Lenten Retreat

Come for a day centered in the Daily Office and for Holy Communion with African music. There will be four sessions focused upon worship, meditation, community life, and healing.

The retreat will provide witness, advocacy, and prayer for justice for the people of Sudan and South Sudan in this continued time of crisis and war. You will learn from teachers of African Spirituality and prayer.

Leaders (more information about all of the leaders found below): The Rev. Canon Martin Oguike, The Rev. John Thompson-Quartey, The Rev. Dr. Augustine Unuigbe, Ngozi Martin-Oguike.

When: Saturday March 10, from 10AM to 3pm

Cost: $15, lunch provided

Where: All Saint's Church, Princeton, NJ

Registration: Register online here or email spaige@newjersey.anglican.org, fax registration form to 6093949546, or mail for to the diocese.

Contact: the Rev. Dr. Hugh Brown

Leaders biographies:

The Reverend Canon Martin Oguike is the vicar of St. John's Church, Woodbridge. Canon Oguike was born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa. He completed his undergraduate work in Birmingham University, UK. He holds a Master of Philosophy degree in Theology from the Birmingham University, UK and a Ph

.D. in Church History from the University of Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. Can

on Oguike lived through a genocidal civil war in Nigeria similar to the situation in Sudan/Darfur from 1967-1970 on which his dissertation on "The Roll of the Church in Nigerian Civil War" is based.

The Reverend C. John Thompson-Quartey is a native of Ghana, West Africa. He received his Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University, Newark NJ in 1993, and earned his Masters of Divinity from the General Theological Seminary, New York City, NY in 1997. He was ordained to the diaconate in May 1997, and to the Sacred Order of Priests in December of 1997. He served as Associate Rector for Youth and Family Ministries at Christ Episcopal Church in Ridgewood, NJ from 1997 until 1999. Then as Chaplain for Pastoral Care and Director of Community Outreach Programs at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire from 1999 until July 2005. He is presently the Rector of St. Mary's-by-the-Sea in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, where he has served since 2005.

The Revere

nd Dr. Augustine Unuigbe is the Priest-in Charge of St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Atlantic City. He is both a priest and a medical doctor, and has recent passed his medical boards in the United States.

Ngozi Martin-Oguike was born in Benin city, Nigeria. She holds a BA from the University of Benin, an MFA from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MA in Special Education from Kean University. She is author

of Lyrics of the Gong: Poems, as well as Called Together (1998) and Feminism in Nigeria: a Perspective in Visual Communication (2002). She is an educator with the

Roselle School District the wife of Martin Oguike.

An appeal to Episcopalians

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A recent article from the New York Times reports: “South Sudan, the world’s newest

country, was born in July in ceremonies pulsating with pride and jubilation. Now, it seems to be

exploding in violence. More than 1,000 people have been killed in the past several months in clashes

between rival ethnic groups….” And as we follow the coverage, we read of brinksmanship over

oil along the jagged and disputed border with Sudan, a growth of inter-communal violence, the

forced exodus of Christians in the north, and a grim situation over humanitarian aid.

And so we on the Sudan Committee, and we hope also in your churches, continue to offer

a prayer composed by women in the Episcopal Church of Sudan that begins: O God, into the

pain of the tortured, breathe stillness. Into the misery of displacement, breathe comfort. Into the

hunger of the very poor, breathe fullness. Into the death of the innocent, breathe life. Into the

pain of the widowed and orphans, breathe hope.

Even as the largest country in Africa is now split, the Episcopal Church of the Sudan

remains unified. It has a strong network of organizations and people working collaboratively

through the Sudan Council of Churches to promote healing and ensure peace. It provides leaders

in mediation processes, aids in trauma counseling, discourages factionalism and the formation of

civil mercenary groups. In most of its dioceses, the Church maintains and seeks to expand health

clinics and schools during a time when Government services in many areas are still in their

infancy.

The Sudan Committee of the Diocese of New Jersey invites you to continue to pray for

the people of Sudan and Southern Sudan and to contribute generously to fund the multi-year

education in Africa of a future priest from Sudan/Southern Sudan. Our effort is modest, yet filled

with hope and trust in the redeeming and transforming love of Christ. Costs for one year of

theological education in Africa are over $6,000 and we have raised to date close to $7,000. Your

contributions can be made payable to “Diocese of New Jersey” with a memo “Attn: Sudan” and

sent to 808 West State Street, Trenton NJ 08618.

We also invite you to join us for our second Day of African Spirituality on Saturday,

March 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at All Saints, Princeton, and to register through the Diocese of

New Jersey’s web site with your $15.00 contribution which includes lunch. Our day of

refreshment during Lent will be centered in the Daily Office and include a Holy Eucharist with

African music. Sessions offered by The Rev. Canon Martin Oguike, Ph.D., the Rev. C. John

Thompson-Quartey, and The Rev. Dr. Augustine Unuigbe will focus on worship, meditation,

community life, and healing. Those of you who were able to be with us last year will remember

how captivating and inspiring the presentations from some of the African priests in our Diocese

were. The retreat will provide witness, advocacy, and prayer for justice in this continued time of

crisis and hope.

We thank you for walking in love and solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ in

Sudan/Southern Sudan. We look forward welcoming you on March 10.

Grace and peace,

The Rev. Hugh E. Brown, III, D.Min.

Chair (and Members of the Sudan Committee) and

Rector, All Saints Church, Princeton

P.S. We are very grateful to the St. Martin’s House committee for its renewed grant underwriting

the expenses of this day.

P.P.S. You may also wish to consider a one-day seminar on Friday, March 9, at Princeton

Theological Seminary: African Women Extraordinaire: Lectures and Conversation with

Christian Leaders which includes presentations by Dr. Mercy Oduyoye, described as Africa’s

first and foremost woman theologian, and Dr. Sarojini Nadar, senior lecturer and director of the

Gender and Religion Department at the School of Religion and Theology at the University of

KwaZulu-Natal (Durban, South Africa). The fee of $50 includes lunch. Scholarships available

for students. Registration through Princeton Seminary’s website: www.ptsem.edu/offices/coned.

Africa: Anglicans Appeal for Harmony, Understanding Between Muslims and Christians

Anglican Communion News Service:

Anglican leaders from across the continent of Africa have made an emotional appeal to Muslim faith leaders to stand with them in opposition to "tragic violence that is destroying our communities".

The appeal was issued at the end of a three-day meeting of the Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa in Burundi where conflict between the two faiths was high on the agenda.

The statement read: "The Council of Anglican Provinces of Africa...has noted with much sadness the increasing deterioration between Muslim and Christian communities in different parts of the world, specifically our Provinces of Sudan, Nigeria, and the Diocese of Egypt.

"As a council, coming from communities diverse in religion and culture, the present circumstances have forced us to ask whether the violence we see and experience is driven by religious intolerance from our brothers of different religions with whom we have lived together for generations, in some cases centuries, or whether in fact it is a result of a much greater problem of exploitation of ignorance and religious beliefs for political gain.

"Whatever the cause, the subsequent violence is devastating. In most cases, this societal decline has resulted in bloodshed, loss of life, livelihoods, poor living standards, and has bred bitterness and hopelessness."

Highlighting conflict in Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt and Nigeria the statement--signed on behalf of CAPA by the outgoing Chairman Archbishop Ian Earnest--called for an end to violence that "destabilise whole communities".

"As CAPA, we reach out to Muslim faith leaders of these affected communities to stand with us in solidarity opposed to the tragic violence that is destroying our communities in Africa. We call upon individual Christians and Muslims in Sudan, Egypt and Nigeria, especially the youth, to join hands united against religious extremism and respectful of religious and cultural differences."

Celebrating the initiative by the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar to make peace by creating "Bayt al-'ila" or a "Family home" from Muslim and Christian leaders to deal with the sectarian strife in Egypt, CAPA also urged governements of affected countries to grant Christians and other religious groups, equal rights and freedom to enjoy the benefits of full citizenship.

"We also call on our respective governments to introduce appropriate measures to guarantee freedom of citizens to live and practice their religions by providing security to their lives and property."