Communion responds to South Sudan’s cry for help
ANGLICAN Churches are rallying to support people in South Sudan in the wake of renewed violence, with help from the Anglican Alliance (News, 15 July). The Episcopal Church in the United States has agreed to provide support for the 200 families seeking shelter in the All Saints’ Cathedral compound, in Juba. The Episcopal Church of South Sudan & Sudan has also requested help in feeding 14,400 internally displaced people. The Anglican Board of Mission in Australia has expressed its support. About 37,000 people have fled to Uganda in the past three weeks. The diocese of Northern Uganda has been providing water, biscuits, medical kits, and first aid. The UN is investigating reports of sexual violence, including rape by soldiers in uniform, outside UN House in Juba, where thousands have taken shelter.
Agencies prepare for ‘devastating’ impact of Mosul action
THE plight of Christians in Iraq was discussed at an ecumenical meeting in northern Iraq this month, after a warning from the UN that retaking Mosul from Islamic State will have a “devastating” impact on civilians. The meeting was attended by Dr Sarah Ahmed, director of operations in the Middle East at the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, which is providing aid in the area, and running projects, including an autism centre in Kirkuk. Last month, a report by Minorities International stated that all Christian institutions in Mosul have been destroyed, occupied, or converted into mosques.
Legal battle over breakaway US diocese comes to an end
THE diocese of San Joaquin, which left the Episcopal Church in the United States in 2007 after disputes over same-sex relationships and the ordination of women, has lost its attempt to hold on to 28 properties that are worth about $50 million. The California Supreme Court has declined to review a lower court’s decision to order the properties returned to the Episcopal Church, thereby ending the long-running legal saga (News, 23 May 2014). The Bishop of San Joaquin in the Anglican Church of North America (with whom the seceding diocese reaffiliated), the Rt Revd Eric Menees, said in a statement that plans to hand over the properties in a “gracious and orderly” manner would begin immediately.
South Africa prepares for a decade of discipleship
A DECADE of intentional discipleship will be launched by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa this year. It follows a call from the Anglican Consultative Council for a “clear focus” (News, 8 April). The launch will take place at “Anglicans Ablaze”, a biennial conference. Speakers will include Thuli Madonsela, South Africa’s Public Protector, who was recently named by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential women in the world.