Walking Forward in Faith in the ECS Diocese of Wau
A Pentecost Message
Page Index
By Bishop Moses Deng In ancient Israel eight weeks have passed since the events of Easter and not much appears to have changed. The Apostles, although firm in their faith, still feel the need to hide away in Jerusalem. They don’t go out and fear persecution just as they did on Good Friday. It would be easy to say a similar thing of South Sudan, nearly a year after our wonderful independence. Shamefully tribes are still fighting tribes and people still die that should not. It is still hard to get education or, food or healthcare. Of course a lot depends on how you see things. Pentecost, the event that most Christians celebrate eight weeks after Easter is often seen to be the foundation of the Christian Church. It’s the first time that people are seen to start doing things after Jesus ascended to Heaven and it’s a pretty spectacular start. You can read the story in the New Testament in the book of Acts Chapter 2. The Holy Spirit, which is the thing that the Apostles are waiting for suddenly appears with a great noise and rushing of wind. There are tongues or fingers of flame that reach out and touch the Apostles. They feel suddenly energised and empowered, full of power and ready for anything. Despite the obvious dangers they rush outside and start talking about their faith. At the time Jerusalem was full of people from other countries who all spoke in foreign languages. The Apostles suddenly realise that they are speaking in these languages not their own. It’s a sort of reversal of the story of the tower of Babel. You can see this story in the Book of Genesis at Chapter 11 from verse 1 to 10. Instead of scattering people God is attempting to bring them together. Peace between warring people is a very necessary thing and something that God is always working towards with the Holy Spirit. Even in the most unexpected places this can happen and I would like to remind you that before Jesus was flogged and crucified he was seen by both Herod and Pontius Pilot. Both of these had always been sworn enemies but after
A Pentecost Message..........................................2 LFEP Spreads ......................................................4 A Wau Priest in Bishop Gwynne College..............6 Don’t Hide it .......................................................7 Impacting The Kingdom .....................................9 Teaching is a Waiting Game ............................11 Will Bishop Alapayo resolve..............................13 Cathedral Foundation in Kuajok ......................15 A Wonderful Marriage .....................................17 Sad News From Khartoum ...............................19 VTC Progress.....................................................21 How Many Gods? .............................................21 Introducing Rev Peter Yuol...............................22 Adult Education Program ............................... 23 Contact Us ........................................................25 Good News From Kenneth Hearn.....................25 Please Pray with us ...........................................26 meeting Jesus they both became firm friends. You can read about this miracle In Luke’s Gospel at Chapter 23 verse 12. It is my firm hope that the Holy Spirit will enable the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa with the African Union to be able to hear one another as the visiting Jews in Jerusalem heard the Apostles so that understanding can really begin and translate into a much needed peace. I have hope that is possible because I believe that the Holy Spirit went with our Archbishop, Daniel Deng to Jongulei state recently and helped people to understand one another just as the crowd did in Jerusalem. Remember that these Jews were all people of a similar culture that could not talk to one another – how familiar is that? Archbishop Daniel Deng was asked by President Salva Kiir to lead a presidential committee on peace to try and bring understanding and peace to the tribes fighting there. This was a very successful event, despite all the difficulties he faced, and I would like to urge all the people of Jongulei and particularly the leaders there to implement the agreements that were set by this conference. Lead by example and show the way.
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A lot depends on how you see things and this is true of the people in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost, most of who would have thought that these people were babbling fools who were simply drunk. But slowly as time passed they would have realised that different foreigners were hearing the same words as each other from simple Galileans in their own language and that something extraordinary was going on – a miracle. But things don’t end there, Peter, the Apostle that once denied Jesus three times and was never known for his public speaking, suddenly is preaching. There he was speaking to the large crowd that has by now gathered because of all the noise and fuss. What a speech Peter gives, a sermon to be truly proud of. By the time he finishes three thousand of the people that started the day mocking them were baptised followers. Pentecost is an amazing day that saw the new faith we now call Christianity change from a few believers to a real church of people. Not all change though is accompanied by a fanfare and flames filling the air. God is often seen at work quietly making small changes and working small miracles. Sometimes the miracles of God are woven into this life like a thread that makes a pattern in a piece of cloth. You can see the pattern but you miss the thread and most often all you see is a pretty piece of cloth forgetting what the cloth would be without the pattern. A lot depends on how you see things. Gradual change does not seem so exciting or thrilling, there are few big headlines. Recently I was really pleased to accept a new secretary into my diocesan administration. Rev Peter Gur replaced Rev Andrew Apiny not because he is better at the job but because Rev Andrew already had three other jobs and could not stretch himself further. Rev Andrew runs our Theological College and also heads up CARD our diocese development agency. He’s able to focus on these more now. So a small change really but one that makes Wau diocese work better and more able to bring the love that God has for all of us in Jesus to the people that need it.
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Another example of small change is Rev Peter Akook who is able to study at Bishop Gwynne Theological College in Juba. Slowly he is adsorbing information that will be of real benefit to all of Wau diocese, we will in turn one day learn from him. The Holy Spirit is an enabler, part of the Trinity of God and as real today as it was in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. In fact the Holy Spirit has been with us from the beginning, you can see on the very first page of the Bible in the Book of Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1 to 3. Even in other parts of the Old Testament stories can be found about the Holy Spirit. In the book of Ezekiel at chapter 37 in verse 14 the Holy Spirit is mentioned while Ezekiel is in the Valley of the Dry Bones. Read the whole chapter it’s a pretty amazing story in itself. But amazing stories don’t just occur in the Bible and as I said earlier they are not always accompanied by flames and fanfare. Sometimes it takes perseverance and hard work to achieve what God wants. In fact the only time that achievement comes before hard work is in the dictionary! But you are never alone in this, the Holy Spirit is a companion that never leaves you without support even in the most difficult times. Be encouraged to work hard to achieve. There is much hard work to be done in South Sudan, everyone knows that and there is much change required, not least in our own selves. At the start of this I compared the feeling of the time just before Pentecost to the time we are in now. It would be easy to say that not much has changed. We have all suffered and the suffering does not yet seem to be at an end. But that would only be one point of view. Like the people that mocked the Apostles at Pentecost they didn’t yet have all the facts. Slowly things are changing and slowly getting better, like the hands on a clock it’s hard to see it but the times are changing. What is perhaps the hardest thing is to accept that we need to change and allow God to use the amazing power of the Holy Spirit to change each of us so that we can be the achievement of
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all the hard work. Change can be very frightening it leads to new things that we cannot be sure of. None of the Apostles in Jerusalem two thousand years ago could have dared to imagine what their small band of believers would become. But they were open to the Holy Spirit and allowed it to work in them, trusting that God knew what was best. We can read in the Gospel of John Chapter 15 verses 26 and 27 that Jesus had already told the Apostles about this, they simply needed to have faith and carry on. What I would like to say most at this time of Pentecost is open your heart to God and ask for the Holy Spirit to come to you. Say it in your prayers today, say it every day. Allow God to
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work within you and change you, little by little day by day, every day a bit more. You cannot say what will come of this but it may grow to be something really spectacular in you that you would want the whole world to know about. Simply have faith in God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Then with time, hard work and faith maybe we can all speak one language, be one people living in peace, prosperity and plenty that would be truly amazing. Every Blessing Bishop Moses Deng.
LFEP Now open in Mapel and Tonj Archdeaneries By Andrew Apiny Macham
On Monday 5th March 2012 the Mothers Union, Literacy Financial Education program conducted a facilitators workshop at the Good Shepherd Cathedral in Wau which was organized by two trainers Cecilia Athieng Paul and Rebecca Akuol Marup, together with the Mothers Union coordinator Rev, Loice Nafisa. The training catered to twelve new facilitators who were drawn from two Archdeaconries, Mapel and Tonj respectively, this course was organised after it was realised that there is need for the program to be expanded to all of the archdeaconries. The LFEP has now grown tremendously, it has now so far trained thirty six facilitators in the whole Diocese and opened over twenty five centres in seven different archdeaconries and founded more than ten groups of women in business skills and savings, this really is a great achievement. But still this is just the beginning said trainer Rebecca Akuol “we are still moving
forward to reach all the seventeen Archdeaconries of the diocese of Wau, our aim as trainers is to make sure all women have gone to school to learn at least arithmetic and some basic English as well as their mother tongue, so that in the end, they know how to read the Bible in their own vernacular language”. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Moses Deng Bol said to the facilitators, “My fellow teachers you are now commissioned to go and teach others with what you have learned, LFEP is an organization born of the vision to reach out. You are equipped so that in the end you can teach others, that is the overall objective and goal of this program. Enlighten our communities with the Word of God and teach them to know how to read and write. Illiteracy means having to convert orally the Bible through sequential stories, telling them in their own language. This is the core of the core of the LFEP, it’s the mandate, the agenda and indeed the reason for the existence of the program, we are not only targeting education as such, but spirituality also matters to us, so that every learner knows how to read bible in his/her own language only then are we able to change this nation into a beautiful country”
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Abraham Malook, spoke during the closing ceremony after the training held on 5th- 9th March 2012 at The Good Shepherd Cathedral in Wau. This is what has said, “One thing that fascinated me in this training is the topic of women being well articulated by trainers, we are taught in our culture that women are the property of a man. Today in our culture women are there to be seen they are significant beings in the community. I am happy that the few men who are here have learned something about the importance of women just like me. In this training I learned that women are the core of development, truly there can’t be true development in any country with the exclusion of women, believe me or believe me not this is a fact of life. Unfortunately our culture has taught us not to consider women as people, for this reason in our communities, women are there to be seen; not to be included in family decision making, whatever men said whether wrong or right they can have no objection. That is why they were not taken to school to learn, learning at that time was seen as disaster to men, because the few women who have gone to school together with men to learn were involved in important meetings. But the truth of the matter is that we are all equal before God as matter of fact, women are doing a lot more of the work at home than men, they work for eighteen hours a day unlike men who work fourteen hours a day. I am very happy and as I go home, am going to implement this by assisting my dear wife in the kitchen once in a while and with some other domestic work at home, by this I will demonstrate that I truly love her. I will not look at her as my property but as my lovely wife, this is
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the thing I will go home with. However, I know it will be appear awkward at first in our community, when I start cooking since in our culture men are not supposed to cook at home, that is a cultural thing but now we are living in a
new life where things different and require a new approach. We have now learned that there is no difference at all, we only differ in our biological nature, but otherwise we are all equal, God had given us different inimitable talents that no one can dare to challenge. Now it’s a question of application to men who are here, whether they translate this knowledge into action or not. I know the tendencies of our people, they think if you acquired more knowledge and are given certificates you are done, which is totally wrong. One thing you need to know is that learning is one thing, putting what you have learnt into action is another thing, its application that counts in the end, so change your life here and now to change your family once and for all.
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A Wau Diocese Priest at Bishop Gwynne College in Juba. By Rev Peter Angui Akook
I was born in 1984 and ordained a deacon in 2004 by the Rt Rev Henry Cuir Riak. I went to Bishop Allison Theological College in Arua, Uganda in 2007-2008 for a certificate class in Theology and sat for St.Paul's University diploma exams in March 2008 and passed. But due to Bishop Allison Theological College experiencing financial problems, I could not go back for my diploma class and I served the whole of 2009 in Nyieth Parish where I managed to mobilise the local community to construct a fired clay brick foundation for a Primary School. Sadly the school is still in need of rafters and a roof. I was almost losing hope that I would get a chance to study again, however in August 2010, I was able to attend Bishop Gwynne College in Juba to continue my diploma program. I thank God for giving me this chance once more under the leadership of Bishop Moses Deng Bol. At the college I was elected to be the Student's Union President on 24th September 2011.I think that this privilege is for one year only and at the end of my term of office elections are conducted again.
come back to my diocese off Wau and enlighten our people. To help them gain access to education and to be believers in Jesus Christ.
The more I continue my studies, the more I am preparing and sharpening my skills for the practical ministry in the field. I am being given skills, experiences and techniques that will help me handle the large range of issues that people may have. I believe that education, evangelism and discipleship program are the very issues that need to be brought to our people, because as we know the war just ended in the old Sudan affected mostly the northern part of what is now South Sudan. Even as we speak now there are people in many places who don't know how to read and write, and those who don't know what the “Good News” all about. I will be happy to
Part of the progress of the college is the construction of a boundary fence.
Currently in Bishop Gwynne College, I my position is like a bridge, linking students on one side to the administration of the college on the other and helping the administration reach the students with any information they need. Sometimes I am part of the decision making process of the college administration. I put forward some suggestions and enable students to contribute to the development and progress of the college.
The construction of a strong fence around Bishop Gwynne College is very important because of the security issues involved. It is the responsibility of the college to keep out dogs, goats and any unauthorised persons. It’s not a
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problem that many colleges might face but it would be hard to modernise the college like the rest of the colleges in Juba and in the world at large if we didn’t.
generation. But above all, he is a liturgical man and in the whole of the Episcopal Church of Sudan one who can help improve the liturgy of our church.
The Principal of BGC, Rev Joseph Taban is a man who has a lot of vision, mostly contributing towards the development and the future of next
I am very grateful to be a student here and I offer my thanks to Bishop Moses Deng Bol who sent me and to God for providing for me.
Don’t Hide it Tell it, if We Don’t it This Disease Will Finish Us All. By Andrew Apiny Macham
On 4th March 2012 Rev. Andrea Ngong declared openly that he is HIV/AIDS positive. This is the very first time in Wau Diocese that a pastor who’s living with HIV/AIDS has spoken in public. Worse of all for a pastor to tell his or her congregation their health status condition is not very easy. It’s obvious today, many people are living with this incurable disease but they found it very difficult to tell anyone their status. This is because many young people fear to tell their health status conditions for the very reason that if they tell others they will be stigmatized or be excommunicated from the society, while others will think they are immoral or unfaithful Christians. Still others look at themselves as great sinners and of course others see themselves as useless human beings. Some even want to transmit the HIV/AIDS virus to others intentionally so that in the end they all will be HIV/AIDS positive.
In spite of that people are distinctive. Rev, Andrea Ngong Deng is Archdeacon of Kuajok Archdeaconry, Wau Diocese and after attending a five day HIV/AIDS training workshop at the Good Shepherd Cathedral in Wau he was awarded a certificate of attendance.
The training made a significant impact on the participants. Most of the participants after the training went for a Voluntary Counseling Test at Wau Teaching Hospital. Rev. Andrea Ngong Deng was among those who went for the test at that time, after which he was found to be HIV/AIDS positive and he kept quiet without telling anybody not even his wife. A week later after the training, he travelled back to his
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Archdeaconry of Kuajok where he went back again at (VCT) to confirm whether it was really true or false but unfortunately it was true, he is HIV/AIDS positive.
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explained to them “I know Some Christians are thinking that I got this sickness through sexual
So Rev. Andrea Ngong is HIV/AIDS positive at the moment he is utterly convinced beyond reasonable doubt that he HIV/AID positive. Rev. Andrea Ngong has confirmed his health story, he has taken it into consideration and told his wife the whole thing on the following day he took his wife for testing. Interestingly his wife was found negative. On December 20th 2011 he revealed his personal health situation to Bishop Moses Deng Bol. Bishop Moses encouraged him to take heart and behave as if nothing had happened to him, at that point it was between him, his wife and Bishop Moses. On 28th and 30th of March 2012, his Right. Reverend. Bishop Moses Deng invited Andrea for a three day workshop in Juba on HIV/AIDS, it was in this workshop Archdeacon Andrea Ngong met positive spiritual leaders, men and women, who have been living with HIV/AIDS for more than twenty years, and shared their live stories with him. As a result of this meeting it gave Rev. Andrea Ngong courage to declare his sickness publicly all the way from Juba to Wau Diocese. On interview I asked Rev. Andrea Ngong what gave you the courage to tell this shocking news, especially in a community where such news are an abomination to be heard? In response to that, He said, “This is a serious disease which is spread by having sex with an infected partner. Sadly the disease has no cure, only prevention is the best, although many Christian community’s and non believers communities will look at me as an immoral pastor, or unfaithful husband or call me all sorts of names. This disease is a terrible traveller that I don’t need to keep quiet about for being ashamed to tell others because I will be excommunicated either from the church or society. Rev. Andrea announced his sickness at the Good shepherd Cathedral and tension was very high, everyone was listening very carefully. He
intercourse which in most cases is true, abstain from sex. This obviously has limited appeal, but it absolutely protects against HIV transmission by this route. However one needs to remember that this dangerous disease is not only acquired by sexual intercourse alone but there are many other ways one may get it. It can got be through injection-drug users who share needles. Syringes that are contaminated with blood from an infected man or women can transmit HIV. Infected mothers can pass HIV/AIDS to their babies during pregnancy or birth, when infected maternal cells enter the baby's circulation. Or else it can be spread in health-care settings through accidental needle sticks or contact with contaminated fluids. You see there are many ways one can get HIV/AIDS, you can be faithful but what about injection drugs users, sharing needles and infected maternal cells entering the baby’s circulation? If a person has HIV/AIDS we need not blame him or her so much, instead we should accept them not rejecting them. Some people have started rejecting me now, I don’t know in the future how it will be, this is the same dismal point to all of us, that are living with HIV/AIDS like me. This is the reason as to why
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many HIV/AIDS positive people fear telling even their partners because of the fear of being rejected by their communities. But if you know you are positive don’t hide it; tell it for the good health of others, the more you hide it the more it accelerates”. According to Andrea Ngong; this is how AIDS can be prevented or spread very fast, if we keep quite then who will tell anyway? In the same interview I Asked Andrea what is the attitude among Christians toward you after you told them this outrageous news? Obviously rejection is inescapable in this scenario there is division now among my relatives some fear to greet me, eat with me and even talk to me, when I told them I was HIV/AIDS positive. Despite that am personally requesting all Christians to love me and pray for people living with HIV/AIDS to experience God’s love and peace and to trust in him for their health and future. Instead of judging and blaming people living with HIV/AIDS this will break one’s heart and cause people to lose
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hope. In John 8:1-11. When teachers of the law brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught committing adultery. The accusers wanted to shame the woman and to trap Jesus. The man, who had also committed adultery, was not brought to be judged (usually it was seen as the fault of the woman, in this case it’s seen as the fault of us, the people living with HIV/AIDS. They brought the woman out in public, ready to be stoned, which is in the minds of others they want to stone us to death because people with HIV/AIDS are immoral so they should be wiped out? But how did Jesus respond to their accusations? What can we learn from Jesus example in judging others? Jesus did not defend the woman’s actions, but he was willing to stand up to the powerful. His actions showed love and the desire to restore relationships and love and care. He taught forgiveness, rather than condemnation, so do not condemn or blame us just because we are HIV/AIDS positive. Instead accept us, love us, pray for us, and forgive us, encourage us and give us hope. With these we can live healthily and longer than expected.
Impacting The Kingdom - Leaders for God's Kingdom By Andrew Apiny Macham
From 25th to 27th April 2012 The Bishops and Clergy Impact Workshop got underway at the Africana Hotel in Wau with six Anglican Bishops from the greater Bahr el Ghazal area and one newly consecrated Pentecostal Bishop of Wau. The training was attended well and nearly every denomination in Wau town was represented in the workshop. The Right Reverend Moses Deng was officially asked by Dr. Mike Oye from Calvary Ministries (CAPRO) to open the workshop since the
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meeting took place in his bishopric. In his remarks, bishop Moses Deng Bol said, “Looking at the theme of this workshop “Prepared People for A Revived Nation,” this theme is a wake-up call to all ministers of the Gospel of Christ in this training that you have heard is the case of every one of you that you are here and without mission. We have forgotten the task in which we are commanded by our Lord Jesus. “Go to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you”. This is our mandate as ministers of the Gospel of Christ, We are to take the Gospel with the seriousness it deserves to preach the Good News and the salvation of Christ to unreached people, it’s our mandate and the fundamental task we asked to do. This is why we are here today to be impacted with the knowledge and
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skill of mission and evangelism so that in the end we can leave this place knowing that our absolute mandate is to make mission and evangelism a first priority of the church. We are authorized to make disciples around the world wherever we go, we must share the Word of our Lord Jesus Christ with the people we meet." One of the participants Peter Bang Akuei the Deputy Chairperson of the Sudan Council of Churches in Greater Bahr el Ghazal and the Anglican Pastor of Arabic Curate in The Good shepherd Cathedral Wau, said, “I have learned one thing in this workshop, that is the church’s approach and role in the mission, the way I used to reached out to nonbelievers was always disappointing me and I always wondered why? But now I have learnt the secret of how to go about it. I will set aside at least 30% of the budget for mission and evangelism and identify members that have a calling to mission and evangelism to do the mission research methods.
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Thereafter I will send them out to identify unreached peoples and evangelize them”. Dr. Mike Oye the main speaker of the conference added, “The purpose of this workshop is to train you with skills for evangelizing Islamic people or groups and empower you to plant indigenous, self-governing and self-propagating churches, our passion is to impact on you the leaders to make Christ known where He is yet to be known.
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the gospel to the remaining un-evangelised parts of the world with a particular focus on the unreached peoples of Africa and the world. We want to believe this workshop will make an impact in your life to have passion for the lost and commit yourselves to apply what you had learnt in here and put it into work in your different denominations.” This is our hope and we trust that the knowledge you have gained here you will pass on to other people, especially those who have not heard the word of Christ.
We are a non-denominational global Christian missionary movement of African origin, taking
Teaching is A Waiting Game By Andrew Apiny Macham
From 1st March to 1st April 2012, the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan's Education program in partnership with World Relief conducted a teacher’s in-service training of phase one, this was stage three of the teachers training at Good shepherd Cathedral in Wau Diocese. There were forty five teachers that attended the ECS Education Training for Teachers with only
one female and one female trainer. The teachers were selected from different schools, twenty four which were government schools the majority of which were from Jur River County and six were from ECS Diocesan Schools. The training is a continuation of the last two years training; this is the third year, phase three inservice teachers. There will be training following this, which is scheduled to take place in June
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2012. This will be the last phase for in-service teacher training in Western Bahr el Ghazal State. The training involved a high degree of participation rather than being centred on the teacher hence facilitation of the tuition was made easy. Although there were some challenges here and there the learning objectives were achieved as planned, the content planned was fully covered, experiences within facilitators themselves and the trainees was shared, there was good cooperation between diocesan education offices and the state director for quality promotion and innovation. Not only that, both participants and the trainers were actively participating in the morning devotion which was a sign of spiritual maturity. There were some challenges, the training commenced very much later than expected, this was because the dissemination of information was very poor and distorted the original plans. For those learning, there was irregular attendance because of other training activities which were going on in the State at the same time, some left the training in the middle without logical reasons. Thirty teachers though committed themselves and were able to finish the training. Justin added that, “Teachers are not taking their work seriously despite the minister of education for South Sudan expecting them to deliver better education. This is due to the fact that, teaching positions have been taken as the most an undemanding job in this country. You only teach as result of economic pressure or are short of something to do at that time. Taking that mindset, teaching professionally becomes a waiting job. If that is the feeling about teaching then we as a country will never make any positive impact in our various institutions for education, the result of this is that we will always have substandard education, second-rate service and a poorly educated society.”
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Bishop Moses Deng also said, “If we need to have quality education then we need to train quality teachers and employ professionals in our institutions. It is only then that we will have creative and innovative communities who will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into high moral personal principles for the social and economic development we need. With this! will we have competence, self sufficiency, an effective and productive society in the future? There is no way we can expect the best where we have done nothing to earn it, for us to have eminent students, the transformation must start with the teachers. I Am saying this because the attitudes of our teachers toward teaching are very negative. Teaching vacancies in this nation have been perceived as negative, that breaks my heart but there can’t be a president, Governor, ministers or any other dignified position without teachers to educated them and educate them well. The most important and honourable person in the whole world is a teacher yet many people are saying teaching is waiting job. Teachers lifestyles remain the most honourable on the face of the earth, How he or she acts, what he or she says, how he or she behaves, what he or she teaches all either damage the environment around them or save the people within their reach. That is why a teacher should be a most honourable person. He or she must have a distinction in life, that is honourable, admirable, acceptable, humble and blameless because anything he or she says or does matters, it can break, or unite, destroy or save. James cautions us, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers my brothers because you know that we that teach will be judged more strictly”. Yet we call teaching a waiting job. I understand many teachers who are teaching in various schools are not there as permanent teachers but are waiting for better opportunities. Teaching to them is a second option, after they have failing to get what they want they think of
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teaching. Such a frame of mind is very dangerous and unless it changes we will always
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produce poor standard services and inferior citizens.
Will Bishop Alphayo Manyang Resolve the Conflict in the Diocese of Wau? By Andrew Apiny Macham
On the 28-30th April 2012 after the Bishops Conference all the Anglican bishops from the Greater Bahr el Ghazal Cluster of the ECS were led by the Right Reverend Alphayo Manyang Kuctiel, bishop of Rumbek Diocese and held a special meeting in Wau. On Sunday 29th April, all the bishops attended a Sunday Service at The Good shepherd Cathedral Wau in which Bishop Joseph Maker Atot of Pacong Diocese Preached on Christian Unity. Bishop Joseph appealed to all Christians in Wau Diocese to remain united and respect their Spiritual Leaders. This is because Christians in Wau Diocese are united on tribal lines and appear not to respect their spiritual leadership. This is because Wau has been effectively without a bishop for over 22 years. The first Bishop, Assistant Bishop of Rumbek Diocese but based in Wau Area Diocese the Rt Rev John Malou Ater was appointed in 1982 but regrettably died six Months after his appointment in a plane crash on his way to deliver relief to displaced people in Rumbek. This left Wau without a Bishop. The Former Bishop Henry Cuir Riak was appointed in 1988 but was immediately arrested and put in prison by the Islamic Government in Khartoum. He later moved to Nakuru in Kenya where he stayed with his family for many years, again leaving the Diocese without a Bishop. Hence the Clergy, the Former Vicar General and the Church Council took over the leadership of the Church in wau for over 22 years.
When the current bishop undertook the leadership of the church and tried to follow the Canonical Law and Anglicanism it was a very frustrating scenario. There was always resistance to change. For this reason the Right Reverenced Mosses Deng Bol called upon all the bishops of the Greater Bahr el Ghazal to explain to all the church councils and the clergies in Wau Diocese the Canonical Laws and Anglicanism and the Constitution of Episcopal Church of Sudan so that both Clergy and laity knows their areas of responsibilities. Bishop Alphayo Manyang the Chairperson of the Bishops of Greater Bahr el Ghazal Cluster told the church members, councils and clergies that a Bishop remains the head of the diocese administratively, spiritually, and even politically, you are under obligation to respect him in all matters in accordance to Canonical Law. He has the mandate to appoint and remove anybody, this should be very clear to all of you, the bishop is the head of the Diocese there is no other title in the Diocese above the bishop in accordance to Anglican leadership structures. No other title has more authority than the bishop in the Diocese. The Anglican System gives the Bishop more authority in both spiritual and administration matters, hence the Bishop represents the Diocese at all levels. Although Bishop Alphayo Manyang took a whole day on the subject matter urging both Christians and clergy to follow Canonical Law and the Anglican constitution many people were asking whether this teaching will resolved the conflict in Wau. This is because though those who
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attended the training were convinced that their Bishop was doing the right thing according to the Anglican System and the ECS Constitution the section of the Clergy led by Former Dean of the Cathedral Rev Anei Maker did not attend the training. Rev Anei and some of the Clergy left the main Cathedral after he was transferred from the
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former Vicar General Martin Maker as Vicar General (even though the ECS in general stopped the use of the title Vicar General replacing it with Commissary), Rev David Modi as the Diocesan Secretary and Rev Anei as the Dean basically creating another Diocese within the Diocese. Bishop Alpayo said that the Dean according to Anglican system is appointed and removed by the Bishop and the fact the Dean welcomes the Bishop in his seat in the Cathedral during the installation of the Bishop does not mean that he/she is Senior to the Bishop or that Bishop does not have the authority to transfer him from the position of the Dean to another position.
The underlying issues of course includes ignorance as most of the Clergy in Wau were ordained during the war in what was called mass ordination where Clergy are ordained without any Theological Training. Hence most Clergy lack both Biblical understanding of servant leadership and the Anglican system or Canonical laws. For example most of the Clergy who followed Rev Anei claimed that they had been dismissed by the Bishop when they are still exercising their duties as Clergy doing everything that Anglican Clergy do such as celebrating Holy Communion, Baptizing people etc.
position of Dean by Bishop Moses, claiming that the Bishop has no authority to remove him since he was installed first and he was the one who installed the Bishop. Rev Anei and the Former Vicar General Rev Martin Maker, former Diocesan Secretary Rev David Modi and former members of the Cathedral Council left the Cathedral and took over a nearby Parish and turned it into another Cathedral and restored
The Former Bishop of Wau Henry ordained over fifty women as Priests in the Cathedral alone most of whom do not even know how to read the Bible even in their own mother tongue. This is the main root cause of the problem in Wau as over fifty Clergy who do not want to be transferred to another place fight for a position in one Cathedral. Another underlying issue is tribalism which is affecting almost all sectors in South Sudan. Most of the Clergy and Christians in the Cathedral are from Lakes State. Both Rev Anei and Martin Maker come from Lakes State and so they have popular support among their people.
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Cathedral Foundation Set in Kuajok Archdeaconry By Andrew Apiny Macham
On 2nd May 2012 The Samaritans Purse International laid down a new Cathedral Foundation in Kuajok Archdeaconry, Warrap State. This is to replace the church structure of Kuajok cathedral where Christians have long come to worship and pray. When local Christians received the news that, they are going to have a concrete built cathedral to replace the existing dilapidated building, they were very excited and grateful to God. In the near future this building will be used for other purposes too. People have not been comfortable especially when the wind blows on a Sunday making a lot of noise and raising a lot of dust. On rainy days there could be no prayers or services, it was a very awkward scenario. As a consequence of these circumstances some dignified government officials stopped going there to worship and praise, they moved to other denominations of church where they could sit comfortably, it was a very shameful condition. After the completion of
this building we hope things will be very different. According to Archdeacon Andrea Ngong Deng “Many people living around this area will start coming, including those who left this church before will come back here. Initially they don’t hate this church but they hated the kind of building we had. Now once they see the problem of the building is solved this cathedral may be too small to accommodate all the people wanting to come! We have over five thousand Episcopalians in this town and the cathedral is 25m by 28m, which I believe can accommodate approximately two thousand people. However, we are very grateful to Samaritans Purse for building us this. Now we would like to commit ourselves to finish this project on time. I am very happy with my fellow Christians since we started the construction nobody has complained about tiredness, everybody wants to do something for the Samaritan Purse’s work here and they themselves are very happy with the cooperation given to them here. In my opinion, this work will not take a lot of time to finish since the youth are very active and cooperative.
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What we have done so far is just the foundation, it has been laid down but the actual church building will have cement block walls with openings for windows and doors. The structure will also have steel trusses and a zinc sheet (Mabati) roof. The floor of the church will be constructed of sand and stones with a highly compacted Mirrum surface. Now the foundation is almost done what is left is to put up the steel trusses. The engineer is working on them
welding the metal. The engineers together with the youth are working hard to ensure that everything is finished on time before the rain starts raining. One of the biggest challenge that we were facing with the workers was lack of meat but that has been solved, church members have kindly contributed some goats as meat for the workers. I am very grateful to those Christians who have given workers their goats and not only that, without the contribution of one particular church member it would have been very difficult for us to get water, he contributed five hundred South Sudanese pounds specifically to buy water
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for the work. I really thank him in special way. I must also not forget the women you offered themselves to cook for the workers without payment. These gestures of generosity and sacrifice are truly amazing I would like to thank all of them in a big way for their work, they have made me proud. To the Samaritan Purse I don’t know how to thank them, looking at the kind of metal they have brought you can see them yourselves in the pictures they are very expensive. You can imagine that when this church is finished, I am going to be one of the most happy Archdeacons. Because my archdeaconry will have a concrete building. May god bless the Samaritan purse, may God bless my fellow Christians who sacrificed themselves
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to do this work so successfully.
A Wonderful Marriage but an Expensive One By Andrew Apiny Macham
On Sunday 6th May 2012, Rev. Paul Lueth Kat and Regina Atany Ayuel were officially joined together as husband and wife by Canon. Rev.Angelo Yuet Aguar at Ajakkuach Deanry in the Twic Archdeaconry of Wau Diocese. In a speech given by Canon. Rev, Angelo he said, “Welcome to a world from which there is no return its a one way journey, the way back is blocked. You are joined in an extraordinary way so that come what may there is no way of returning back. When the two of you become a couple and enter into this union of the covenant of matrimony you are joined together into one flesh. So now you are one flesh forever, you are no longer two but one, let no one separate you. Marriage is made for a life time, with a lot of commitments. It is a biblical principle, for scripture says, ‘for this reason a man will leave his Father and Mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one. So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate then what God has joined together.(Matthew 19:6-7) separation is not a second option to you when the going becomes tough, whether it is a legal or physical problem, only death should separate you, anything apart from this will displease God." interviewed Rev. Paul and asked hime how much he had spent
on the wedding. This is what he had to say, “first and foremost it was one of the most wonderful and colourful weddings ever done in Twic Archdeaconry in which over three thousand
people attended the wedding ceremony, but it was a very expensive one. It cost me dearly. I was asked by my in-laws to pay one hundred head of cattle which I managed to pay half of, fifty head of cattle as dowry and six thousand South Sudanese pounds as well as the service which were used during the wedding ceremony. I had to do this is because our culture is very tough, without a dowry nobody will accept you unless you go and marry somewhere outside of the Dinka culture, then you will be free." I asked him When did you meet each other and where? "we met in Khartoum, Sudan in the year 2010," Rev.Paul said, "when I met Regina I didn’t know she would be my wife one day, because she was a very young girl then; I didn’t have an idea
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at all, but with time I began to know more about her and the more I knew her the more I loved her and began thinking about marriage. One thing that persuaded me to married her was the fact that she is a very calm lady, a lady of her own principles, an understanding lady, respectful and a hard working person. I think that these are the qualities of a good wife which convinced me beyond all reasonable doubt to marry her today." The Bridegroom said getting married to Regina was like climbing a mountain, there were a lot of challenges that I encountered on the way to the wedding ceremony. Now the next challenge ahead of us is how are we going to survive after all the money I had has been paid out for the
See more images from the wedding on our website.
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dowry? worst of all meeting the living standards here in Wau town especially at a time when our country is facing a lot of economic downturn. Many people wonder now how I could afford those animals but now am complaining about feeding myself, they are right in their own point of view. But it's a different story with me, the animals were mostly contributions from different relatives although some I did buy myself. Over the last two years I bought one animals every month. It has been very difficult for me but I thank God almighty that I have eventually married so those cattle and the money is not wasted for me. However, I have and outstanding debt that I will be paying off little by little until I finish it.
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Sad News from Bishop Ezekiel of Khartoum Diocese I am sorry to report that The Parish Church of Saint John, Haj Yousif in the Diocese of Khartoum was demolished by the Government Local Authority Ministry of Planning and Housing on Monday 18th June 2012 at around 11 am. On a two big truck cars, full of police plus other small vehicles surrounded the Church and no pre-warning was given, they began bulldozing the Church building. The church began in 1987/1988 when people settled in an area which was completely deserted. The government after some years surveyed the area and people were allocated plots for housing but the church was not allotted a piece of land. The Church made several requests to be granted a land for worship but it was not given. However, the Christians through their own efforts collected money and built the church with iron sheets whereby electricity was installed!
The pastor in charge was not present by then, but there were few women around and were told not come near or say a word. They pleaded if they can be allowed to get church property out instead of being destroyed in the process. At the end they were allowed to get few chairs out from the building but most of the things got destroyed. Two girls and a boy were arrested because they were taking pictures but later were released the same day. The Church was officially dedicated by the Bishop of Khartoum on 24th May 2009. The argument used for demolishing the church is that it has no legal documents or status. Secondly, the church belongs to Southerners and since they have got their own independence, they should not be there. However, the fact is, it isn’t
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the church that provides legal documents. It is the government and the government has been refusing to give this legal status to the church for the last 25 years. Words were uttered, “if you wanted to be in Khartoum why did you vote for separation”? We can say that it is evident that the authorities do not respect the right of non-Muslims in Sudan because they should have provided an alternative in case the land was already allotted to someone else or some other purpose. Secondly the church does not belong to South Sudanese. It is Episcopal Church of Sudan whose Bishop is a Sudanese! It seems also that the policy of Islamic State is being implemented when the president said, if South Sudanese vote for session, there will be but one religion, one language and one culture. As a Bishop of this Diocese, I do strongly protest against the unjust action taken by the government local authority of Shereq El Nail and ask for due compensation of all the destroyed items of the church. I do also ask the government of Sudan to allot a plot of land for this church so as to let the Christians of this area carry out their worship.
Steps being taken: • I have ordered the inventory of all the destroyed items with its estimate and leave the destruction as it is for the next five days. • The Ministry of Religious guidance and endowments both Federal and State have been informed. • Local News Papers and some International News Agency have been informed.
What can done: • Pray for the church in Sudan to be respected and have freedom of worship. • Advocate on our behalf. • Come for a visit and to see.
Bishop Ezekiel can be contacted through e-mail and telephone at:
The Rt. Revd. Ezekiel Kondo Bishop of Khartoum Tel: +249-9123-59768 ecs_bishop_khartoum@kastanet.org
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Progress at Wau Vocational Training College Progress has been made at the new Wau VTC, the site has been cleared a fence erected and new gates fitted. See the picture below. To continue this project more funding is needed. See more on our website by using the link below.
http://www.wau.anglican.org/index.php?PageID =wauvtc
A Summary of the report. 1. The house has been completed and door is fixed.
5. The kitchen for VTC is not yet start but there is planning to do it with the remaining bricks.
2. The latrine is dug and the wall is done but it’s not cover and the door not yet fixes, the planning is underway to complete the rest of the thing.
6. The VTC compound has been cleared and the rest of thing will be done.
3. The fence is completed and gate is fixed. 4. The temporary shelter is not start but it’s going to be done in the next few days.
The next stage is to build the Training Huts and Office, employ a building Supervisor and future Principal for the College as well as obtain a vehicle suitable for conveying the necessary materials not in the area and the future Students and Staff.
How Many Gods do you Know ? A sermon for Trinity By Rev Andrew Apiny How many Gods do you know? I would like to preach on the subject of “Three in One” today. This is a controversial subject that has long divided the minds of succeeding Christians because of it nature, misunderstanding and misinterpretation. The subject is tough, confused millions of people and divided people into different followers. Because of it toughness, I have tried to escape from it sometimes but I realize that you can’t run away from an idea
whose time has come; the time has come, for me to speak out about The Trinity. This should be your statement of faith, that I believe in the Almighty God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, three in one - Amen. Read the whole sermon and other articles like it online at our diocesan website:
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Introducing Rev Peter Yuol Gur Christian greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. I would like to introduce myself to you as you may not know me. I am Rev. Peter Yuol Gur and I am the new Wau Diocesan secretary. I was elected by standing committee last year when I was still studying in the college. At that time I was a student at St Pauls University in Kenya and am glad to serve here in Wau because the church here is standing on it's feet and it is very good to encourage the Gospel of Christ in the hopeless Zone where the believers and the community at large are still traumatized by War. I decided to come back to serve in the Diocese of Wau because this leadership is trying hard to be the best, even the government. I see it is an opportunity for change. I want our community to change some cultural practices which oppress other people, like women. Our community doesn't allow girls to go to school nor do they allow them to do business because they say that when girls go to school they can get spoilt then they cannot be married with a dowry of cows. I will be happy for our friends and brothers and sisters in Christ to assist us preaching the good news of freedom of expression. I am so much touched by the forced marriage of young girls, some only 14 years old, to old men of 70 years old, most of this girls commit suicide. The society we want is for fair equality between men and women, our children are our children, boys and girls are equally special. Successful protection of human dignity includes working in
solidarity for the common good. In John's Gospel Chapter 8 verses 3 to 11 Jesus asks those people who have brought him a woman caught in act of adultery, anyone who has no sin can take a stone and stone her. My question is why only the woman where was the man ? We need change, the church is just waking in Wau and It would be excellent if more evangelism could be done. may God bless you – Rev Peter
All of the hard working staff of Wau diocese can be found on our website and in most cases contacted through e-mail. Please pray for all of them as they struggle with all kinds of difficulty to continue to bring the Kingdom of God to Wau diocese in South Sudan.
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Adult Education Program now Open in Wau Diocese By Rev Andrew Apiny Macham On 1st April 2012, The Episcopal Church of Sudan, Diocese of Wau has opened a Sunday Adult Education Centre, this makes a total of five schools run by the Diocese of Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal State. The purpose of having Adult education centres became obvious after seeing the need and will for adults to learn. The church being a pioneer of education felt the need and opened this school to help adults who had not had access to schooling to meet their dreams. The centre has so far registered (282) two hundred and eight two students from the age of 9 to 74. In accordance to the Alternative Education System in the Ministry of Education, Western Bahr El Ghazal State a survey was carried out that indicated that our Sunday Adult Education Program is one of the largest centres in the state, and one of the most distinctive Schools. Ours has a very conducive environment with availability of drinking water containers in every
class. Not only that the teachers also nurtured learners to become competent, empowered them spiritually and above all these is the quality of teaching. All the lessons are taught as indicated in the timetable, these are some of things that set aside this centre to be unique and excellent which is what quality education is all about. The challenges which are facing Sunday Adult Education are not exempt from the predicaments which are faced other schools which are the issues of lack of teaching materials, such as chalk, text books, teachers guides and teaching aids. The Diocesan Education Coordinator Dumo Agog Peter said, “These are very important for any school to run smoothly and achieve its target goals, but the lack of these have become a major threat in Sunday Adult Education which badly affects lesson plans. We are therefore, asking any well-wishers whether they are individuals, organizations or government, all are welcome to support these women and children who are eager to learn to help them achieve their dreams. Our centre is also confronted with the issue of teachers pay, it’s the lowest pay in the state, and the teachers are now receiving just 30 USD per a month which is equivalent to just 150 South Sudanese Pounds. In spite of that ours is one of the best centres that has the most qualified and experienced teachers in the teaching profession who at the same time are very active and committed. I asked the head teacher of the Sunday Adult
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Education Centre what do you with your teachers to encourage them to offer themselves to teach voluntarily? Daniel Marou said, “I involve them in decision making and I build trust in them, in the end they feel valuable and they feel that their efforts have been recognized and accepted, that is the principle I use to win their hearts and make them work tirelessly. However, we can’t ignore the fact that, these people have children who need to eat and at the
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same time they want to send their own children to school. It is a fact of life, in the long run these teachers will leave their teaching posts due to the economic constraints imposed on them. As a result the lack of experienced teachers will affect school performance and in the end the school might close if the church who is the main supporting donor can’t find a mechanism to pay teachers monthly. We as staff are appealing to everyone who wants to support our teachers to make their dreams become a reality.
Read more about our education work on our website Regina (top) and Akello (bottom) are both benefitting from our Adult education Program but in different ways and for different reasons. Read their stories on our website and more about our efforts to bring good quality education to Wau diocese.
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Contacting Us:
www.wau.anglican.org
By E-mail Diocesan Bishop Rt Rev Moses Deng Bol : bishop@wau.anglican.org Diocesan Secretary Rev Peter Yuol Gur : dio.secretary@wau.anglican.org General Enquiries Rev Andrew Apiny : communications@wau.anglican.org Mother’s Union Rev Loice Nafisa : mothersunion@wau.anglican.org A full list of diocesan staff with contacts can be viewed on our website. By Post: Hai Mozephin, Opposite Wau Teaching Hospital, C/o ECS Provincial Office, P O BOX 110, Juba, South Sudan By Telephone: Tel +211 926954187 or +211 955602769 +254 716641233
A Bit of Good News !
From Kenneth Hearn - UK Commissary to Wau Diocese
“The funding of a DT175 Motor Cycle for Wau Diocese has now been concluded and funds are available for transport and protective clothing for Bishop Moses. It is hoped that the actual purchase will be made in the very near future either in Juba or Nairobi as this gives the lowest overall cost considering all circumstances.” Kenneth Hearn operates from the UK representing Wau diocese, working closely with Bishop Moses and his diocesan staff.
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Please Pray With Us Pray for the suffering people of Abyei, they ask the World to help them in prayer. They ask themselves, women and children, innocent people question themselves inspired from the Gospel of Mark: Chapter 16 verses 3 and 4: “ON THE WAY THEY SAID TO ONE ANOTHER WHO WILL ROLL AWAY THE STONE FOR FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE TOMB (IT WAS A VERY LARGE STONE )”. The people of Abyei ask the Lord who will help us to take away the Sudanese occupying their own land ?
Pray for innocent people still stuck in shelters under trees outside in the rain and unable to go home. Pray for the Army refusing to go in to Abyei. Promises have been made to the International Community but they are not going in to the town of Abyei Pray for those affected by an outbreak of Malaria in the refugees from Abyei. Malaria has killed people in both Warrap and Western Bhar El Ghazal State. Pray for the peace talks in Addis Abba between Sudan and South Sudan because of security issues along their border. Pray that they will settle this peacefully. Pray for the Border Arab troops who are still bombing South Sudan, recently 10 people were killed in Aweil and two thousand people have been displaced from their home land. Pray for peace and reconciliation in Jongelei state, people are disarming in accordance to the recently signed agreement, but some criminals are hiding weapons rustling cows and raping women in the villages. Pray for this to stop.
Church prayers needs Pray for our Bishop of the Diocese of Wau, he has a lot of work in Diocese, pray that God will help him. Pray for our two cathedrals one in Wau and one in Kuacjok, our partners help us but money is still needed to repair the walls. Pray for the priests and Pastors of Wau diocese struggling to bring God’s word to the people of Warrap and Western Bhar El Ghazal states. Pray for our brother Santino Manut who is suffering with head pain which he has had for three years. Pray for Regina Lueth who has had painful Kidneys for one years now. Pray for the Daughter of Mama Yar Majak her daughter was admitted to Wau Hospital suffering a serious bout of Malaria. Rev Paul Lueth was married recently please pray for his new family and that God will care for him and his wife.