Churches in South Sudan shared Easter messages of hope, even amid troubling times for the African nation.The South Sudan Council of Churches, in its message, emphasized renewed hope. “In today’s world, marked by so many conflicts and so much suffering, we understand that many of us feel disheartened,” reads the message.
As the war in Ukraine triggers an unexpected rise in food and commodity prices in African markets, church leaders are reaching out to communities struggling with food insecurity and shortages.
While the World Council of Churches (WCC) deeply appreciates peace-building efforts in South Sudan, the WCC is also calling attention to the dire circumstances in which the people of South Sudan are still forced to lead their daily lives.
South Sudan came into existence ten years ago this week, but there is little to celebrate for the world's newest nation, Rev. Fr James Oyet Latansio, general secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches.
Speaking in Lviv, Ukraine on 30 August, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri presented a paper on ”Women and Ecumenical Engagement for Peace in South Sudan,” reflecting on the experiences of a Pilgrim Team visit by the WCC in May 2018.
South Sudanese churches have welcomed the signing of a permanent ceasefire agreement by the main rivals, while cautioning that many other such pacts had also been dishonoured.
As a High Level Revitalization Forum met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, met to discuss peace in South Sudan, faith groups shared clear messages urging an end to war and suffering.
Culminating a 15-17 August meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, the South Sudan Council of Churches issued a statement reflecting on war and violent conflict that continue to plague the nation.
Interview with Fr James Oyet-Latansio (JOL), general secretary of the Christian Council in South Sudan and Mr Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lothringen (FHL), advisor on reconciliation, South Sudan Council of Churches
The African continent bears witness to the tragic consequences of the manipulation of religion to incite violence. Yet it is also the home of untold instances of the power of religious leaders and actors to exert a positive influence, said panellists at an international meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today.
The “pilgrimage is both a way to continue working for the one ecumenical movement and a way to move forward in our times that offer new dimensions, opportunities and practices,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.
Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.
In his meeting with the Sudanese minister Alfatih T. Abdallah, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit stressed the important role of Sudanese churches in rebuilding their nation after years of conflict, along with the assurance of their religious freedoms.