Back in January, the referendum to decide if northern Sudan and southern Sudan would split and become two separate countries was much in the news. Post-Dispatch religion reporter Tim Townsend wrote a great article about how Episcopalians in Missouri are connected to the people of south Sudan through what is called a Companion Diocese relationship. The referendum passed, and the world is witnessing the creation of a new country; hopes for a peaceful transition quickly turned to fears of "ethnic cleansing" in the contested border region of Abyei. The New York Times reports that a peace agreement has been reached, but the situation is still tenuous and potentially explosive.
In the midst of this tumultuos time, a different kind of vote was cast in May, and the Diocese of Lui now has a new Bishop, Stephen Dokolo.
Stephen Dokolo was a student at Eden Seminary a few years ago and frequently attended my parish, Emmanuel Episcopal, which is across the street from the seminary. He was well-loved by our parish, and he visited other parishes in the Diocese, too, giving many people an opportunity to learn more about his homeland and to witness firsthand his exceptional faith, as well as an appealing personal warmth and intelligence that were always in evidence. I know our parish was genuinely delighted to learn that Stephen's gifts for leadership had been affirmed in this way.
Our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith, has made frequent trips to Sudan and done much to encourage the relationship between our dioceses. He was there recently to attend the funeral of the previous Bishop of Lui, Bullen Doli. Asked to share his thoughts about his friend who is now also a fellow bishop, he replied
"During my trip to Sudan earlier this month I was blessed to spend three leisurely days in conversation with Stephen. We talked at length about our dioceses, and we talked about the ministry of a bishop. He will be a tremendous colleague, and I look forward to working with him in greater depth."
Being a bishop cannot be an easy job in the best of circumstances, and Bishop Dokolo, as we will now have to remember to call him, is taking on this task in a particularly challenging place and time. I imagine that our parish in Webster Groves, having a sense of personal connection with him, will be that much more invested in the Prayers of the People when we pray, as we do each week, for Katherine, our Presiding Bishop, Wayne, our Bishop, and now Stephen, Bishop of Lui.
Perhaps we ought to feel that connection on the basis of nothing more than our shared identity as Christians. But the human desire to know and be known is a very strong pull, and I am grateful that God can and does work through that desire to strengthen our bonds with the Church throughout the world. Whatever our motivations, however personal our bond, surely our prayers for Stephen and for the people he serves will be heard by the God who calls each of us by name. And I hope the act of praying will work on us as well, helping all of us to remember how little really separates us, whether we live in Webster Groves, Missouri or Mundri county, Sudan.
At his consecration, "Bishop Dokolo said his vision for the development of Lui is to see Christians of the dioceses become 'mature in faith' and 'self reliant both physically and spiritually,'" according to a report on the website B'nai Darfur. The challenges of physical and spiritual self-reliance probably present themselves quite differently in Sudan and in suburban Missouri, but when it comes to the challenge of reaching "maturity in faith" perhaps the difference is not so great, even given the clearly different contexts in which we live and worship.
At any rate, I hope others will join with us in the Episcopal Church as we celebrate with Bishop Stephen and pray for God's grace and blessing to be evident in his ministry.
