Sudan, continued
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| In January 2005, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement. This was a great day for the people of Sudan as it brought an end to many years of hostility. Now as the process begins the Sudanese Christians are praying that this agreement, unlike the other agreements before it, will be a true and long-lasting one that will bring peace to all of Sudan.
A lot of work is needed. The Presbyterian Churches in Sudan are rising to the occasion and searching for areas where they can be a witness to God’s grace for all peoples. The Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCOS) has created a special department with the sole purpose of helping facilitate the church’s work in the repatriation process. The Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency, a ministry of the PCOS, is reviewing the work it has been doing to see how this new peace agreement will change its operation. Already staff members have been busy helping people return to their areas in the south, by providing shelter, food, household items, agricultural tools, and seeds for planting. “One area of concern for those of us working with the church in Sudan,” writes mission worker Barry Almy, “is what appears to be an understanding by some Western groups that the ‘Christian’ area of Sudan is in the south.” This, however, is a major misconception. The Christian church is alive and strong in the north, the mainly Muslim area of the country. The Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) works in the north and has been partnering with the PC(USA) for more than one hundred years. SPEC has made a commitment to continue its outreach and growth to areas that have not had much Christian influence. In its prison ministry the chaplain ministers to both Christian and non-Christian inmates who are facing the death penalty. SPEC is asking its partners to reaffirm their commitment to the body of Christ in the north and like their brothers and sisters in the other Christian churches in Sudan is using this time to ascertain God’s calling in the “New Sudan.” Barry reminds us that God is indeed working throughout all of Sudan and asks for prayers for the leaders of the churches in Sudan and partner churches around the world. |
 PC(USA) People in Mission Worldwide Ministries: Barry D. Almy, regional liaison, Sudan, Central and West Africa Office, Rev. Elizabeth Ann McCormick, professor of theological studies • Sue Ellen Hall, teacher and trainer of English as a second language programs, Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) • Joseph William Dyer, Jr., technical adviser, Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCOS) • Rev. Dr. Haruun L. Ruun, executive director, New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) PC(USA) General Assembly Staff John D. Stephenson, MSS Terri L. Stephenson, OGA Timothy W. Stepp, EDO |
 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? (James 2:14). |
 Ps. 47, 57, 85, 145 Hab. 2:1–4, 9–20 James 2:14–26; Luke 16:19–31 |
