News / Thoughts

Government destroys church

Two church buildings have been destroyed, one by the order of the government and another apparently by arson, leaving hundreds of believers without a place to meet together.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sudan (LCS) in Omdurman, across the Nile from Khartoum, was demolished on 22 October 72 hours after being notified that it was being relocated for ‘re-development reasons’. The church had been at its site for over thirty years, and the mosque standing on the same piece of land was left intact.

“The LCS was founded in this area in 1975. The mosque was not there when the church was established,” a local leader in the Lutheran church said. “Destroying the church building made us feel we have lost everything. Chairs and seats have also been taken by the local authorities.”

Separately, another Lutheran church building was burned down on 17 October in Gadaref, East Sudan. The building was completely destroyed, including the furniture and Bibles inside. The apparent case of arson was reported to the police.

The Sudanese minister of religious affairs announced in April 2013 that no licenses would be granted to allow for building new churches, meaning members of the destroyed churches cannot hope to have a replacement soon.

Where is Omdurman?

Pray now…

• For comfort for the believers who have lost their church buildings in Sudan, and that they will find a way to continue to meet together
• For an end to the crisis in South Sudan and provision for the thousands of starving people there.