Anglican Church leaders pray for peace in Sudan, South Sudan
July 28, 2022 (LONDON) – A global conference of Anglican Church leaders kicked off in the United Kingdom with calls for peace and stability in Sudan and South Sudan.
In a statement, the office of the Archbishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan said religious leaders at the conference openly called for peace, forgiveness, truth, reconciliation and peaceful dialogue.
War, poverty and hunger were cited as major problems affecting people in Sudan and South Sudan.
The statement urges all Christians and people of faith to pray for an end to Sudan’s internal political crisis and the full implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCISS).
The leaders, in the statement, call on each diocese of the Anglican union to work towards providing a long-term strategy for peace and other conflicts and to contribute to the disasters emergency efforts in Sudan and South Sudan, where floods and drought resulting from climate changes have seriously affected the lives and living conditions of the local people.
Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, described the conference as a “historic occasion” and spoke of Jesus’ call for his followers to be united.
“Two years ago, we could hardly have believed the course of world events that were about to unfold with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Welby stated in a message read at the conference ending on August 8.
He added, “The business of this conference is to discern the Holy Spirit’s directing in what it means to be ‘God’s Church for God’s World’, as we seek to ‘walk, listen, and witness together’”.
Writing in the foreword to the Conference guide, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon stated, “The drumbeat to our conference is walking, listening, and witnessing together”.
He added, “As we gather in 2022, may we commit ourselves to this significant moment as an opportunity to listen to one another, learn from the diversity of our communities and church experiences and seek to serve one another”.
Anglican leaders from 165 countries are attending the two-week conference which attracted more than 600 delegates from various congregations.
(ST)