Dr Mouneer Anis has returned from Khartoum after meeting with the bishops of the Church of Sudan 

It was a great privilege to receive an invitation from Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo to visit Sudan, with my wife Nancy, to encourage the Bishops and their wives in the Province of Sudan, and to share with them some lessons-learned from our years in Egypt.

I am grateful to USPG for supporting this “Accompaniment Program.” On the 3rd of December, we travelled to Khartoum. Over the next 4 days, we had such a wonderful time of fellowship with the Archbishop, 4 of the Bishops, and 4 wives. We began the program with a “Spiritual Assessment” and then talked about the following topics over 6 sessions:

1. The Bishop as a Shepherd under the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ 2. “Don’t Let the Purple Change You”: resisting pride as a Bishop 3. The Vision of the Bishop and its importance for the Diocese 4. Making Disciples and Building Teams & Delegation, but not Abdication 5. Fundraising, Transparency, and Accountability 6. “A Nutritionist, Not a Cook!”: The Bishop’s role is to provide what the flock needs spiritually, rather than what they want.

Nancy had the opportunity to sit and spend time with the wives in prayer, discussion, and encouragement. They talked about how they can support the ministries of their husbands.

During these sessions we had very open and frank discussion about financial accountability and transparency, the dangers of nepotism, proper planning, and the importance of theological education. It became obvious that the most needed thing in the different dioceses of Sudan is education, both theological and general. The needs are great. Some of the Bishops have to travel long distances (more than 12 hours) on difficult roads in order to reach their congregations.

Having said all this, I learned that the harvest is great and the need to for well-equipped ministers is urgent. They have plenty of resources, like land; however, they don’t have the capital to develop these resources. If they had the means to develop these resources, they would be able to become a self-supporting Province. I want to encourage all of you, our brothers and sisters in Christ, to support the Province of Sudan.

+Mouneer The Rt. Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hana Anis Bishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt With North Africa and the Horn of Africa