Catholic Information Service Africa (Nairobi, Kenya)
14 February 2003
Nairobi — Churches from Sudan will this month meet in South Africa, under the umbrella body Sudan Ecumenical Forum (SEF). Each year the SEF holds an international Assembly, and in 2003 (February 22-27) it will be held in South Africa, for the first time outside Europe. A statement sent to CISA from the South African-based Sudan Focal Point (SFP), dated February 12, 2003, said the theme of this year's Assembly is ‘The Role of the Church in the Peace- Building Process in Sudan.’ The SFP is an ecumenical peace and advocacy ministry of Sudanese and international churches.
"The SEF," the statement said, "brings together the Sudanese churches with their international partners under the auspices of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to discuss peace and advocacy in Sudan."
Delegates will deliberate on "post-conflict reconciliation, and relations between Christianity and Islam, in the light of the South African experience," the statement said.
"Participants," SFP said, "will include the leaders of the Anglican and Catholic churches and the councils of churches in Sudan, as well as many other Sudanese church delegates, and representatives from the WCC and churches all over the world. The South African church will be well represented."Other sources told CISA that the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Regional Conference (SCBRC) will send at least three representatives, among them one from the Justice and Peace Commission.
Other details on the program include a public ecumenical service in St Alban's Anglican Cathedral, Pretoria, on Sunday February 23, 2003 at 6 pm. On Thursday the 27th, the Assembly will conclude with a press conference and public briefing at the Methodist Central Church in Johannesburg at 10 am. It will issue its resolutions, and make a communiqué.
"The church," SFP said, "has been the only consistent voice of Sudanese civil society at both the local and international level during the long-running conflict in Sudan. As the peace negotiations mediated by neighbouring countries in the Horn of Africa reach a critical stage, it is more important than ever that Africa should lend its support to the suffering Sudanese people."
For details, please contact Sudan Focal Point Africa, 027-82-853-3556. (CISA)
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