May 5, 2025
Putting prayers for the Republic of South Sudan into action
From "Daphne Martin_Gnanadason" <Daphne.Martin_Gnanadason@wcrc.ch>Date Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:52:04 +0200
World Communion of Reformed Churches News Release 08 July 2011 Putting prayers for the Republic of South Sudan into action Churches are responding to a call from a global church organization for prayers and advocacy for a peaceful transition to independence for the Republic of South Sudan. “It is important to know what is being done by churches to ensure a sustainable and secure future in South Sudan,” says Nate Engle, a staffer with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC). Engle made his remark in response to a message issued on 30 June by Setri Nyomi, the general secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC). In his message to WCRC’s 230 member churches, Nyomi called for a week of prayers and advocacy from Sunday 3 July to Sunday 10 July. Nyomi’s appeal for special attention on South Sudan has prompted prayers in churches from Australia to Indonesia to South Africa as well as putting the spotlight on church-sponsored initiatives in the region. Engle reports in a message to WCRC that the church-supported development and relief agency based in the United States is running four projects in Yei River County in the southern tip of South Sudan with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in South Sudan. The projects are designed to train farmers in “best practices” for growing food staples such as cassava and sweet potato; educate street children in Yei Town in vegetable production; and promote good agricultural practices through broadcasts over two Christian radio stations in Yei River County (Spirit FM and Easter FM). CRWRC’s partners in these projects include the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (a group of 12 churches in Canada) and War Child Holland. The CRWRC is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, a WCRC member church. The Church of Scotland reports that it has been advocating for action by the British government to defuse violence in the South Kordofan region of the country. A letter from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office sent 7 July in reply to the church’s expression of concern details the government’s action in response to the situation. Nyomi welcomes news of these church initiatives. “When churches are inspired by the gospel to put love and prayer into action, it is a sign of their commitment to the call to mission in God’s world,” the Ghanaian theologian declares. Yesterday Nyomi followed-up his earlier message to the churches with a letter to be delivered to the president of the Republic of South Sudan in which the general secretary offers prayers for peace and for a “good beginning that sets the path towards...the welfare of all the women, men and children that live in South Sudan.” The Presbyterian Church of Sudan and the Africa Inland Church Sudan are among the 66 WCRC member churches in Africa. WCRC was created in June 2010 through a merger of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC). Its 230 member churches representing 80 million Christians are active worldwide in initiatives supporting economic, climate and gender justice, mission, and cooperation among Christians of different traditions. Media Contacts: Kristine Greenaway Office of Communications Email: kgr@wcrc.ch tel: +41 (0)22 791 62 43;fax: +41 (0)22 791 65 05 www.wcrc.ch ( http://www.wcrc.ch/ )