According to a study
released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
by the end of 2005 there were over 25,000 refugees from Sudan
living in the United States, with 2,300 having been admitted
that year. The Sudanese population in Des Moines, Iowa, is somewhere
between 2,000 and 5,000, which is about 80 percent of the Sudanese
population in Iowa and 20 percent of the Sudanese population
in the United States.
In 1981, the Rev. David Madsen began as pastor of Cottage
Grove Avenue Presbyterian Church in Des Moines. This church
is involved in a major transformation from a predominately Caucasian,
inner-city congregation to one in which the worshiping community
is as much as 75 percent East African and is distinct from other
Sudanese congregations in Des Moines and the PC(USA) in that
it is multi-tribal.
The numbers tell the story: Although the official membership
of Cottage Grove Avenue Presbyterian Church is 103, on average
120 attend worship each week. The attendance is split among
three worship services for each of three language groups: English,
Mabaan, and Arabic. Forty Sudanese families are active in the
life of the congregation, primarily from five tribes and including
some of the Lost Boys of Sudan. A signature ministry of Cottage
Grove is a memorial service held for those who have died in
Africa. These services allow relatives and friends in the United
States to grieve and focus on God as a community.
The Presbytery of Des Moines has 64 congregations with 10,493
members. |
