Why your church needs to pay more attention to Sudan

5 May

Written by Emily Shepherd, Co-CEO of Welcome Churches

As we have watched the horrors in Sudan unfold on our news channels over the last few weeks, it can be easy to feel quickly overwhelmed, or even apathetic to the situation unfolding in Khartoum and the rest of the country. Sudan is no newcomer to violence. The prolonged war which led to the creation of South Sudan in 2011 means that we already have many Sudanese refugees in the UK. Many of us will already have a connection with the country, even if it is in a small way. We may remember a time when we have had a particular prayer focus on Sudan in our churches, or a missionary in Sudan that our church has supported in the past. So as we see the news of a new civil war escalating, it is easy to feel helpless very quickly: how can we, and should we, respond as the Church in the UK?

It is an enormous privilege to have Samuel Luak on our team at Welcome Churches. Samuel is Sudanese himself, and has been able to keep us informed of the events in Khartoum, some of which we have heard on the news, and some we haven’t. Samuel has been able to keep us informed; especially concerning the impact the conflict is having on Christians in Khartoum, many of whom have been targeted in recent weeks, with some churches burnt down. Now that I actually know someone whose friends and family are personally affected by the conflict, how I respond is changing. I now WANT to do something, I am reminded of my own privilege and safety in the UK and I am trying not to take it for granted.

Hearing stories of the repercussions of war on real lives over the last few weeks makes such a huge impact on how we pray. No longer are our prayers distant; when we ‘know someone who knows someone…’, it makes a tangible difference to how we engage with the prayer. This is just one of the many blessings that I believe refugees bring to our church communities. The persecuted are people who are now known to us. They connect us with world events in a deeply personal way, so we become connected with God’s global Church in a new way. This is what the Church should be about, and for many of us in the UK, it has been lost in recent decades.

You may have ‘Samuels’ in your community - people from Sudan who need you to stand alongside them in prayer for their family and friends at this very difficult time. You may not yet know the ‘Samuels’ in your community, but they may still be there - how can you connect with the Sudanese community in the UK and let them know you are there for them, as they hear (or don’t hear) distressing news from loved ones in Sudan?

Having refugees in our midst is one very special way that God is inviting us to join in with what he is doing - both in the UK and across the world. The question for us is, will we make time to join in?

You can hear from Samuel talking about how to pray for people in Sudan here:

The crisis in Sudan is a tragic reminder of the ongoing need to provide a welcome to all those displaced by conflict. By supporting Welcome Churches with a monthly donation, you can help ensure that UK churches have the resources they need to offer hospitality and welcome people seeking refuge from any part of the world. Let's stand together and make a commitment to changing the story for refugees arriving in the UK, no matter where they come from or what they have experienced. A monthly gift of £11 could help to welcome six refugees over the next year. Click here to donate today.