WCC NEWS: WCC executive committee urges “support and accompaniment to the churches and people of Sudan”

In a statement, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee affirmed its support for the churches of Sudan in their witness and ministry. The statement welcomed an ecumenical solidarity visit to Sudan on 20-25 April undertaken jointly by the WCC, All Africa Conference of Churches, and Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa. A woman escorts her goats as she walks to fetch water in Lugi, a village in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, in 2018. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth Pictures 02 June 2022 Though this visit was planned already in early 2020 in light of the political upheavals and transitions of 2019, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” reads the statement. "In the meantime, in October 2021, a military coup displaced again the civilian governmental leadership, in a development which this executive committee described as a betrayal of the revolution of 2019 and of the country's own Constitutional Document and other foundational documents of the transition.” The purpose of the ecumenical solidarity visit was to accompany the churches and people of Sudan in the midst of significant changes and challenges in the country. In the statement, the executive committee “affirms this initiative, expresses its support for the churches of Sudan in their witness and ministry, and encourages national ecumenical cooperation in addressing the needs of Sudan’s people at this pivotal point in the history of their nation.” The statement also encourages the All Africa Conference of Churches, Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa, “and indeed all ecumenical partners and specialized ministries with the means to do so to offer their support and accompaniment to the churches and people of Sudan and to the Sudan Council of Churches during this period of re-building and re-engagement.” Statement on Ecumenical Solidarity Visit to Sudan See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland