Resolution on the Martyrs of the Sudan
Whereas, the Episcopal Church of the Province of the Sudan has suffered from persecution and devastation through twenty-two years of civil war since 1983, which saw two and a half million people killed, half of whom were members of this church, including untold clergy and lay leaders who were singled out because of their religious leadership in their communities;
Whereas, no building, including churches and schools, is left standing in an area the size of Alaska, with four million people internally displaced, a million scattered around Africa and beyond in the Sudanese Diaspora, and twenty-two of the twenty-four dioceses existing in exile in Uganda or Kenya, and the majority of the clergy are unpaid;
Whereas, as only 5% of the populations of Southern Sudan was Christian in 1983 and today over 85% of that region of six million are now mostly Episcopalian or Roman Catholic and whose faith is rooted deeply in the mercy of God who has renewed their spirits through out the years of strife and sorrow;
And whereas, the bishops, chiefs, commanders, clergy and people declared on May 16, 1983, that they would not abandoned God as God had revealed himself to them under threat of Shirah Law imposed by the fundamentalist government in Khartoum,
Be it resolved that the Diocese of ______________ on ____________, 200_ commends to the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music that they recommend the inclusion of the Feast of the Martyrs of the Sudan in the calendar of the Episcopal Church, U.S.A, adopting the proposed Propers provide for that day;
And be it further resolved that this diocese seek ways to support the rebuilding of the church and society of the Sudan, engage in the distribution of educational materials related to their plight and received and authorize this feast day into its local calendar, commending the use of the Propers on or around May 16 of each year.
Submitted by __________________