Derby Harvest Appeal

The Bishop of Derby's

Harvest Appeal 2008

Equipping Church Leaders for the Sudan

Sudan is the largest country in Africa, and is about the same size as Europe. It is one of Africa's poorest countries, and one in every ten children born there will die before the age of five. Many of the country's problems have been associated with the Civil War, which lasted from 1983 to 2005, and in which some 1.9 million civilians from Southern Sudan were killed - one of the highest civilian death tolls of any war since World War II.

It is hard for people here in the UK to imagine what twenty years of civil war have done to Southern Sudan. Every aspect of life has been disrupted, with millions of people being unable to grow food or earn money to feed themselves. Malnutrition and starvation became widespread. Some 2 million people were displaced within Sudan itself, and a further 2 million refugees fled to neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt. However, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 has now brought new hope and fresh opportunities to begin rebuilding communities.

Records of Christianity in the Sudan go back to AD 543, when the missionary Julian arrived in what was then Nubia. Over the following centuries, though, the ancient Christian Kingdoms of Nabatea, Makuria and Alwa disappeared and were replaced by Islam. The Anglican church in the Sudan was founded in 1899 by CMS missionaries. Now called the Episcopal Church of Sudan, it consists of 24 dioceses, most of which are clustered in the South. Northern Sudan is mainly Muslim.

The Church grew rapidly during the civil war. It has often been the only civil society organisation remaining with the people. Communities have looked to the Church not only for spiritual and pastoral support, but also to meet basic needs such as health and education. With the coming of peace, the Church is uniquely placed to develop its role as one of the main providers of schools and basic primary health care. It also has a critical role in working for the healing and reconciliation needed for a lasting peace.

As the Church has grown, so too has the need for well-equipped leaders within it - both ordained pastors and lay leaders. It is vital to provide theological education to the many clergy ordained in the course of the war to meet the great pastoral needs of the people, and to also give ministerial training to the new generation of lay Christians preparing to serve in the leadership of the church and nation.

In recent years, the Bishop of Derby's harvest appeal has raised from £13,000 to £15,000. The needs of the Sudanese Church are huge - can we this year aim to raise £20,000? This would provide a year's training to 200 pastors and lay leaders through Theological Education by Extension, or would fund 200 leaders, both lay and ordained, to take part in one month local intensive training programmes. Alternatively, it could provide 40 pastors with a year's training at theological college.

Sudanese bishops at the Lambeth Conference

Anglican bishops from Sudan, who are part of the meeting of the Lambeth Conference, have issued an appeal to Christians to stand in solidarity with the suffering people of their country. Their statement details what has been happening in Darfur and elsewhere. It offers support for the recent Comprehensive Peace Agreement, but notes that there is much to be done to ensure that this is implemented, as well as ongoing problems that need addressing. On Darfur, it declares: "Continuing international pressure is needed on both the Government of Sudan and the now numerous armed groups to bring an end to the violence, to hold its perpetrators accountable, and to engage in constructive negotiations to address the grievances of the region."