Retired Bishop Frank Gray has accepted a call to serve as U.S. commissary to the Primate of The Episcopal Church of Sudan. The appointment was announced after a meeting of the Sudanese House of Bishops, which took place following the enthronement of Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul as Primate of the African province on April 20 at All Saints’ Cathedral in Juba.
 
Bishop Gray was Bishop of Northern Indiana from 1987 until his retirement in 1998. His new role as commissary was unanimously approved. Bishop Gray has a longstanding relationship with The Episcopal Church of the Sudan, having been instrumental in coordinating mission initiatives in Sudan while serving as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Virginia from 1999 to 2006. One such endeavor included the construction of a cathedral in the Diocese of Renk, where Archbishop Deng was previously bishop.
 
Sudan “is one of the most inspiring places in the world,” Bishop Gray said. “The Episcopal Church here is very poor, and yet it is the largest non-governmental organization in Sudan.
 
“In this role I will be able to tell the story of Sudan in a different way than I have before,” Bishop Gray said. “The Sudanese have told me that visiting them is more important even than sending money. They desperately want partnerships and people-to-people contact so that they can feel more a part of the Anglican Communion and the outside world.”
 
He said the church in Sudan is now at a crossroad, particularly concerning resettlement of refugees who had fled the country during a 20-year civil war that claimed more than 2 million lives and displaced 4 million people.
 
“In Archbishop Daniel, The Episcopal Church of the Sudan has a true prophet,” Bishop Gray said. “He has spoken with courage in a very forthright way about the failure of the government of Sudan to address the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.”
 
The 2005 peace agreement was negotiated between northern and southern government officials with the involvement of international leaders, including the Rev. John Danforth, an Episcopal priest and former U.S. Senator who was named by President George Bush as envoy to Sudan. Despite initial hopes for the success of the peace agreement, southern Sudanese leaders have been frustrated by the northern government's refusal to live into the major terms of the agreement, including sharing of oil revenues, drawing of fair borders, and the execution of a fair census to determine representation in the national-unity government set up by the peace agreement.
 
Episcopal news service contributed to this report.
 
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