Diocesan News
Connor enters partnership with Sudanese diocese
Members of Connor Synod were reminded of a world very different to their own when they agreed to a partnership with the Diocese of Yei in Sudan at their annual synod.
Standing Orders were suspended to allow Mr Billy Smith to speak about his work in southern Sudan. Mr Smith brought the greetings of Bishop Hilary of Yei.
He told the Synod: ?In Yei many people live in very deep poverty under difficult conditions,? adding that for these people Christianity had become very real and vibrant.
?Faith is not real until it is all you have to hold on to and many people in Yei have been through that experience,? he said.
Proposing a Motion that the Diocese of Connor enter into a partnership with Yei for an initial period of five years, Rev Ron Elsdon said this would be different to the already established links with Edinburgh and Linkoping in Sweden.
?These are dioceses in rich parts of the world where in many ways it is comfortable to be a Christian,? Rev Elsdon said.
He said any link with Yei must be complementary. ?We cannot set the agenda because we have the economic firepower. It has got to be a challenge to us all to be humble and teachable and equals with our brothers and sisters in Sudan.?
He spoke of a previous visit to Tanzania, Africa, where a collection was raised in a poor church to help fund an evangelical programme in another ?difficult? part of the diocese.
?We were aware from the pile of notes how sacrificial the giving had been. And there were not just notes, but bags of grain and a live chicken. This is something we can learn from,? said Rev Elsdon.
Dean Houston McKelvey, Dean of St Anne?s Cathedral, spoke in support of the Motion, recalling his wife?s experiences on a recent visit there.
?She found a church that was totally vibrant,? the Dean said. ?I believe that we will be enriched by any contact we have with the church in Yei. It is a place which is in need of an amazing amount of prayer.?