13 priests ordained as Bishop visits Nimule,

By John Daau

September 2007

NSC

The month of August would forever remain in the minds of the people of Nimule town, in southern Sudan.
This is the month when the town received one of its prominent personalities in a long time.
On the 23rd of that month, Bishop Nathaniel Garang of the Episcopal Church of Sudan paid a visit to the town, after his other visit in 2005.
Over 2,000 people came out to welcome him in Nimule town on the evening that he arrived.
The people came out with great joy, ululation, praising God, and singing Christian songs while receiving the Bishop and his team at a distance of about 30 kilometres away from the Church compound.

“It was overwhelming to see such a big crowd of people waiting to welcome the Bishop,” remembers Reverend Kuria from Kenya.
The climax of this was the Sunday service in Nimule conducted by the bishop, where more than 2,500 worshippers gathered together for the service. Bishop Nathaniel priested 13 pastors, confirmed 520 believers and gave communion to over 1, 400, in Nimule and preached to 3,950 in Juba a few days later.

This training mission trip of the Good Shepherd Leadership Training Institute and Uganda/Sudan Medical Mission was well ushered in by the overwhelming pastoral visit of the Bor diocesan Bishop who is also an Acting Archbishop and the Dean of the Episcopal Province of Sudan. With the blessings of the Almighty God, we were able to teach and interact with 187 participants in a week-long pastors' in-service training, among them 65 ordained ministers.
The participants in the training came from different internally displaced peoples camps of Lobone, Bomary, Magalotore, Nimule, and Mugali, and refugee camps in Uganda including Mirieyi around Adjumani and others around Koboko.
Having Bishop Nathaniel had a special significance to the people of Nimule since he last visited the place in 2005.

Every evening was a great privilege to have Bishop Nathaniel teach on the Call to the Ministry and the Work of the Holy Spirit. Sharing from his wealth of experience, many pastors and lay people were touched and every one of us was compelled with much conviction, to renew and review our ministerial calling and commitment.

During the entire week that we stayed in Nimule, Bishop Nathaniel would have a devotion with not less than 800 people in the Church compound, praying and preaching messages of the Holy Spirit's work more particularly at the time of anguish in Sudan.
On Sunday of 26 August, we went to different morning services. The people of Nimule demonstrated a tremendous faith in Jesus. We saw this as they filled up the Churches to capacity, and their expression of faith is the evidence of their joy and hope in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Archbishop's US Trip to Ease Anglican Gay Tensions

The Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to travel to the US in September to ease the growing tensions within the Anglican Communion over gay bishops.

by Daniel Blake

Posted: Saturday, September 1, 2007, 9:57 (BST)

The Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to travel to the US in September to ease the growing tensions within the Anglican Communion over gay bishops.
With the threat of a schism hanging over the worldwide body since the consecration of the first openly gay bishop Gene Robinson to the US Episcopal Church in 2003, Dr Rowan Williams has been desperately trying to reconcile liberals and conservatives who remain at loggerheads over homosexuality.

Over the past week, developments have further angered those on the traditional side of Scripture, after the openly lesbian Episcopalian priest Rev Tracy Lind was listed among five nominees for next the Bishop of the Chicago Diocese within the US Episcopal Church.

This week has also seen two American bishops appointed by the Anglican Church in Kenya to guide conservative US Anglicans who have turned to the Kenyan Church for oversight.
Dr Williams will fly to New Orleans later this month to meet Episcopal bishops and discuss previous demands that the US Church withhold from allowing any other openly gay clergy consecrations until the entire Communion agrees upon a precise stance.

If the US Church does not agree to these demands by 30 September, it will be extremely difficult for the Archbishop to halt some serious long-term divisions within the Communion.
Dr Williams has stated how serious he believes the current situation is: “It could take decades to restore some sort of relationship.”

On BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2002, he was asked by presenter Sue Lawley if gay rights should be acknowledged by the Church of England. At that time he said, “It’s certainly no part of my programme to change this or even to push it as a matter of discussion but there it is on the table, we have to think about it.

“My hope is simply that we think about it without too much rancour, too much prejudice or too much fear.”

U.S. Episcopalians Near Deadline

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter

Sat, Sep. 01 2007 09:02 AM ET

Less than a month remains before U.S. Episcopalians are expected to respond to Anglican leaders worldwide on whether they will remain in step with the Anglican Communion or walk apart.

Their response may determine a possible split in the 77-million member global body that has struggled over the years to avoid schism. Currently, many conservative Anglicans are not hopeful that The Episcopal Church – the U.S. branch of Anglicanism – will "give up its liberal agenda" and remain aligned.

The Episcopal Church faces a Sept. 30 deadline to respond to the requests made earlier this year by Anglican primates, who lead the communion's 38 provinces, to make an unequivocal pledge not to consecrate another openly gay bishop or authorize official prayers for same-sex couples.

Controversy had heightened when The Episcopal Church consecrated an openly gay bishop in 2003. New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson recently announced plans to enter civil partnership with his gay partner next summer.

"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," stated Ralph Webb, director of Anglican Action for The Institute on Religion and Democracy. "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."

Earlier this week, the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago announced that an openly lesbian priest was included among five nominees for bishop. If elected in November, the Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, would become the second bishop in the U.S. branch who lives with a same-sex partner.

"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," said Webb. "[T]hat goal (of the 'full inclusion' of gays and lesbians) and many other examples of jettisoning biblical, traditional Anglican faith have led thousands of orthodox Anglicans to leave the Episcopal Church."

Providing a spiritual home for U.S. Anglicans discontent in The Episcopal Church over homosexuality and what conservatives argue a departure from scriptural authority, the Anglican archbishop of Kenya, Benjamin Nzimbi, consecrated two conservative American bishops on Thursday. The new bishops are to lead U.S. congregations who have split from The Episcopal Church. Nzimbi joins three other African leaders who have set up offshoots in the United States to take conservative Anglicans under their wings. The offshoots have been rejected by Episcopal leaders who say alternative oversight from overseas bishops would be "injurious" to the polity of The Episcopal Church.

Days ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops will meet in New Orleans to discuss the primates' requests. Anglican spiritual leader Dr. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, has been invited to give an address and answer questions.

Williams has expressed hope but not optimism in the unity of the Anglican Communion.
Meanwhile, Anglican Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana, also dean of the Province of Central Africa, says Anglican churches will soon return to other priorities and abandon a "fixation" with homosexuality.
"Very few of us take the homosexual debate as a top priority issue because there are more pressing issues facing the African church," Mwamba told Ecumenical News International. "Most African Anglicans want to get back to basics and concentrate on poverty, disease, injustice and the need for transparency in governments."

Mwamba said he believes there is still a lot of time for Anglican bishops to agree to attend next year's Lambeth Conference – the decennial gathering of the world’s top Anglican leaders. African bishops have threatened not to attend the meeting in protest of the invitation of Episcopal leaders who have not repented over their controversial actions.

"I believe that quite number of African bishops who have threatened not to attend next year's Lambeth Conference in Canterbury may change their minds," he said. "Yes, there are problems, but a week is a long time in politics and we still have almost a year to go before the next Lambeth Conference."


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	13 priests ordained as Bishop visits Nimule, *By John Daau* September 2007 NSC The month of August would forever remain in the minds of the people of Nimule town, in southern Sudan. This is the month when the town received one of its prominent personalities in a long time. On the 23rd of that month, Bishop Nathaniel Garang of the Episcopal Church of Sudan paid a visit to the town, after his other visit in 2005. Over 2,000 people came out to welcome him in Nimule town on the evening that he arrived. The people came out with great joy, ululation, praising God, and singing Christian songs while receiving the Bishop and his team at a distance of about 30 kilometres away from the Church compound. “It was overwhelming to see such a big crowd of people waiting to welcome the Bishop,” remembers Reverend Kuria from Kenya. The climax of this was the Sunday service in Nimule conducted by the bishop, where more than 2,500 worshippers gathered together for the service. Bishop Nathaniel priested 13 pastors, confirmed 520 believers and gave communion to over 1, 400, in Nimule and preached to 3,950 in Juba a few days later. This training mission trip of the Good Shepherd Leadership Training Institute and Uganda/Sudan Medical Mission was well ushered in by the overwhelming pastoral visit of the Bor diocesan Bishop who is also an Acting Archbishop and the Dean of the Episcopal Province of Sudan. With the blessings of the Almighty God, we were able to teach and interact with 187 participants in a week-long pastors' in-service training, among them 65 ordained ministers. The participants in the training came from different internally displaced peoples camps of Lobone, Bomary, Magalotore, Nimule, and Mugali, and refugee camps in Uganda including Mirieyi around Adjumani and others around Koboko. Having Bishop Nathaniel had a special significance to the people of Nimule since he last visited the place in 2005. Every evening was a great privilege to have Bishop Nathaniel teach on the Call to the Ministry and the Work of the Holy Spirit. Sharing from his wealth of experience, many pastors and lay people were touched and every one of us was compelled with much conviction, to renew and review our ministerial calling and commitment. During the entire week that we stayed in Nimule, Bishop Nathaniel would have a devotion with not less than 800 people in the Church compound, praying and preaching messages of the Holy Spirit's work more particularly at the time of anguish in Sudan. On Sunday of 26 August, we went to different morning services. The people of Nimule demonstrated a tremendous faith in Jesus. We saw this as they filled up the Churches to capacity, and their expression of faith is the evidence of their joy and hope in the name of the Lord Jesus. Archbishop's US Trip to Ease Anglican Gay Tensions The Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to travel to the US in September to ease the growing tensions within the Anglican Communion over gay bishops. by Daniel Blake Posted: Saturday, September 1, 2007, 9:57 (BST) The Archbishop of Canterbury is scheduled to travel to the US in September to ease the growing tensions within the Anglican Communion over gay bishops. With the threat of a schism hanging over the worldwide body since the consecration of the first openly gay bishop Gene Robinson to the US Episcopal Church in 2003, Dr Rowan Williams has been desperately trying to reconcile liberals and conservatives who remain at loggerheads over homosexuality. Over the past week, developments have further angered those on the traditional side of Scripture, after the openly lesbian Episcopalian priest Rev Tracy Lind was listed among five nominees for next the Bishop of the Chicago Diocese within the US Episcopal Church. This week has also seen two American bishops appointed by the Anglican Church in Kenya to guide conservative US Anglicans who have turned to the Kenyan Church for oversight. Dr Williams will fly to New Orleans later this month to meet Episcopal bishops and discuss previous demands that the US Church withhold from allowing any other openly gay clergy consecrations until the entire Communion agrees upon a precise stance. If the US Church does not agree to these demands by 30 September, it will be extremely difficult for the Archbishop to halt some serious long-term divisions within the Communion. Dr Williams has stated how serious he believes the current situation is: “It could take decades to restore some sort of relationship.” On BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2002, he was asked by presenter Sue Lawley if gay rights should be acknowledged by the Church of England. At that time he said, “It’s certainly no part of my programme to change this or even to push it as a matter of discussion but there it is on the table, we have to think about it. “My hope is simply that we think about it without too much rancour, too much prejudice or too much fear.” U.S. Episcopalians Near Deadline By Lillian Kwon Christian Post Reporter Sat, Sep. 01 2007 09:02 AM ET Less than a month remains before U.S. Episcopalians are expected to respond to Anglican leaders worldwide on whether they will remain in step with the Anglican Communion or walk apart. Their response may determine a possible split in the 77-million member global body that has struggled over the years to avoid schism. Currently, many conservative Anglicans are not hopeful that The Episcopal Church – the U.S. branch of Anglicanism – will "give up its liberal agenda" and remain aligned. The Episcopal Church faces a Sept. 30 deadline to respond to the requests made earlier this year by Anglican primates, who lead the communion's 38 provinces, to make an unequivocal pledge not to consecrate another openly gay bishop or authorize official prayers for same-sex couples. Controversy had heightened when The Episcopal Church consecrated an openly gay bishop in 2003. New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson recently announced plans to enter civil partnership with his gay partner next summer. "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," stated Ralph Webb, director of Anglican Action for The Institute on Religion and Democracy. "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." Earlier this week, the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago announced that an openly lesbian priest was included among five nominees for bishop. If elected in November, the Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, would become the second bishop in the U.S. branch who lives with a same-sex partner. "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," said Webb. "[T]hat goal (of the 'full inclusion' of gays and lesbians) and many other examples of jettisoning biblical, traditional Anglican faith have led thousands of orthodox Anglicans to leave the Episcopal Church." Providing a spiritual home for U.S. Anglicans discontent in The Episcopal Church over homosexuality and what conservatives argue a departure from scriptural authority, the Anglican archbishop of Kenya, Benjamin Nzimbi, consecrated two conservative American bishops on Thursday. The new bishops are to lead U.S. congregations who have split from The Episcopal Church. Nzimbi joins three other African leaders who have set up offshoots in the United States to take conservative Anglicans under their wings. The offshoots have been rejected by Episcopal leaders who say alternative oversight from overseas bishops would be "injurious" to the polity of The Episcopal Church. Days ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops will meet in New Orleans to discuss the primates' requests. Anglican spiritual leader Dr. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, has been invited to give an address and answer questions. Williams has expressed hope but not optimism in the unity of the Anglican Communion. Meanwhile, Anglican Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana, also dean of the Province of Central Africa, says Anglican churches will soon return to other priorities and abandon a "fixation" with homosexuality. "Very few of us take the homosexual debate as a top priority issue because there are more pressing issues facing the African church," Mwamba told Ecumenical News International. "Most African Anglicans want to get back to basics and concentrate on poverty, disease, injustice and the need for transparency in governments." Mwamba said he believes there is still a lot of time for Anglican bishops to agree to attend next year's Lambeth Conference – the decennial gathering of the world’s top Anglican leaders. African bishops have threatened not to attend the meeting in protest of the invitation of Episcopal leaders who have not repented over their controversial actions. "I believe that quite number of African bishops who have threatened not to attend next year's Lambeth Conference in Canterbury may change their minds," he said. "Yes, there are problems, but a week is a long time in politics and we still have almost a year to go before the next Lambeth Conference."