Worldwide Anglican support
People across the Communion have stepped up to support of the people of Sudan as the country prepares for its historic referendum on Sunday (9th). Online demonstrations of concern for the country and its pending vote include prayer walls, a Facebook campaign, videos and blogs.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams issued a statement on Friday calling the 9th January “an immensely important day for Sudan.” He urged everyone to stand with the Sudanese people “to ensure that the referendum takes place peacefully and that the process and the results are fully respected.”
Dr Julianne Stewart, Programs Director of the Anglican Board of Mission in Australia, who is scheduled to travel to Sudan later this month said, “We are asking all Anglicans in Australia to pray for peace in Sudan. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, our hope is that the millions of people who have suffered amidst the conflict of the past few decades will come to know lasting peace.”
Staff at Episcopal church Trinity Wall Street in New York have set up a section on their website called Praying for Peace that features links to a range of resources and actions including a Facebook group and an open letter to the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon.
CMS Ireland invited local Christians to travel to their Belfast offices to join them in prayer today (7th January). The agency said it was eager that, in what they called “small and simple ways”, the Church should help ensure that its partners in Sudan have a voice and that the international spotlight is turned on Sudan at such a crucial time in their history.
Several dioceses including Salisbury in England and The Church of Ireland’s Diocese of Connor have prayer walls or resources on its websites encouraging visitors to uphold the people of Sudan in their prayers.
Capturing the spirit of Sudanese Christians and helping to tell their stories of living in and around the country’s north-south border region has been a year-long passion and media project for a team of Episcopalians from the Diocese of Chicago.
The Renk Media Team just launched an educational video for those considering forming partnerships with the Episcopal Church of Sudan, and a documentary that focuses on the plight of Sudanese Christians and their resilience in the face of great adversity and challenge. The media team is named after the Sudanese Diocese of Renk, which has shared a companion relationship with the Chicago diocese for nine years. In the video several interviewees share their hopes and concerns regarding the vote and the future of their nation.
Anglican leaders from Sudan continue to call for support from brothers and sisters across the Communion. The Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, Bishop, Diocese of Kajo-Keji asked readers of one website to pray for his country: “During the referendum, the choice is between unity and separation. On the same day, there is supposed to be a referendum in Abyei for them to choose whether to join the South or the North in the event that the South chooses to separate from the North. This will not take place as there many obstacles to the Abyei referendum.
“The people of Southern Sudan are excited on this coming plebiscite. I am hopeful that the prayers as well as the advocacy that has been undertaken will bear fruit. Do continue to pray that the referendum will be held as scheduled and that it be free and fair and that the results will be respected by all the partners.
“It is very likely that the people of Southern Sudanese will vote for secession. My fears are on the post referendum period especially since there are still many issues that need to be agreed upon. These issues include; citizenship, Sudan’s foreign debt, national currency, how to share the oil revenues, and how the boundary between the North and the South will be agreed upon. It is estimated that 80% of Sudan’s oil is in the South, while the refinery is in the North. Pray that the two sides will reach an amicable solution to this issue.”
Independent Catholic News reports:
Sudanese Christians have appealed for prayers on the eve of the referendum due to start on Sunday, 9 January on whether Sudan will remain united or divide into two, North and South. Voting is restricted to Southern Sudan. It is almost universally expected that there will be a vote for Southern independence, leading to the establishment of a new state on 9 July.
This referendum will have significant implications for Christian communities, particularly in the North. Southern Sudanese living in the North, many of whom are Christians, fear they may lose some of their current residency rights in the North.
Sudan’s federal government in Khartoum has stated that, should the South secede, Shari’a will be more strictly implemented in the North, potentially reducing the limited freedoms Christians, and other non-Muslims, enjoy. Further, Churches in the North are concerned about potential for further restrctions on their freedom of worship.
Fears of increased violence as the referendum approaches have not been realised. Preparations have been completed, including the simplification of the voting paper for the many illiterate people in the South.
But there remains concern about the province of Abyei. A referendum to determine whether the province should retain its semi-autonomous status within the North or become part of the South has been postponed. Sudanese Christians are concerned that instability in Abyei has the potential to provoke North-South violence.
Sudanese Christians appeal for prayers that: There will be no violence within Sudan during or after the referendum; The outcome of the referendums will be respected by all parties; The rights of all Christians, particularly those in Northern Sudan, will be respected; and that Church leaders will be guided by the Spirit as they exercise their ministries at this time
For further background information, see Middle East Concern’s report published on 30 October 2010, ‘Implications for the Church in Sudan of the Referendum on Independence for the South’, available at: www.stfrancismagazine.info/ja/images/stories/20101030_Sudan-North-South-Referendum.pdf
Source: Middle East Concern