In the wake of an attack by the Sudanese government last week, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) partner church in the capital city of Khartoum is asking for prayers and solidarity.
On Nov. 19, Sudanese government forces destroyed the home of pastor Yahiya Abdel Rahim of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. According to a story distributed by AllAfrica Global Media, church members and local religious leaders prayed for 24 hours in an adjacent church building in an effort to prevent further destruction. Debbie Braaksma, the PC(USA)’s area coordinator for Africa, did not know whether that building had been attacked.
“This is one of many such instances in which the government of Sudan has attacked churches,” she said, adding that the PC(USA) has previously written letters of concern to the U.S. Department of State calling for religious freedom in Sudan.
“Our accompaniment with the church in prayer and advocacy means so much to them,” Braaksma said.
U.S. Presbyterians and the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church have been in partnership since 1901. The Office of Public Witness has issued an action alert calling on Presbyterians to ask Congress and the president to urge the Sudanese government to support diversity and to protect religious freedom in Sudan.
Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, and Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the General Assembly, have issued a call to prayer for the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church.