC

August 2007

“I couldn't leave my people because if I could have desserted them who was going to take care of them?” These were the touching words of Venerable Abel Alier Anyang when I asked him why he did not leave the country during the war years, when he had the opportunity and every reason to do so.
“Running away to the neighbouring countries would have weakened and discouraged our soldiers, yet that is the time they needed us the most,” he adds. He encouraged the people to persevere and not to run away.

For him, serving in the church, especially during the war, was a calling that he was not willing to give up. He did not consider the struggles and suffering that they went through as something big. He asserted that what he has offered was the price he had to pay to do the will of God. Rev. Abel confirmed that he felt he has contributed to the nation of South Sudan by serving and witnessing the word of God to the soldiers and internally displaced persons.
During that time, he, together with other leaders who were left behind, visited the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army soldiers in frontlines, encouraged them and also organised other clergy in the war zones.
Venerable Abel is currently overseeing five churches and three army barracks in Nimule, south Sudan. He was displaced and went to Nimule in 1991 from Bor during the war.
He started serving in the church in 1978 as an evangelist. In 1985, he was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of Sudan.
He remembers the war years as very difficult times. They had to begin their church services at seven in the morning, before the Northern government soldiers would come in gunships and Antonov bombers to bomb them. The cruel soldiers timed their bombing missions to coincide with gathering of people on Sundays, or on market days, when many people would gather together.

But despite the uncertainty of those times, the congregations of Christian faithful still met promptly for church service. The women and the youth in the church set aside specific of the week when they would come for prayers and worship. These prayers and services are what kept them going during the tough times.
From the time they settled in Nimule up to 2002, the people depended on food rations from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which was being distributed by Catholic Relief Services and other international UN agencies.
Abel says that even though there is peace now in Sudan and people have started going back to their homes, some are still waiting before leaving for home as they are not sure whether the situation will remain the same.

“I would like to encourage the people to trust in God while returning home,” he adds.
From 2006 to present, more than 9,000 people from the displaced camps around Nimule have been repatriated back home.
For those going home, the UNHCR is giving them some support to help them resettle down. Abel is sad that the church cannot do much for the people.
“My prayer is that well wishers will come forth and assist those who want to go back home,” he says.
At the same time, he is encouraged by the fact that the repartees are going back home with some church leaders, who will look after their spiritual needs.
He appreciates what the government has done so far for the people, with very limited resources at its disposal.

“My prayer is that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the government and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement would be implemented accordingly. This will ease the tension and confusion that is there right now,” says Abel.
His advice to the youth is that they should be courageous to face the challenges of rebuilding their nation. They should not run away because it is they who have the strength to work and turn things around.
Abel is married to one wife and they have been blessed by children in their marriage.
Being a determined man, today he is making every effort to polish his mastery of the English language.

Following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005, there were very high hopes among the south Sudanese who have been going through many years of hardship and loss of life. The Sudanese in Diaspora and the internally displaced were yearning to go back home.
Those families who were separated during the war hoped to be re-united with their kin, those incapacitated in one way or another because of war hoped to be looked after or compensated as recognition of their selflessness and dedication to suffer a worthy cause.
Among these groups of hopeful were orphaned children whose parents were killed in the frontline as freedom fighters, while others passed away because of indirect effects of civil war which rocked South Sudan for a record 21 years.
These children hoped that the government of South Sudan would take up the role of parents and provide them with quality education, built them centers for accommodation with good meals, provide them will clothes and medical facilities. Whether the government has done enough to address these issues remains to be seen.
I have just been to Juba for the first time ever, and indeed, it was my first trip to Southern Sudan after more than a decade and a half in exile, and what I saw made me start to think. I would call what I saw as child labour.
It is very regrettable that these neglected children have resorted to odd means of survival, in form of what others would call ‘employment’. Anyone who visits Juba would not fail to recognize these children as most of them are conductors in public service vehicles, while some are mobile shoe shiners. They get their clients by visiting hotels and restaurants where their clients are found, especially during lunch hours and in the evening after work. The dusty nature of Juba roads encourages them in doing this ‘business’ as their service is in high demanded.
Another group represented by these children is the motor cycle taxi operators best known as ‘bodaboda’ in East Africa. In many places, you will be scared of being knocked down by vehicles. And in Juba just like Kampala, Uganda, motor cycles are the major cause of accidents.
These children are hired by people who are not considerate, to do the business on their behalf. Some of them are as young as 12 years, yet they are allowed to ride on a public road.
I once hired one from Customs Market to Juba town. A boy I would call Lado (not real name and no prejudice in choosing this name) carried me on his bike. When I reached my destination I invited him for a soda in a local restaurant and after asking few questions, I asked him if the motor bike belonged to him and why he was in the business.
‘It is for somebody else,’ he told me grudgingly. ‘I am doing this to sustain myself because I lost all my parents during the war’ he continued. I almost shed tears and regretted why I asked him. We talked over a few issues and I gave him some advice although the language was a problem as my understanding of Arabic is scanty. Lado’s problems are just a sample of other problems these children are facing.
Another group of these children can be seen in every part of the city collecting used bottles for mineral water. I asked one John, why he was doing that and his answer was that a foreign businessman was offering him free lunch and supper if he can collect up to 300 used bottles per day.
I asked John if he has any idea what this man would do with the used bottles but he could not tell me. You can guess what these could be used for!
There are unconfirmed speculations that the female orphans below maturity age are too vulnerable and that they earn a living by engaging in immoral acts unwillingly, just to make a living. However, I could not independently establish how this happens as there was no any victim willing to talk to the writer.
These are some of the problems the children of South Sudan are facing. I believe this could be the same case in other towns and state cities in the South,
The authorities and stakeholders in children affairs should take notice of this and make some steps in stemming out these problems before they escalate. These children could learn bad ways of survival making them grow into irresponsible citizens.
The society as a whole should also take crucial measures and help in upbringing of these children. It is the responsibility of us all to see a New Sudan where all are accorded the same services and care, regardless of their social status and doing this, we will become a wonderful nation.

Address child labour in Juba

By Elijah Chol Yak

August 2007

Those families who were separated during the war hoped to be re-united with their kin, those incapacitated in one way or another because of war hoped to be looked after or compensated as recognition of their selflessness and dedication to suffer a worthy cause.

Among these groups of hopeful were orphaned children whose parents were killed in the frontline as freedom fighters, while others passed away because of indirect effects of civil war which rocked South Sudan for a record 21 years.

These children hoped that the government of South Sudan would take up the role of parents and provide them with quality education, built them centers for accommodation with good meals, provide them will clothes and medical facilities. Whether the government has done enough to address these issues remains to be seen.

I have just been to Juba for the first time ever, and indeed, it was my first trip to Southern Sudan after more than a decade and a half in exile, and what I saw made me start to think. I would call what I saw as child labour.

It is very regrettable that these neglected children have resorted to odd means of survival, in form of what others would call ‘employment’. Anyone who visits Juba would not fail to recognize these children as most of them are conductors in public service vehicles, while some are mobile shoe shiners. They get their clients by visiting hotels and restaurants where their clients are found, especially during lunch hours and in the evening after work. The dusty nature of Juba roads encourages them in doing this ‘business’ as their service is in high demanded.

Another group represented by these children is the motor cycle taxi operators best known as ‘bodaboda’ in East Africa. In many places, you will be scared of being knocked down by vehicles. And in Juba just like Kampala, Uganda, motor cycles are the major cause of accidents.

These children are hired by people who are not considerate, to do the business on their behalf. Some of them are as young as 12 years, yet they are allowed to ride on a public road.

I once hired one from Customs Market to Juba town. A boy I would call Lado (not real name and no prejudice in choosing this name) carried me on his bike. When I reached my destination I invited him for a soda in a local restaurant and after asking few questions, I asked him if the motor bike belonged to him and why he was in the business.

‘It is for somebody else,’ he told me grudgingly. ‘I am doing this to sustain myself because I lost all my parents during the war’ he continued. I almost shed tears and regretted why I asked him. We talked over a few issues and I gave him some advice although the language was a problem as my understanding of Arabic is scanty. Lado’s problems are just a sample of other problems these children are facing.

Another group of these children can be seen in every part of the city collecting used bottles for mineral water. I asked one John, why he was doing that and his answer was that a foreign businessman was offering him free lunch and supper if he can collect up to 300 used bottles per day.

I asked John if he has any idea what this man would do with the used bottles but he could not tell me. You can guess what these could be used for!

There are unconfirmed speculations that the female orphans below maturity age are too vulnerable and that they earn a living by engaging in immoral acts unwillingly, just to make a living. However, I could not independently establish how this happens as there was no any victim willing to talk to the writer.

These are some of the problems the children of South Sudan are facing. I believe this could be the same case in other towns and state cities in the South,

The authorities and stakeholders in children affairs should take notice of this and make some steps in stemming out these problems before they escalate. These children could learn bad ways of survival making them grow into irresponsible citizens.

The society as a whole should also take crucial measures and help in upbringing of these children. It is the responsibility of us all to see a New Sudan where all are accorded the same services and care, regardless of their social status and doing this, we will become a wonderful nation.

(NSC)

Anglican News

Press Release: Clock Running Out on Episcopal Church: One Month to Go

Contact: Loralei Coyle (202) 682-4131
“It should not be overlooked in all the discussion of Rev. Lind that all five candidates for bishop support the Episcopal Church’s movement toward what progressives commonly call the ’full inclusion’ of gays and lesbians.”

—Ralph Webb, IRD Director of Anglican Action
_________________________

Washington, DC—As of August 30, the Episcopal Church has only one month left to respond to the requests of Anglican Communion leaders (called “primates”) voiced in their February 2007 communiqué. In that communiqué, the primates asked the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops to reverse the denomination's course regarding the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of bishops in a same-sex relationship.

IRD Director of Anglican Action Ralph Webb commented:
With the clock rapidly running out on the Episcopal Church, the pressure is on for the denomination to place the good of the worldwide Anglican Communion above its own interests. Unfortunately, the denomination still gives little hope that it will rise to meet the needs of not only the Communion to which it belongs, but the entire body of Christ.

Just earlier this week, the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, an open and partnered lesbian, was nominated for Bishop of Chicago. The nomination clearly goes against the spirit of the primates’ requests and illustrates the hardness of heart toward the primates demonstrated by many in the Episcopal Church today. It should not be overlooked in all the discussion of Rev. Lind that apparently all five candidates for bishop support the Episcopal Church’s movement toward what progressives commonly call the ’full inclusion’ of gays and lesbians.

That goal, according to Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, ‘is part of [the denomination’s] mission.’ The House of Bishops also defined it last March as part of the ‘gospel’ that the Episcopal Church is called to preach. Yet that goal and many other examples of jettisoning biblical, traditional Anglican faith have led thousands of orthodox Anglicans to leave the Episcopal Church.

And it is precisely those deviations from orthodox faith and practice that put the Episcopal Church outside of the mainstream of not just the Anglican Communion, but the larger body of Christ. Make no mistake: the Episcopal Church’s actions dangerously compromise the holiness of the church and its members. The Anglican Communion primates clearly recognize that fact. Will the Episcopal Church put the good of the worldwide church ahead of its own desires? Or will it remain insistent, as its Executive Council said in June, that it can only be what it is? The clock is running out.

Lesbian Bishop Nominee Adds Fuel to Episcopal, Anglican Row

By Daniel Blake

Christian Post Correspondent

Wed, Aug. 29 2007 12:43 PM ET

The Episcopal Church has stoked further controversy amid the ongoing Anglican debate over homosexuality in the Church with the nomination of an openly lesbian priest for bishop.
The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago recently announced that the openly gay Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, was included among five nominees for the vote to take place on Nov. 10.
If elected, Lind would become the second bishop in the Episcopal Church who lives with a same-sex partner – following New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, whose highly-publicized consecration in 2003 is at the heart of the fierce debate among members of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The latest developments in Chicago could also be enough to push the worldwide church body past the brink of schism.
Lind’s inclusion as a candidate for bishop is sure to further intensify next month’s meeting of U.S. Episcopal Church bishops, who are due to meet and discuss whether to agree to demands from the Anglican Communion to unequivocally pledge not to consecrate any further openly gay bishops.
That meeting, set for Sept. 30, could prove to be a pivotal point in the history of the Anglican Communion. If U.S. bishops refuse to bow to demands from the communion, The Episcopal Church could potentially lose its full membership status within the 77 million-member church body.
If, on the other hand, the U.S.-based church does reject the demands and the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, refuses to retract the membership of the American arm, then Global South church members, who have been the most stringent opponents of U.S. developments, may decide to break away from the communion.

Many Anglican bishops have yet to confirm their attendance at next year’s landmark Lambeth Conference, which is held every ten years.
Originally, those invited to Lambeth 2008 were requested to give their response to the invitation by July 31, but the Rev. Canon James Rosenthal, the communion’s director of communications, noted that the deadline to respond had been extended as some overseas bishops “have stated they have not receive their invitation yet.”
According to U.K.-based Christian Today, only a couple hundred of the 880 who were invited had replied by the deadline

Southern Sudan

By Katie Rhoads
NSC

August 2007

“A leader takes people from where they are to where God wants them to be.” These are the words of Bishop Nathaniel Garang that served as the theme of the recent clergy conference in Nimule. Reverend John Daau, Pastor James Kuria, and I joined the Bishop to cover different aspects of this theme during the first part of our recent visit to Sudan. My focus was on the biblical foundation for mission and the call on the lives of the southern Sudanese Christians to reach out to others. When God called Abraham to mission (Genesis 12:1-3), He explained that Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to others. In this same sense, the southern Sudanese are being called by God to be a blessing to others as they share a saving faith in Jesus.

The conference was attended by clergy, lay leaders, and spouses from many denominational backgrounds. Four days of walking was necessary for some to attend. They represented the people who remained in southern Sudan during the many years of fighting and those resettling from IDP and refugee camps. All were hungry for knowledge to share with their flocks. This was also a pastoral visit to the people of Nimule by their bishop. Bishop Nathaniel is infamous for remaining behind in Bor during 1984-1989. This area was a particular target for attack by the government of Sudan as it was John Garang’s home area. Nothing was heard from the Bishop for five years. While many presumed he had perished, in fact he had been tirelessly teaching, preaching, baptizing, confirming, and ordaining a new generation. He is bishop of Bor Diocese in Southern Sudan, but also serving as the acting Archbishop of Sudan. He sat in the front seat of our car from
Uganda to Nimule and on to Juba. As a result, all borders and check points were opened and we were met by throngs of
singing, marching, dancing, and udulating Christians everywhere we traveled. Watching him receive his flock, preach to them, teach them, sing to them, pray with and for them, and conduct ordinations (12) and confirmations (about 450) was truly a blessing.

We were also blessed to participate in God’s work of healing during the time in Nimule. God healed through medications
and prayer. All were given vitamins and treatment for strongyloides and schistosomiasis. As a result of your generosity, many received powerful treatment for bacteria related ulcer disease that included Pepto-Bismol. During the medical work, God revealed two Sudanese men who may be “Timothys”! We plan to return to Nimule in October for more medical work and the opportunity to further investigate what God is doing (c.f. John 5:19).

Part two in Sudan was time spent in Juba to become acquainted with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and our partners for the work in Sudan, the Episcopal Church of Sudan. I will have to save those stories and the tales of our travel for another day. Let me just say that the furthest distance we were able to cover in one day was 142 miles. On one travel day it took ten hours to cover 60 miles. Oh my!!