Every diocese in the Church of England is linked to another diocese in the Anglican Communion and we, the diocese of Salisbury, are linked to all 24 Dioceses of the Church in Sudan.
Sudan is the biggest country in Africa and was in British administration until 1956 and since then - 52 years - there have been less than 10 years of peace and democracy. Most of the fighting has been between the Islamic north of Sudan and the Animist/Christian South. Millions of people have died and millions more made homeless and herded into United Nations displaced persons camps. The discovery of oil and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism sustained the war but after many years of on/off negotiations a peace agreement was signed in 2005 which gives rights of secession to the South following a referendum which is to be held in 2011. It's a fragile peace that is threatened by the continued conflict in Darfur. Throughout all this, the Episcopal Church of Sudan founded by the Church Missionary Society in 1899 has been growing and flourishing amid poverty disease and deprivation. It has been a great witness to their faith.
I have been directly involved with the Salisbury-Sudan Link for about 12 years and Vice - Chairman for about three. We will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Link this year with the 750th anniversary of our Cathedral when all the Sudan bishops 27 of them come over to our diocese for two weeks on 1st July before going on to Canterbury for the 10 yearly Lambeth Conference which ends on 4th August and to which all of the bishops of the Anglican Churches around the world have been invited. Here in Purbeck we will be hosting the new Archbishop for a few days - Daniel Deng, recently elected Primate of the ECS.
But what do we do? We have to have priorities otherwise we would overwhelmed with the oceans of needs. So our main task is to develop education - in schools and theologically. Sudan has the lowest level of education especially in the South, in the world. If you deprive a people of education you keep them in poverty - a cynical but effective policy. Then we have a medical link that establishes clinics and supplies basic drugs and we are looking to help with midwifery training as Sudan has very high levels of infant mortality. In addition to this we help with projects working with the British Government and the Agencies such as Tearfund, Christian Aid and CMS and Cafod and in Africa, Across. We are working ecumenically too and have plans with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Juba to look at joint training and education and he is very enthusiastic about it.
Sudan is changing fast - when I was in Juba in February the very first stretch of tarmac in the South of Sudan was being laid. But there is still only occasional water and electricity. In the North, in Khartoum they are building five star hotels and assembling motor cars, yet hundreds of thousands of people are living in rank poverty - average life expectancy is no better now than it was 50 years ago. A more recently emerging threat is that with the peace there is a rise tribalism and we have seen recently in Kenya the dangers of that. There is much to do because we are 'our brother's keeper'. But this summer we will all have a chance to learn more and see what more we can do because we are making a difference.
Bishop David, our Bishop of Salisbury says that the best thing about our diocese is the Sudan Link, and in a sense he is right - not that I would ever consider disagreeing with him! The point is that by having a demanding link and partnership such as we have with Sudan we are taken out of our comfort zones, from our places of safety and challenged in the way we think and live out our faith and in the way of all truly loving relationships and partnerships the one revitalises the other and vice-versa.
As a Church we are so much richer because of Sudan and its fun too - much of the time!
With love and prayers
Ian