GadgetVicar

The Mixed Week

An interesting week ahead, with three days in a monastery, a national prayer conference on Thursday organised by Evangelical Alliance, the electoral synod on Saturday morning and the institution of the new rector of Bearsden and Milngavie on Saturday afternoon. Yes, I know, I'm a mystery wrapped up in a conundrum, or somesuch.

Prayers For the Episcopal Church In Sudan

Tuesday, 1st September 2009 Juba, Sudan

APPEAL regarding the recent atrocities in Jonglei and Western Equatoria States

On Saturday 29th August 2009 I received reports from Wernyol, Twic East County, Jonglei State, that there had been another attack on the peoples of the area in which over forty people – men, women and children – were killed. Amongst the dead were Ven. Joseph Mabior Garang, Archdeacon of Wernyol and Archbishop’s Commissary in the new Diocese of Twic East, who was shot at the altar of the church in Wernyol during a service of Morning Prayer. Tens of others have been wounded, some very seriously with gun-shot wounds and broken limbs. Only a few of these have been taken to Juba Military Hospital, whilst the rest are still in Bor Hospital.

I have leant from Episcopal Church sources on the ground that the attackers were well armed with new automatic weapons, dressed in army uniforms, and appeared well-organized and properly trained. Instead of attacking a cattle camp, this was an attack on a Payam headquarter town. Consequently in the view of the Church, this was not a tribal conflict as commonly reported, but a deliberately organized attack on civilians by those that are against the peace in Southern Sudan. These reports confirm the suspicions that I aired in my May 2009 appeal to the diplomatic and international community in Sudan.

Last week I received the news from Ezo, Ezo County, Western Equatoria State, that there had been another devastating attack by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on Ezo town on 12th/13th August in which three people, including an Episcopal Church lay reader had been murdered.
The attack included the abduction of children from the Episcopal church building in Ezo, and several thousand more people have been displaced into Ezo town – people that the local churches are struggling to care for. Ezo Hospital was also attacked, medicine stolen and equipment destroyed.

I hear from Bishop John Zawo of the Episcopal Diocese of Ezo that the attack could have been avoided if better military security had been given to the town.

I am therefore appealing to the government and the international community at large to act swiftly in order to prevent such atrocities from occurring in future. Continuing violence such as this is not only a crime against the innocent people killed and injured, it is a crime against the peace of the Sudan and if left unchecked will do great damage to the smooth implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)

This is especially the case given the strained political situation whereby the two parties to the CPA – the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) – are still not coming to an agreement regarding the laws governing the elections and referendum. The time frame given for the elections and referendum is already too short for the democratic processes to be effectively organized, and by the provisional dates chosen for voting in the elections, much of the South will already be suffering from logistics problems caused by the onset of the wet season.

This is an indication to the citizens of the Sudan that the people on the ground are not being regarded or included in the politics of peace and that we are vulnerable to future violations of the CPA and an uncertain future for peace in the Sudan.

I refer the government and international community to my May 2009 appeal to the diplomatic community in Sudan, and now strongly reiterate my plea to urge your countries’ governments to do more to guarantee the implementation of the CPA at all levels. As shown from the Twic East example, there is now accurate evidence to suggest that such violence is deliberately perpetrated as I implied in the May appeal. So long as all violence such as that in Jonglei and that perpetrated by the LRA continues – violence which is preventable by better use of security personnel – there is no hope of conducting free and fair elections in these areas in 2010 and no hope of a fair referendum on Southern secession in 2011.

In the mean time I am appealing for humanitarian assistance to those 24,000 displaced and wounded people in Twic East County and those 15,000 displaced and wounded people Ezo County. I would like to especially appeal for help for the widow and children of Ven. Joseph Mabior Garang, who now require food and education.

Unless the guarantor governments of the CPA act now the peace is in grave danger. As the Church, we look for the upholding of the rights of every Sudanese to a peaceful future.

His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Daniel Deng Bul Yak

Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan

Funds for the 39,000 displaced persons and the bereaved family of Archdeacon Garang may be sent to Anglican Mainstream (for AID – Sudan) 21 High Street, Eynsham, OX29 4HE UK or donated through the paypal link on the Anglican Mainstream website. All funds will be sent directly through with no deductions.

Further information and pictures will appear on www.sudan.anglican.org

Merciful

Ten years ago, in South Africa, I met people who had learned to forgive those who had wronged them. I was somewhat stunned by their ability to offer mercy; the couple whose children had been gunned down for the meagre contents of their schoolbags and the family whose father had been tortured and crippled by the police. They came to mind in the last week as I considered Kenny MacAskill's decision to release Abdelbaset Ali Mohammed al-Megrahi.

Whether he is guilty or not, whether he has expressed remorse or not, he can still be shown compassion as he prepares for death. Such mercy is on offer to us all: "he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:10). I don't think MacAskill was suggesting that the terminal cancer Megrahi is suffering is God's judgement. Rather that he will soon meet his maker, and the final judgement on him will be made. That is an inescapable judgement which will be more difficult to receive than any human justice. Maybe Megrahi, in his last days will be able to accept the peace of God, given to him through the blood of Jesus Christ?

I was very moved by the Justice Minister's statement. I'm only disappointed that Megahi's appeal will not now be heard. We might have learned more of the events that led up to that terrible night over Lockerbie.

Nigeria - Christians lament a lack of international concern over Boko Haram bloodshed

From Christian Solidarity Worldwide:

Christians in the northern Nigerian city of Maiduguri are expressing increasing dismay at what they perceive as a lack of international concern for the suffering of their communities.  As funerals continue, local estimates of the death toll rise to over 1000.

During last week’s violence, Islamist Boko Haram militants attacked both government and Christian targets, killing individuals and taking many civilians captive for possible use as human shields against government forces besieging their compound in Maiduguri’s Railway District. Once in the camp, male captives were given a choice between conversion to Islam or death, while women and girls were kept on as hostages. Survivors of the siege informed CSW sources that the Boko Haram leader, Yusuf Mohammed, personally oversaw the forcible Islamisation of hostages, and the execution of anyone who refused to convert.

Yesterday, Maiduguri’s Good News Church held a memorial service for one of these hostages. Pastor George Orji was beheaded in the Boko Haram compound, and his body left in a mass grave there.  He leaves behind a heavily pregnant wife, and two children aged two and four.

On 4 August around 3000 people took part in the funeral service for Rev Sabo Yakubu, the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) church pastor whose heart was removed from his body by Boko Haram militants. Three other Christians whose charred remains were found in the ruins of Jajere National Evangelical Mission were also buried on that day. One of the bodies is thought to be that of Pastor Elijah Samuel, who was hacked to death by militants.

Over 800 people are now officially estimated to have died in last week’s violence. This number is likely to rise as many missing civilians are now presumed dead and possibly buried in mass graves dug by the authorities in a bid to avert the spread of disease. Earlier CSW was informed that a University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) worker had estimated that around 1000 corpses were deposited in the hospital mortuary on Monday 27 July alone. The number of people displaced during the violence also remains unclear, but is thought to be in the thousands.

CSW sources also report that a total of 20 churches were destroyed during the violence.  In February 2006 Maiduguri was the scene of the infamous "Cartoon Riots" during which 57 churches were destroyed and over 60 Christians were killed. Surviving victims of that violence have still not received compensation.

Archbishop of Jos, Benjamin Kwashi said: "It is unfortunate that the mayhem unleashed on the Church is systematically downplayed in the media. The first victim was the ecclesia, which was subjugated and sacrificed prior to any attack on the establishment, yet no report is pointing to Christians as the number one target before all others. We will continue to speak out."

There are growing concerns that the furore surrounding the death of the Boko Haram leader may be obscuring the suffering inflicted by the sect on northern civilians, and may eventually raise him to iconic status. Yusuf Mohamed was reportedly killed in questionable circumstances on July 30 while in police custody. Local sources report that pictures purportedly of his bullet-riddled corpse show one of his arms was practically amputated by gunshots.

Tina Lambert, CSW’s Advocacy Director said: “We are disturbed by indications that the Boko Haram leader may have been killed extra-judicially. A full investigation into this claim is needed but it is vital that this does not  inadvertently obscure or detract from the appalling nature of the crimes committed by this sect against innocent civilians.  There is an urgent need to assist and compensate the deeply traumatised victims, and for action to ensure a definitive end to the cycle of deadly religious violence in Northern and central Nigeria”.

For some important background information, see this Reuters analysis.

Harry Patch (In Memory Of)

I've just listened to Radiohead's "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)" on Radio 4's Today programme. Written in memory of Harry Patch, the last First World War survivor, whose funeral is today. It's a moving and  very beautiful piece. All proceeds go to the Royal British Legion.

The Pandemic & the Eucharist - A Public Information Film

Ruby Murray

Chicken Tikka Masala is not a product of the mystical east. It's more of a fusion of the east and west (end). Apparently it was invented in the street where St Silas' building is situated - Park Road, Glasgow.

Walking on (and Over) the Moon

Ahh, the around forty-somethings are reminiscing today about the moon landing in 1969.

For our generation, this was a huge thing. I can't remember another occasion during my childhood on which we were allowed out of bed in the middle of the night to watch TV. I remember it vividly because my dad impressed upon us that this was something that would change the world. And in many ways, I suppose it did: all the technological advances it took to put a man on the moon, have helped shape our society in so many ways (the onboard guidance computer that got him there had 74 kilobytes of memory that had been hard-wired, and all of 4 Kb of something that was sort of like RAM - the computer I'm using has a wee bit more than that). I'm only disappointed that in forty years human beings haven't travelled any further in space. We had hopes and dreams that by now we'd all be taking cruises around the solar system. Technology has changed so much, but it seems there might be a limit to our human ingenuity and resources that might make it very difficult for us to ever venture very far beyond our own own planet. That makes me a little sad, but it also reminds me of the limitations we face, and maybe that's a God thing?

GV Boy is over the moon, as he got a job today working in the government's swine flu call-centre. It's obviously a temporary post, and it all seems to be something of a rushed job, both for the government and for him. The job was advertised on Friday, we saw it on a website on Saturday and sent in his CV, he got a call at 1pm today to go to the recruitment agency and he begins work on Thursday. It's the first job he's applied for, and he got it. Result! I think he'll do it well. I am now calling him our "Swine Flu Guru".

Iran

It's an amazing thing: texting, twittering and blogging have all played an enormous part in what has been happening in Iran. It's clear why the powers-that-be are so nervous about modern technology. It is just too difficult for the state to control everything. That must be good news.

Should He Stay or Should He Go?

My friend, Tom Harris has been in the headlines tonight. So, is he right? Should Gordon Brown stand down?