The South Sudan Council of Churches in its Christmas message calls for peace among communities in South Sudan and respect towards the ethnic differences. Christmastime is a time for justice, peace, healing and reconciliation, the message reflects.
“Christian faith reveals in the Christmas service the mystery of the God who comes, who assumes our mortal human flesh, and who becomes lowly and poor in order to save us,” the message reads. “And this moves us deeply, for great is the tenderness of our God.”
We see Jesus in the faces of the children and the people of South Sudan who continue to suffer, the message continues. “Let us pray that the will to resume dialogue on issues of concerns and tensions may prevail between the parties and that a negotiated solution can finally be reached, one that would allow the peaceful coexistence of communities of South Sudan,” the message reads. “May the people of South Sudan at least recover respect for the dignity of every person though a shared commitment to rebuild the fabric of society, without regard for ethnic membership.”
We see Jesus in the face of unemployed parents who struggle to offer their children a secure and peaceful future, the message reads. “And in those whose childhood has been robbed and who, from a very young age, have been forced to work or to be enrolled as soldiers,” the text reads. “We call on all these parties to cease all hostilities and use dialogue to resolve their difference.”
We should unite to make 2020 a year of peace and hope for the people of South Sudan, the message concludes. “Jesus knows well the pain of not having a house or home, or having a place to lay one’s head.”
(Read the full message below)
SSCC Pastoral Christmas Message 2019 by George Conger on Scribd
