World Council of Churches Secretary-General Visits South Sudan
The Secretary-General of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr. Olav Fyske Tveit arrived in South Sudan after visiting Khartoum to see for himself the role of the church in the new nation towards peace building. 27 April 2013 The World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr. Olav Fyske Tveit arrived in South Sudan. [Gurtong | File] By Juma John Stephen JUBA, 26 April 2013 (Gurtong) – “Am honoured to be here and am invited by the Church here to visit our member churches and visit this new nation of South Sudan. It is great honor for me as the World Council of Churches Secretary General to be here to representing the fellowship of the 150 member churches around the World,” Rev. Dr. Fyske said. “You have been through very important changes, you are establishing a new nation and the role of the churches in society and particularly in building up trust and the vision for the future is very important and am here to see what the churches are doing in this and to see how the nation is build for the future of justice and peace,” he said. The Secretary-General of the Sudan Council of Churches, Bishop Michael Taban expressed the Council’s happiness to welcome the World Secretary General. “We want to express our deep welcome and our appreciation for the coming of the Secretary General of the World Council of Churches, his visit is a symbol of peace for the church here,” Bishop Taban said. “The World council of churches has a remarkable history of accompanying the people of South Sudan right in the 1960’s, 1970’s and even during the liberation struggle and now in peace we are happy for the visit and the churches here will be encouraged,” he added. The unity of the church is to provide fellowship of love and respect among the churches so that the church can save everybody together. The Secretary General for South Sudan Islamic Council, Gen. El Tahir Bior A. Ajak said they will continue to stand together. “We want to show him that we are one here [South Sudan], Muslims and Christians and we are not pretending to let everybody see that Muslims and Christians today came to welcome him but this is the reality. We have being staying together since we were born and this is the style of our life,” said El Tahir Bior. President Salva Kiir issued an order for the formation of a new national reconciliation committee this month. The Transitional Constitution of South Sudan allows all believers to practice their own faith. The Presidential Advisor on Religious Affairs, Fr. Mark Lotede. “There is freedom of religion in South Sudan, so everybody is free to worship, Muslims, Christians all are welcome to practice their religion,” said Fr. Lotede. The Sudan Council of Churches existence is to engage churches and people of good will in advocacy for peace, justice, equality, and human rights in the Sudan, and to enable member churches to acquire relevant skills and resources for ministering in word and service to the South Sudanese people. Posted in: Home, Governance -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
