Holston United Methodists Help Besieged Christians of Southern Sudan

Sudan’s Darfur region, where African Muslims suffer under rule by Sudan’s Islamist and Arabist regime, gets more publicity. But the Christians of southern Sudan, whose civil war killed 2 million, are often ignored.

Even a United Methodist News Service inaccurately confused Darfur with southern Sudan when reporting about a conference about southern Sudan hosted by United Methodism’s Holston Conference.  But United Methodists in Holston itself are not confused, and over 100 church members from Holston and elsewhere, including Holston’s Bishop James Swanson, gathered in Kingsport, Tennessee on March 11-12 to discuss Holston’s extensive ministries in southern Sudan.

In his address, Bishop Swanson explained the dynamic of the Holston-Sudan relationship. “We’re not going to Sudan because they need us,” he said. “We’re going to Sudan because we need the Sudanese. And we need the Sudanese to show us how blessed we are.” Throughout the summit, this point was reiterated. Concurring with Bishop Swanson, District Superintendent Fred Dearing of the Holston Conference said Holston’s ties to southern Sudan embody “a ministry not for but with.”  The summit convened at First Broad Street United Methodist Church.

Rev. Boo Hankins and his wife Rev. Phyllis Hankins, Holston clergy currently serving in Yei, southern Sudan, were able to address the summit through a Skype discussion.  Boo Hankins is serving as a transitional district superintendent for United Methodism in Yei.  During his Skype call he was joined by Sudanese in Yei who explained political tensions between Islamist northern Sudan and mostly Christian southern Sudan.  In January, southern Sudan will vote on whether to become independent from Sudan.  Many question whether Sudan’s Islamist regime will allow southern Sudan’s peaceful departure from its control, especially because of southern Sudan’s oil.

The January referendum results from a 2005 peace agreement negotiated by the Bush Administration, with encouragement by many U.S. evangelicals and human rights advocates, which ended Sudan’s 23 year long civil war.  Southern Sudan has survived uneasily with semi-autonomy since then.  The largest churches there are Anglican and Roman Catholic.  United Methodists have a small presence, operating under the East Africa Conference of Bishop Daniel Wandabula.

Holston Conference’s interest in southern Sudan began in early 2006, when Bishop Swanson was handed a picture of a young Sudanese boy crawling to a feeding station. Perched behind the child were waiting vultures.  Moved by what he saw, Swanson challenged his staff to think of ways that Holston could help the southern Sudanese.   Holston sent a three-person fact-finding mission to Yei, Sudan in April 2006.

It was the first of 8 trips by Holston missions teams to southern Sudan, with a ninth currently planned. The Holston teams, totaling over 70 people, have provided medical services to 3,000 Sudanese and over 125 hours of clergy leadership training.  In early 2008, Bishop Swanson joined East Africa’s Bishop Daniel Wandabula in signing a “Covenant Agreement between East Africa Annual Conference and Holston Conference,” which promised that Holston would:

• Develop a plan for use of United Methodist compound in Yei.
• Finance the education of Sudanese orphans.
• Focus on development of resources and human capital.
• Provide Methodist resources to local churches (e.g., Books of Discipline, hymnals).
• Support a district superintendent in Yei for two years.
• Field teams to accomplish various missional goals.

Holston’s missions work in southern Sudan has become a model for missions within United Methodism, an accomplishment emphasized by  many United Methodist officials attending the March 2010 summit in Kingsport.  Among the speakers were Tom Dwyer, Executive Director of the United Methodist Committee on Relief’s overseas offices; David Malloy, Annual Conference Liaison of The Advance; Morais Quissico, Executive Secretary of the Africa office at the General Board of Global Ministries; and Marva Usher-Kerr, Executive Secretary for Missions Opportunities for the United Methodist Women’s Division. These speakers emphasized the connectional nature of United Methodism, highlighting how their agencies assist Holston in its covenant with the East Africa Conference.

“I know people fuss about apportionments,” said District Superintendent Dearing.  “But this [the covenant] is what we’re talking about when we talk about apportionments.” He later said that United Methodists should “stand up and thank God” that overhead costs are so low.