When it came time for my wife, Jodi, and me to accept a new call because of our children’s educational needs, it was difficult. Malawi was our home. We wondered how we could move away from our relationship with the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP), which had supported and encouraged us for more than two decades.
Ten humanitarian workers, held by an armed opposition group in South Sudan, have been freed after five days in captivity. The United Nations today announced the release of the staff, all South Sudan nationals.
Ten South Sudanese humanitarian aid workers disappeared April 26 outside of Yei in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria region. Among the missing are two staff members from ACROSS, a global partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
In just five months, Presbyterian churches across the U.S. will be hosting the 2018 International Peacemakers. This year, 10 peacemakers are expected to take part in the annual event, sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program.
Critical peace talks began in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 6 aimed at ending the ongoing civil war in South Sudan. PCUSA partner, the Rt. Rev. Peter Gai and his ecumenical colleagues, Archbishop John Baptist Odama and Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro opened the talks with prayer.
We disembark from the taxi with the Rev. Philip Obang, General Secretary of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church, at the checkpoint at the edge of the city. Private and public vehicles are not allowed beyond this point.
Reconciliation is a sacred space where weary bodies are refreshed and troubled souls are soothed, where the roar of oppression is silenced and the calm of compassion resounds.
Reconciliation is a sacred space where weary bodies are refreshed and troubled souls are soothed, where the roar of oppression is silenced and the calm of compassion resounds. The pathway to reconciliation is long and grueling with setbacks, detours and delays. Along the journey lie ambushes of criticism and alienation, yet those on the journey press on like flocks of birds surging through cold winds for warmer homes. Reconciliation is a distant place — far from the battlefields of South Sudan — yet not beyond reach.
Born to Dinka parents, Achol Majok Kur Kier is not inclined to conform to expectations that define her culture. Strong-willed, at a young age she refused the matrimonial candidate her parents had hand-picked from within their clan.
Severe famine and ongoing fighting between ethnic groups have made survival difficult for millions of people in South Sudan. As a result of the deteriorating conditions, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) has issued an appeal.
