The Episcopal Church of Sudan
“We are created to be God’s team”
Archbishop Deng inaugurates the four new archdeaconries of the ECS Diocese of Juba
20th September – 18th October 2009
By Nicholas Ramsden
On the four Sundays 20th September, 27th September, 4th October and 18th October, the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul, Archbishop of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan and Bishop of the Diocese of Juba toured his diocese in order to inaugurate four new archdeaconries.
The Juba Diocesan Synod that met in early December 2008 approved the splitting of the Juba Town Archdeaconry into three new archdeaconries – the main sub-diocesan administrative unit in the Anglican Church – Gabat, Munuki and Kator. Alongside these geographical units would be a forth “floating” archdeaconry comprising Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) chaplaincies. Over the past month His Grace the Archbishop has visited each new archidiaconal headquarter parish to present the certificate of each new archdeaconry to the new archdeacon in person.
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On Sunday 20th September His Grace inaugurated Gabat Archdeaconry, based in ECS Buluk Parish near the Police Headquarters in Hai Gabat. His Grace was warmly welcomed by the parishioners of Buluk and a host of clergy from the new archdeaconry, before beginning the inaugural service in the church – still a local material building which stands beside the foundations of the planned new permanent church.
The service was a combined Bari and Moru congregation service of Morning Prayer from the Bari Prayer Book. His Grace gave the sermon following the 
office, outlining his strategy for developing the Diocese of Juba into three archdeaconries, and giving advice to the people on the point of Church structure being for the unity and salvation of the people:
“There will be three archdeaconries created in Juba plus an archdeacon for the chaplains of the Army, Police and Prisons services.”
“Isaiah 57:14 talks of clearing the way, preparing the road and removing the obstacles. In the same way, Juba Diocese must build up the country and work as a team to remove obstacles that the Devil throws in our path.”
“Christ sent out his Apostles in twos to make disciples of all nations. Similarly all Christians must work together to counter the mistakes, obstacles and sins of the country and the world – kill tribalism by working together as Christians”
“God knows all secrets so do not let your personal prestige get the better of your love for God. Work together for the good of your new archdeaconry, for the Church and for the country.”
“In this way the new archdeaconry must be a means of spreading the uniting love of God – not the divisions of tribalism and corruption that gives the Church a bad reputation.”
“Let us prove the Northern rumours that Southerners are backward, tribalist fighters wrong by fully accepting Christ and being fully united in Him. Otherwise we will be slaves forever because of our in-fighting.”
“Take on the responsibility of a new archdeaconry fully – care for your people, visit all, preach the Word and work hard to change Juba for the better.”
There then followed the inaugural liturgy of the archdeaconry, during which all members of the new Archidiaconal Council were required to swear to uphold the principles that His Grace had outlined in his sermon. Once this had been done, the certificate of Gabat Archdeaconry was presented by His Grace to the Archdeacon, Ven. Eliakimo Kenyi Nyombe, to much rejoicing from the assembled.
Following the service the inaugural Archdeaconry Meeting was held, chaired by His Grace. The Archbishop outlined the key work of spiritual and economic development that the new archdeaconry must embark upon in its witness to Christ as a new part of the structure of the Church of God. He specifically emphasised the need to care for young families and teenagers, to support the clergy through strict financial regulations, transparency and timely payment of salaries, to plan well for development projects both income generating and poverty reducing, and to use intellectual and well-placed members of the congregation to further the work of God.
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On Sunday 27th September His Grace inaugurated Munuki Archdeaconry, based at ECS Munuki Parish on the south side of the Gudele Road in Munuki. Leaving from his residence at 10.15am with a large delegation including visiting ex-Bishop Gwynne College lecturer Rev. Andrew Wheeler and current New Bishop Gwynne College Interim Administrator Canon Trevor Stubbs, the Archbishop was again warmly welcomed by the Munuki congregation, the service starting at around 11am.
The format of the service was the same as at Gabat, being a Bari Prayer Book service of Morning Prayer, giving the Archbishop the chance to preach to the people following the office and having the liturgy of inauguration following the sermon.
His Grace again preached on the unity required in the Church as part of God’s people. “We are created to be God’s team” he told the congregation, warning them of the evils that tribalism could wreak and telling the people that despite 
their independence as an archdeaconry, they had to work interdependently with the rest of the diocese, the Episcopal Church of Sudan as a whole, and with the entire worldwide Church.
The certificate of the archdeaconry was presented to the Archdeacon Ven. James Maker. Towards the end of the service His Grace was presented with a sheep as a present from the congregation on the occasion of the archdeaconry’s inauguration. Following the service there was a similar short administrative meeting to that in Gabat, the archdeaconry administration presenting a printed report to His Grace that outlined the achievements, membership and requests of the new archdeaconry.
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On Sunday 4th October His Grace inaugurated Kator Archdeaconry, based at ECS Kator Parish in Atla-Bara C, south Juba. This time he was accompanied again by Canon and Mrs. Stubbs, as well as by Norwegian Consul to Juba, Stein Erik Horjen, and his Sicilian wife Danielle Rapisarda, who is due to begin teaching at New Bishop Gwynne College in January 2010. Stein Erik used to work for Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) in Southern Sudan before he joined his country’s diplomatic mission to Juba, and as the husband of a masters degree holder in theology has a very good understanding of what the Church can do for Sudan.
The service was held under awnings erected outside the small local-material Kator Parish Church, and again the format of the service was familiar – a Bari Prayer Book service of Morning Prayer followed by the archidiaconal inauguration liturgy.
His Grace preached, welcoming the Norwegian Consul and thanking Norway for their role in brokering the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended Sudan’s civil war in 2005. He continued to emphasise the teamwork of the Church, talking of the new archdeaconry adding a member to the ECS family and quoting Ecclesiastes on teamwork:
“Southern Sudan is infected by the disease of tribalism in its heart, and is not progressing because of this disease. Only uniting behind God can cure us of this disease, stop the fighting and lead to progress.”
“The Church of Christ is not divided on tribal lines. All of us are Christians. If we can kill tribalism in the Church in Juba, we can change all of Southern Sudan.”
“Just as St. Paul talks of running towards a goal, so must we. The Church must take collective responsibility for its people: our calling is to serve others, not ourselves. Tribalists only serve themselves and the present – we must be different, looking to serving others and looking to a united future.”
“Don’t just complain – do something about the problems – take responsibility!”
Following the inaugural liturgy, His Grace presented the certificate of the Archdeaconry to the Archdeacon Ven. Jonathan Dici.
On Sunday 18th October His Grace inaugurated the Army Chaplaincy Archdeaconry at the Chaplaincy Parish Church, Custom, Juba. Unlike the other services, this final event was scheduled earlier, beginning at around 8.30am. The service was also in Dinka, unlike the other inaugurations, as the chaplaincy caters mainly for Dinka servicemen and their families.
The service was one of Morning Prayer from the Dinka Prayer book, interspersed with performances from the Sunday School children and the renowned “Youth Mama” – the mainly female performers who, starting in exile in Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya during the war, act out moral stories in traditional Dinka song. The performances were as usual excellent – the Youth Mama performing a story of some women milking cows who are set upon by evil spirits and use the power of their faith in Christ to defeat them.
The guest preacher was the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Garang, Bishop of Bor and Dean of the Province of the ECS. He accompanied the Archbishop’s delegation to the service, and preached on the reading from 2 Corinthians about the “cost of discipleship”. Bishop Nathaniel emphasised the need to put Christ first in our lives, to bare our cross though the many struggles and strife that affect our lives, and to be prepared to stand up for our faith. Using military terminology for the benefit of the servicemen, he likened good Christians to a good army – always being united and alert for enemies, ready to sacrifice themselves, and planning well for the future. He said that Sudanese Christians had to be real Christians, praying for peace and considering Christ always, especially outside the church in our daily lives, and concluded with an appeal for all to be part of a global Christianity, as Christ is everywhere.
Following the inaugural liturgy – the only part in English – the Archbishop presented the certificate of the archdeaconry to the Archdeacon for the Chaplains, Ven. John Majak Thon. There followed the familiar presentation of a report for His Grace in a short meeting following the service, highlighting useful figures on the membership of the archdeaconry and requesting assistance with certain projects.
After being treated to a final meal, including the traditional Dinka food Awal-wala, the delegation departed at around 3.30pm.
This concludes the Archbishop’s current tour of Juba Diocese. His Grace will remain in Juba this week before the elections of new ECS bishops in All Saints Cathedral on Saturday 24th October 2009.
Points of action following the inaugurations of the archdeaconries:
the way forward for a better Diocese of Juba
From His Grace the Archbishop and Bishop of Juba
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Due to the cosmopolitan nature of Juba and the growth of Juba as a mixing pot of all the cultures and traditions of Sudan and abroad, Juba needs strong evangelism from the ECS.
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Since Juba is host to all the tribes of Southern Sudan and beyond, the Diocese of Juba must work hard towards the unity of Christians from different tribes and the stamping out of tribalism amongst Christians. If the unity of Christians in Juba can be achieved, the unity of the people of the South can be achieved.
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The Diocese of Juba must work towards training its clergy and having more intellectual priests. This will lead to better ministry, especially towards the intellectual laity and institutions of higher learning such as Juba University. The Church’s intellectual members must be well ministered to, welcomed to participate fully in the Church and included in Church processes so that Goad can use them to build up a strong ECS.
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The Diocese of Juba needs to conduct four peace conferences within the four archdeaconries before the approaching referendum in 2011.
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The staff of the Diocese of Juba must be open to change and to being transferred between posts. The archdeacons and all clergy must be transparent with their congregations in order to build trust and confidence in the Church and in each other, again working to reduce tribal mistrust and the potential for division. These practices and attitudes must be first demonstrated in Juba so that they can be spread to the rest of Southern Sudan.