The Episcopal Church of the Sudan (ECS) elected (June 12) two new diocesan bishops - Rev. Joseph Garang Atem was elected as the next Bishop of the Diocese of Renk in Upper Nile, whilst Rev. Wilson Kamani was elected as the next Bishop of the Diocese of Ibba in Western Equatoria.
The provincial elections were carried out in Juba after the candidates were selected by their respective dioceses. The See of Renk was contested by two candidates, Rev. Joseph and Rev. Daniel Deng Anthiang, whilst Ibba Diocese put Rev. Wilson forward as the only candidate.
The election itself took place in All Saints’ Cathedral, Juba, and was overseen by Provincial Chancellor Hon. Majok Mading Majok with usual efficiency and aplomb. In the Renk contest, Rev. Joseph, the diocesan favourite, took an early lead, and by half way through the vote counting it was clear he would win by a large majority. The final result was that Joseph was elected by 58 votes to 7 out of a total of 65. As Ibba was uncontested, Rev. Wilson was declared the Bishop-Elect by the Chancellor with no election.
Before the voting the assembled were led in worship by Assistant Bishop of Juba +Micah Leila and Dean of the Province +Nathaniel Garang. +Nathaniel spoke of the power and necessity of prayer in the lives and works of leaders, as well as for us all, stressing that “prayer reveals God’s agenda” and brings the wisdom and strength of God to our decisions and actions. He urged the successful candidates to pray and read their Bible in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit and that God might reveal himself today in the Sudan.
The See of Renk was vacated on 14th February 2008 when +Daniel Deng Bul was elected as the Fourth Archbishop of the ECS. Ibba was vacated in March on the retirement of +Levi Hassan, a key figure in the church’s struggle during the 21-year civil war.
Both the bishops-elect have a popular mandate to continue the excellent work of their predecessors, and as their new bishops are former director of a theological college and former head of the ECS development agency, SUDRA, respectively, the dioceses of Renk and Ibba have every reason to celebrate God revealing his agenda in Juba.