Church of Ireland clergy from Down and Dromore diocese travel to South Sudan for six-day synod

Bishop Zungo said that this synod had been “very special,” and added that Bishop McClay and Dean Wilson from Northern Ireland "had given so much encouragement to the people of Maridi. We are so grateful.”

Maridi diocese has 75 parishes scattered across a wide area of South Sudan, some of it largely inaccessible by car. Bishop Zungo revealed his clergy walked long distances to reach their congregations, indeed spending time with just one parishioner might involve a six-hour round trip.

“This is the biggest challenge facing the work of God in Maridi,” he said. Bicycles and motorbikes for pastors are urgently needed to help our clergy get around..

Responding to God’s call to be ordained in Maridi diocese involves enormous sacrifice. Clergy do not receive a salary. Their expectation is only of somewhere to live (a semi–concrete one or two room structure with a sheet–iron roof) and the ability to cultivate food to feed their family.

Despite these challenges and with Christian mission and evangelism a high priority, the church in Maridi, South Sudan is growing rapidly.

As he participated in the South Sudan synod Bishop David McClay said he was struck by the depth of prayer he witnessed and by the high degree of participation. He was also struck by the high number of children in church and by the commitment to evangelism.

“The church only grows when it does the work of evangelism and see new people being added, and they are being added daily in Maridi,” he said.

Looking ahead to the future of the Down and Dromore/South Sudan link, Bishop McClay said he now preferred to use the word friendship over partnership. His hope is for more frequent communication and active prayer for one another, as well as the practical provision of bicycles and motorbikes. The bishop would also like to see regular teams going out to South Sudan and for young people from Maridi to be able to join programmes in Down and Dromore diocese, whose 80-plus congregations are located across Co Down and east and south Belfast.

Bishop McClay added: “The blessing will be ours, not just all Maridi’s. We will learn how to pray more effectively we’ll learn more about worship and commitment and what it means to be a disciple. And I believe we will learn more about how to engage in spiritual warfare.”

The Episcopal Church of South Sudan, part of global Anglicanism, has around 3.5 million members, out of a national population of around 11 million. The bishop of South Sudan the Rev Moses Zungo has visited Down and Dromore diocese previously and his Maridi diocese is one of 61 in the country South Sudan became independent of Sudan in 2011, following a peace settlement ending 20 years of civil war.