The Rt. Rev. Eluzai Munda, Bishop of Mundri, presented the outreach priorities of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) to 130 North Americans and resettled Sudanese at a recent gathering at St. Paul’s Church, Alexandria, Va. In response, Prof. Richard J. Jones of Virginia Theological Seminary has announced the formation of American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan with the intention of enhancing communication and minimizing duplication between dioceses, parishes and churchwide agencies working as partners with dioceses and other Anglican institutions in Sudan.

Participants in the Feb. 18-20 symposium heard presentations by the Ven. Michael Paget-Wilkes, Archdeacon of Warwick and chairman of the Sudan Church Association in the United Kingdom; Alfred Taban, editor of the Khartoum Monitor and correspondent for BBC Africa Service; Roger Winter, former assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development; and the Rt. Rev. A. Heath Light, retired Bishop of Southwestern Virginia.

“In the midst of decades-long conflict, the Episcopal Church of the Sudan has been one of the fastest growing in the Anglican Communion,” according to the Rev. Canon Patrick Augustine, rector of St. John’s, La Crosse, Wis., and canon commissary of the Archbishop of Sudan to the Church in the U.S. The peace treaty that was signed last January has brought increased hope that healing can begin after decades of civil war, but the ECS is desperately short of funds to undertake primary health and education projects. In addition to enhancing communication, the American Friends of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan network also hopes to solicit new support for ECS programs as well as advise North American donors on the most effective ways of delivering support. For more information contact Nancy Frank, executive director, at nancyfrank@aol.com or 1-585-586-0037.