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.
Churches in South Sudan are appealing for humanitarian assistance, amidst fears that the consequences of climate change, macro-economic shocks, and the war in Sudan could sink the country further into the worst humanitarian crisis since independence.
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee met in Abuja, Nigeria, on 8-14 November, the governing body published a statement that included deep appreciation of Nigeria’s “astonishing diversity of cultures, languages, and religions”—as well as appeals to the Nigerian government to address economic injustice and other grave challenges facing the nation.
After postponing their unique ecumenical pilgrimage of peace to South Sudan, world Christian leaders will travel to the world’s youngest nation in February.
When heads of Churches in South Sudan unveiled the Action Plan for Peace in the Rwandan Capital, Kigali in 2015, the immediate aim was to stop the war.
The churches of Sudan – and especially the Sudan Council of Churches as their ecumenical forum – have suffered from a serious lack of attention and support by international ecumenical partners since the separation of South Sudan in 2011.
Eine ökumenisch engagierte Führungsperson im Südsudan appelliert an die Welt, sein Land nicht verloren zu geben, auch wenn es in den ersten zehn Jahren seiner Unabhängigkeit wiederholt in politische und gewalttätige ethnische Auseinandersetzungen gerutscht sei.
Un responsable œcuménique du Soudan du Sud implore la communauté internationale de ne pas abandonner son pays, dont la première décennie d’indépendance est marquée par de nombreux épisodes de violence politique et ethnique.
Un líder ecuménico de Sudán del Sur ha llamado al mundo a no abandonar a su país que, durante la primera década de su independencia, ha vuelto a caer en la violencia política y étnica.
An ecumenical leader in South Sudan has appealed to the world not to give up on his country, which during the first decade of its independence has repeatedly slid backward into political and ethnic violence.
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.
The South Sudan Council of Churches, an ecumenical body of seven members and associate members, held its first General Assembly since the independence of the largely Christian and animist country in 2011.
Rev. Fidon Mwombeki, All Africa Conference of Churches general secretary, has expressed concern at the slow pace of the South Sudan peace process, while highlighting that the Africa-wide ecumenical body has accompanied the people in the world’s youngest nation for many years.
South Sudanese church leaders continued to amplify hope for their country, as the people quietly marked the 8th Independence Day, without an official government celebration.
The world’s newest nation which became an independent state on 9 July 2011, is facing enormous challenges including insecurity, economic stagnation and famine due to a new conflict.
When Sudanese women join the mass protests for change and reforms, demonstrators revere them as Kandakes or Candances – the queens of the ancient African Kingdoms of Kush.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has made several new appointments this year, welcoming programme executives, a programme director, and a new dean of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.
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.
South Sudanese church leaders said in their Easter message that the Church stays committed to hope and refuses “to yield to fear or indifference” in their troubled homeland where the end of a bitter conflict seems elusive once again.