Anglican Communion Network

Invitation from the ACN to Participate in the Sudan Mercy Mission

Holy Week 2005
March 23, 2005

The Dean of the Mid-America Convocation of the Anglican Communion Network, the Rev. Ron McCrary, invites all ACN members to participate in a special Maundy Thursday and/or Good Friday offering to facilitate the Sudan Mercy mission, to benefit refugees from Darfur.

This Holy Week, an emergency shipment of 54 pallets of clothing and 25,000 lbs of fortified powdered milk is being flown to Chad, and is scheduled to arrive in Chad on Good Friday.

The people behind this extraordinary initiative are Sudanese refugees themselves, many of whose families suffered injury and even death at the hands of the very Muslims who now find themselves being persecuted. They have been supported by an incredibly faithful priest who, because of insufficient funds at this time, chose to finance the transportation himself, in hopes that support would be forthcoming.

The Sudanese refugees, now numbering 1.2 million, have escaped the ongoing genocide in Sudan, but are largely being forgotten by the world. 70,000 of these refugees were victims of genocide in the past year alone.

What a striking demonstration of the character of Christ, as Sudanese Christians are coming to the rescue of their former persecutors, the Muslims of Darfur! We are aware of no other instance in church history in which a group of oppressed people responded in this way.

A large majority of the 38 congregations of Sudanese immigrants in the US are orthodox Anglicans, and they need our help for this mission to be a success. For more information go to sudanmercy.org. There is a great three-minute video, and also a secure link through which donors can contribute online. Alternatively, checks may be designated for Sudan Mercy Mission and forwarded to the Anglican Communion Network, 910 Oliver Building, 535 Smithfield St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

We in the ACN Mid-Continental Convocation believe this Sudanese Mercy mission to be an incredible witness to the love of Christ and his teachings on mercy and forgiveness. We pray that your generosity will echo our sentiments.