A Bit More on Sudan and Bishop Daniel
Thank you all who visited yesterday's post on Sudan. I thought I would add a few notes introducing Bishop Daniel Deng Bul to those who want to know more about his life. Hat Tip to my colleague Rich Jones for providing us with detailed information. You can learn more about the Episcopal Church of Sudan by clicking here. The photos below are by Alix Dorr, Virginia Theological Seminary.
Bishop Deng was born in southern Sudan among the Jieng people (the Dinka) and was baptized a Christian at age 13. War in Sudan cut short his education at Bishop Gwynne Theological College in Mundri and drove him into exile, along with four million other southern Sudanese. He became an evangelist and church planter in Port Sudan on the Red Sea and then in Khartoum on the Nile.
In 1988, he was elected bishop of Renk, his current position. As bishop, he has made founding schools a priority---schools ranging from kindergarten to Bible College. He has established a clinic, started a farm, and constructed a permanent cathedral in Renk, dedicated in February 2006 by his grace, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury.
Most currently, Bishop Deng has been named chairperson of the Sudan church's Commission on Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation. He is working tirelessly to bring peace with justice to his country, and to aid millions of refugees in returning to their homes in the south.
posted by S and C at 6:12 AM
1 Comments:
I received the following very perceptive notes via email from Jan S., who has very kindly given me permission to post them here for the sake of furtherine discussion:
I was fascinated by what Bp. Daniel had to say. I was especially struck by his perspective, especially the lens, ground by experience no doubt, through which he interprets the actions of those in the Arab part of the central government. This idea that they are giving the southern government enough rope to handily hang itself is intriguing, because it says so much about the caution with which those from outside must enter the situation so as not to inadvertently contribute to the tightening of the noose. For instance, for Bp. Daniel, the need for conflict resolution among constituencies in the south is not for “peace itself” but to short circuit the Khartoum plan to allow the south to self destruct through infighting I pray for those who would enter this political situation that they not be naïve. I really think US citizens have no appreciation of the depths to which governments can sink when they try to impose their agenda on disparate members of their citizenry. We think we’ve got it bad with the current administration. This is CHILD’S PLAY compared to what real despots are capable of. So, although I am not a fan of the current US administration, at least it is not killing its own citizenry. (unless the slow death caused by having to swallow so much B*S that comes from the administration counts).
Janice T. Sienkiewicz
Coordinator for Admissions and Community Life
Virginia Theological Seminary
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