Sudanese Bishops Plead for their People

From Rev. Michael W. Ridgway, St. Thomas – Sunnyvale via The Living Church:

People of the Nuba Mountains region in Sudan are under armed assault from government forces, said the region’s Anglican bishop June 17 during an annual meeting of the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan.

“As many people have heard, it is really a genocide,” said the Rt. Rev. Andudu Elnail, Bishop of Kadugli and the Nuba Mountains for the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. “There is no food for the people of Kadugli. There is no water.”

President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, a Sunni Muslim who came to power in 1989, wants Christians in the border region to migrate to the southern half of Sudan, which is more hospitable to Christianity and which will establish an independent government July 9.

Read it all here.

Christians in the Middle East - Archbishop on World at One

From Rev. Michael W. Ridgway, St. Thomas via The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Website:

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has expressed his deep anxiety for Christians in the Middle East, but also cautious optimism about possible outcomes of the Arab Spring.

Speaking during an interview with Martha Kearney on BBC Radio 4's "World at One" programme, the Archbishop expressed his continuing concerns about the fragile situation of Christian minority populations across the Middle East  where in places life for Christians was "becoming unsustainable".  The situation had been, and remained, most serious in Iraq.  He also spoke of "the haemorrhaging of Christians" from parts of the Holy Land.

He also said he was "cautiously hopeful" about the possibility of an emerging "pluralist democratic future" in the wake of the Arab Spring.  "Hopes were too vivid" for repressive regimes to revert to type: "change will have to come"

Read it all here.

Praying with and for the people of Sudan

From Rev. Michael W. Ridgway, St. Thomas via The Anglican Communion News Service:

The thoughts and prayers of many in the Anglican Communion are focused on Sudan at this time, as the people of Southern Sudan prepare  for a referendum to decide their future. The referendum will take place on 9 January next, and all are invited to pray and to focus their concerns on that war-torn country at this time.

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Post-quake Haiti "reborn" Bishop tells Compass Rose Society's AGM

From Rev. Michael W. Ridgway, St. Thomas via Anglican Communion News Service:

At its annual meeting in London on September 8th and 9th, over 90 members of the Compass Rose Society, which provides financial support to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Anglican Consultative Council, heard the Bishop of Haiti, the Right Reverend Jean Zaché Duracin, say of this year’s earthquake, “in just 35 seconds, what we had built up in over 200 years was completely destroyed.”

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Haiti News

From The Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real:

The latest news on Haiti's recovery from
Episcopal Relief and Development's support in this
beleaguered country!

Click here for the entire story (in Adobe PDF format)

The Diocese of Western Tanganyika to cast votes on 8/20/2010 for next Bishop

From Mary Beth Powell, ECR

Greetings, Friends:

Bishop Mary has invited our Diocesan Community to join us in prayer for the Diocese of Western Tanganyika:

The Diocese of Western Tanganyika: this Friday, August 20th, the diocese is voting for its new bishop to replace Bishop Gerard Mpango, who retired last June.  A great deal of transition is underway there.  We pray that God guides the hearts of those voting for the new Bishop.

Haiti Cathedral Project Request for Expert Help

From The Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real:

We have a request to help provide names of architectural firms that have the wherewithal to build a fine church building as well as one that is earthquake- and hurricane-resistant. Also, experts are needed: seismologists and people familiar with the details for Requests For Proposals from such firms. The Partners With Haiti Project is building a network of support to the Diocese of Haiti--prayer, technical, financial and other support--for the re-building of la Cathédrale Sainte-Trinité in Port-au-Prince. See http://partnerswithhaiti.info./  If you are interesting in helping, please contact Bishop Mary (Gray-Reeves) at: BishopMary@edecr.org