On Thursday, Nov. 23, as most Americans were sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner, the people of Sudan were experiencing an intensification of the long-running conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and a paramilitary insurgency known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“We as Christians should stand in solidarity and pray for one another, but we also need to confront the people in government and not allow conflicting parties to use church venues and religious places in their fighting.”
This was the message Dr. Aida Weran wanted to convey to Presbyterians as she detailed what life is like in Sudan as a near-civil war continues to plague her native country.
Fighting in Sudan has reached its worst levels in decades, according to a recent Reuters news report, and heavy gunfire on Tuesday has shattered a 24-hour truce.
For the first time in 500 years, an ecumenical peace pilgrimage was undertaken earlier this year to South Sudan by Catholic, Anglican and Protestant church leaders. The delegation included Pope Francis; the Most Rev. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury; and the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
For the first time in 500 years, an ecumenical peace pilgrimage was undertaken earlier this month to South Sudan by Catholic, Anglican and Protestant church leaders.
Urgent prayers are requested for Mekane Yesus Seminary (MSY) in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa. The seminary is operated by the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), a long-time Presbyterian Mission Agency global partner.
The Rev. Sharon Stewart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon, senior pastor and head of staff at Eastridge Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently served as co-conveners of one of the first virtual mission network meetings.
