Hope for Sudan and the Church

By Patrick Augustine

Leaders of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan held a roundtable meeting from November 9-12, 2004 in the capital city of Khartoum to discuss the ministry of the church and issues affecting their country. I was privileged to attend as a guest from the U.S.

Geographically, Sudan is Africa's largest country. Its population of 30 million includes a primarily Muslim Arab northern region and an animist and Christian African community in the south. Christians represent 16.7% of the total population. The Sudanese government is dominated by the National Islamic Front, a fundamentalist political organization formed from the Muslim Brotherhood in 1983. It has endured civil war for four decades, with rebels in southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains who oppose imposition of Shari'a (Islamic) law fighting against the government and their military agencies. There have been numerous byproducts of the war, including refugees, the wounded and traumatized, deep poverty, deep hatred and anger, illiteracy and lack of education, and disease. The war has displaced more than four million people and 2.5 million civilians have died since 1983.

In the midst of the conflict, the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS), based in the Christian south, has been growing. Some have seen it as the fastest growing church province in the Anglican Communion.

The western area of Darfur has recently come to the world's attention. The conflict in Darfur, as in the nation's south, is rooted in the soil. Six million people who are farmers and herders live in the Darfur region. Most of Darfur's farmers are black Africans and herders are Arab nomads. In the last 20 years, this whole region has been under the curse of persistent drought, which has forced the Arab nomads to move to more arable lands. In the late 1980's, the competition for land began to turn violent. African rebels from a group calling itself the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) began attacking Sudan military targets as a protest against both the government's neglect of Darfur and an increasing Arab militancy. The Sudanese government called on local Arab tribes to crush the rebellion. The most eager recruits came from small groups of Arab nomads who saw an opportunity to grab land and livestock under the banner of a state-sanctioned military operation. These Arab nomad fighters are known as Janjaweed, a name that loosely means “devils on horseback.” So far, 50,000 Darfurians are dead and over one million people have become internally displaced.

The memorandum of understanding demands that the government, rebel forces and other armed groups immediately cease all violence and attacks. It was an historic time to be in Sudan and the church leaders are now preparing themselves for peacetime.

The international community has been putting pressure on the Sudan government and various rebel groups to resolve the wars through peaceful mediation and dialogue. In May 2004 at Naivash, Kenya, the Sudan government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) signed a peace agreement for the cessation of hostilities. During my visit to Khartoum, we were invited to meet William Patey, the British Ambassador to Sudan. He briefed our delegation about the peace talks, which a few days later led to the signing of a Nov. 18-19 memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Sudanese government and southern rebels, pledging to end two decades of war by December 31, 2004. The MOU demands that the government, rebel forces and other armed groups immediately cease all violence and attacks. It was an historic time to be in Sudan and the church leaders are now preparing themselves for peacetime.

The roundtable meeting gave an opportunity for Sudanese church leaders and Western partners to have frank, open and honest sharing. It was decided that ECS should forward all their projects through the Sudanese Development and Relief Agency (SUDRA). I stated, “Partners need to work through a central channel of the ECS as there are many churches who are individually funding projects from USA. In February 2005 we will form a ‘Friends of the Church of Sudan organization.'” We discussed the Church of the Sudan being specific in presenting its needs to Western partners. I said, “There are many other areas in the world where we are being asked to help. In order to get your fair market share for the work of the Church of the Sudan, you need to be clear in your goals and be transparent in providing accountability.”

In this meeting I noticed the Sudanese partners from ECS were talking about peace-building, reconciliation and development of the church's work throughout the Sudan. It was an amazing experience for me to see the transformation coming from the culture of war to a culture of peace.

One personal story touched me during the roundtable meeting. I met Bilquis, a young mother with five children. She told me that she was born in a Muslim family and is the first convert to Christianity from the Moro tribe. 10 years ago, she and her husband were visiting Christian friends. The family invited them to attend a church service. During the worship she noticed that when Christians prayed to God they had more freedom to address God as Abba/Father and could offer their prayers in their own words. In Islam she had been taught to offer the same prayers every time. She became curious to know about the Christian faith. She was given a copy of the New Testament, and after a time she asked to be baptized. It was a serious step as she was disowned by her husband and family. She has raised her children by herself. Receiving Christ in her life filled her heart with the peace of God. She has gone through many hard times but she has never felt abandoned by the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Now she serves as an honorary treasurer of El-Obeid diocese and as a volunteer evangelist to spread the gospel message among her people. Her testimony was truly inspiring and I promised to pray for her and her family.

Following the partners meeting, I visited several areas in and around Khartoum with Bishop Ezekiel Kondo. The Diocese of Khartoum is one of 24 dioceses in the ECS. Situated in the capital city, it hosts a wide diversity of people who originally are from other parts of the country. Out of Khartoum's population of eight million, 1.5 million are displaced and many live in camps. Religiously, 60% of the population are Muslim, 38% are Christian, and 2% other. The diocese is seeking support for two projects, a computer training center and a leadership training project. (I am happy to provide details of these projects.)

While visiting Mayo you can actually smell poverty, see the human suffering, hunger and lack of sanitation. There are many children of war who are orphans and are on the street. . . There are no job opportunities. It is not a safe place to live.

One of our visits was to a Mayo camp of displaced people from Darfur, eastern, western and southern Sudan. There are 20,000 displaced people who live in this camp. 60% of them are Christians and ECS has a very strong and visible presence in this community. While visiting Mayo you can actually smell poverty, see the human suffering, hunger and lack of sanitation. There are many children of war who are orphans and are on the street. They are gang members who abuse drugs and have no place to go. Many young mothers have lost husbands in war and are forced to sell their bodies to support their families. There are no job opportunities. It is not a safe place to live.

At a four-hour worship service attended by 2,500 people, the bishop confirmed 170 people and licensed 20 members of the Mothers Union as lay eucharistic ministers. After the service, I met a young American named Marie “Merriam” McClintock. She is originally from Boston and has been working in Africa for the last several years. She is fluent in Arabic, and arrived in Sudan two months ago from Mozambique. In her prayers she felt that the Lord was calling her to minister to the orphans of war in Sudan. She said the Holy Spirit led her to Mayo.

When Merriam arrived, she learned that ECS had a small orphanage that had been abandoned as there was no one to run it. The bishop asked Merriam to provide that ministry. She is a spirit-filled person who loves these children and is bringing them back into this orphanage. Her mission is to provide these children a safe home and experience the love of Jesus and sense of security and community. There are five little rooms made of mud and straw. She has no money, books, food or other supplies. She has tremendous faith that God is going to provide her to support the ministry to the orphans of war in Mayo. My parish before I left for Sudan had filled three suitcases with medicine, soap, body lotions, stationary, clothes, candy, and pairs of used prescription glasses. I offered these gifts to the church for these children in Mayo. I admire Merriam's courage. She is a dedicated servant of Christ in this hellhole of the world. I ask your prayers and financial support for this new ministry.
In Mayo I was told:

1. Children lack basic needs like shelter and medical care. Health services are very poor.
2. School fees are imposed and so children have no option but to go to “Islamic Kalwas” where the curriculum is Islamized and Arabized.
3. It is the churches rather than the government paying more attention to the education of many of the children in the camps.

The following three days I met with 100 clergy and lay delegates for a training of trainers for peace-building in Sudan. Three trainers from the Sudan Council of Churches led the process, which was prepared in anticipation for the coming peacetime. Church leaders are being trained and are being given tools for peace-building and transforming culture of war into culture of peace. Several issues were mentioned:

1. The civil society in Sudan is extremely weak.
2. No political party is democratic at the moment.
3. Generations have lived through war and violence, and it is a great challenge to nurture peace in that context.
4. There are undemocratic processes in the church to tackle, especially in the ethnic-based congregations, before the church can be an agent of democratization. The church must be seen to be setting a good example and pace.
5. Some of the traditional cultures contradict democratization. Working towards change of attitude is a challenge.
6. The role of the church during the anticipated interim period of government must be systematically thought out.
7. The church should advocate for women's active involvement in leadership.

It was mentioned that the attitude of Islamic leaders towards the church has been very discouraging.. . . [I said] “It is our call, even in the face of hatred, to mend our relationships so as to minimize hatred, bitterness, and revenge. The challenge today for the Church of the Sudan is to put feet on the gospel and to plant seeds of love. . .”

The challenge of Islam was also discussed. It was mentioned that the attitude of Islamic leaders towards the church has been very discouraging. They believe the Prophet Muhammad is the last seal of prophets and Christians are just wasting their time in believing in Jesus Christ. There is not much spirit of tolerance and reconciliation. In response, I said, “We live in a new reality in our world today. The Islamic community is also living outside the Islamic world and they are learning this new reality as they are now a minority in the West. The church, even in the face of severe persecution, should not give up hope as we are called by Christ to be agents of peace and reconciliation. Reconciliation is difficult but not impossible to achieve. We are the harbingers of hope to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, whose message is of forgiveness, not revenge, and to love our fellow human beings without conditions. It is our call, even in the face of hatred, to mend our relationships so as to minimize hatred, bitterness, and revenge. The challenge today for the Church of the Sudan is to put feet on the gospel and to plant seeds of love in the hearts of the people who have been separated by tribal, religious and ethnic divisions. It is Christ's call to us to bring healing of broken relationships and forgiving one another to drive towards achieving peace in Sudan. Reconciliation is a process that needs time and space and therefore it requires preparation.”

On my last day in Khartoum, Bishop Ezekiel and I visited with the Coptic Bishop of Khartoum. I was amazed to know that there were several Coptic churches in Khartoum well-run and well-attended. Coptics have been in Khartoum for many centuries. I encouraged Bishop Ezekiel to form a formal covenant relationship with the Coptic Church to work together to build the body of Christ in Sudan's capital city.

I also spent two days in Cairo, Egypt, which included a visit to the Sudanese refugee community at All Saint's Episcopal Cathedral. There are 25,000 Sudanese refugees in Cairo. The Anglican Diocese of Egypt has a permanent office for Sudanese ministry at the cathedral and a Sudanese pastor, evidence of its deep commitment to support the Sudanese church in the diaspora. I also visited with Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Church while in Cairo. The Pope and I exchanged our thoughts on the ministry of churches in Islamic countries and how to build bridges to live in peace as faith communities. Afterward, we went to St. Mark's Coptic Cathedral, where he gave his weekly address to 10,000 people. It was the Feast of St. George's and a great day to be with the Coptic community.

The following morning I met with Bishop Mouneer Hanna Anis, the Anglican Bishop of Cairo. He expressed his concerns about the decisions of the U.S. church's General Convention of 2003. He mentioned that after ECUSA's General Convention it created difficulty both for Anglicans and Coptic churches in their interfaith relationship with the Al-Azhar. Al-Azhar is the oldest (1,000 years old) and largest university in the Islamic world. Bishop Mouneer mentioned that the church in the West must realize that their decisions on human sexuality do impact the witness of the church in the Islamic world. He asked me to convey a message that we should not create more complications
for the churches in the Islamic world. He appreciates the help of the church in the USA for the churches in the developing world.

Later I met Mufti Ali Gomma Mohamed Abdel Wahab , minister of justice and senior scholar of Al-Azhar, and Dr. Tayseir Muhammad Mandour, member of Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs at the Secretariat of Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar. We discussed how our Abrahamic faiths in the 21st century can make an impact towards work towards peace and reconciliation. We agreed that religion in the 21st century must play an important role for restoring moral values, strengthening family structure in the society and working together to create better understanding among faith communities. As dwellers of this fragile planet we should also work towards the preservation of better environment for the health of the wholesome society.

I thank God for these opportunities. It was my pilgrimage of peace to deepen my faith to work as Christ's instrument of peace. I have information about 16 projects selected by the SUDRA of the Province of the Episcopal Church in the Sudan, and would be happy to send you a copy of these projects if your diocese or church would like to help in the development of the Sudanese church.

The Rev. Patrick P. Augustine is rector of Christ Episcopal Church in La Crosse, Wisc. A frequent traveler to Asia and Africa, he serves as canon and commissary of the Archbishop of the Sudan to the church in the U.S. Patrick may be reached by email at patchristch@centurytel.net.