D047 Response to the crisis in Sudan and support for the Episcopal Church of Sudan
Since 1994, General Convention has adopted nine resolutions addressing warfare, famine, and religious persecution in Sudan and South Sudan. Resolutions 2018-D024, 2018-D002, 2015-B018, 2012-A019, 2009-A033, 2009-A031, 2009-D007, 2000-A130, 1994-D012. A number of U.S. dioceses established companion relationships with dioceses in Sudan and South Sudan and many U.S. churches, clergy, and people worked hard to address the suffering there and to partner with churhces in Sudan and South Sudan in advocating for peace.
With the division of Sudan in 2011 into Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan, the Episcopal Church of Sudan has split into two provinces of Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. There are now several million Episcopalians in these two provinces, more than are in The Episcopal Church in the United States.
With the onset of the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia, the ECS compound at All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum had to be evacuated, so that Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo is now leading the ECS and its relief efforts from Port Sudan. In April 2024, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo, recently outlined the dire humanitarian situation in Sudan in a statement on the Anglican Communion website.
The situation has grown worse since then. Widespread atrocities are occurring in Darfur and more are likely at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces. Both sides have committed serious human rights violations and are denying access to humanitarian aid.
The response of the international community has been half-hearted; only 12% of the UN request for food relief has been funded. More than a third of the population face food insecurity and UN figures in May show that over five million are very close to starvation in Darfur and Kordufan (the Nuba Mountains) and elsewhere. Sudan was formerly known as the breadbasket of Africa; it is now the location of the largest current displacement of people in the world.
The Episcopal Church has repeatedly worked with the Episcopal Church of Sudan during the past thirty years to mobilize publiic opinion, prayer, and tangible help to assist the church there in times of turmoil in preaching the Gospel in word and deed. The current situation calls us to renew our efforts to help our friends and fellow laborers in the Gospel. Now is the time when we must show up for our friends in the name of Jesus, and show them that they are not forgotten.
Note: this resolution and/or its explanation contains external references, such as URLs of websites, that may not be in the required languages of General Convention. Because of copyright restrictions, the General Convention cannot provide translations. However, your web browser may be able to provide a machine translation into another language. If you need assistance with this, please contact gc.support@episcopalchurch.org.
Explanation
Since 1994, General Convention has adopted nine resolutions addressing warfare, famine, and religious persecution in Sudan and South Sudan. Resolutions 2018-D024, 2018-D002, 2015-B018, 2012-A019, 2009-A033, 2009-A031, 2009-D007, 2000-A130, 1994-D012. A number of U.S. dioceses established companion relationships with dioceses in Sudan and South Sudan and many U.S. churches, clergy, and people worked hard to address the suffering there and to partner with churhces in Sudan and South Sudan in advocating for peace.
With the division of Sudan in 2011 into Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan, the Episcopal Church of Sudan has split into two provinces of Anglican Communion, the Episcopal Church of Sudan and the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. There are now several million Episcopalians in these two provinces, more than are in The Episcopal Church in the United States.
With the onset of the civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Force (RSF) militia, the ECS compound at All Saints Cathedral in Khartoum had to be evacuated, so that Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo is now leading the ECS and its relief efforts from Port Sudan. In April 2024, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Anthony Poggo, recently outlined the dire humanitarian situation in Sudan in a statement on the Anglican Communion website.
The situation has grown worse since then. Widespread atrocities are occurring in Darfur and more are likely at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces. Both sides have committed serious human rights violations and are denying access to humanitarian aid.
The response of the international community has been half-hearted; only 12% of the UN request for food relief has been funded. More than a third of the population face food insecurity and UN figures in May show that over five million are very close to starvation in Darfur and Kordufan (the Nuba Mountains) and elsewhere. Sudan was formerly known as the breadbasket of Africa; it is now the location of the largest current displacement of people in the world.
The Episcopal Church has repeatedly worked with the Episcopal Church of Sudan during the past thirty years to mobilize publiic opinion, prayer, and tangible help to assist the church there in times of turmoil in preaching the Gospel in word and deed. The current situation calls us to renew our efforts to help our friends and fellow laborers in the Gospel. Now is the time when we must show up for our friends in the name of Jesus, and show them that they are not forgotten.
Note: this resolution and/or its explanation contains external references, such as URLs of websites, that may not be in the required languages of General Convention. Because of copyright restrictions, the General Convention cannot provide translations. However, your web browser may be able to provide a machine translation into another language. If you need assistance with this, please contact gc.support@episcopalchurch.org.