SAVE LIVES THIS LENT – A Special Request From Bishop Julian Dobbs

Appeal on behalf of the Anglican Church of Kenya and the Church of Uganda Donate now As drought and famine grip East Africa, stricken Christians cry for help “We are appealing for food aid to help us against this ravaging drought,” cried Canon Christopher Chochoi from East Pokot, Kenya, which is enduring its worst drought for five decades. There has been no rain since June 2016. “Cattle, donkeys and camels have died before our own eyes,” continued Canon Chochoi. “Humans are faced with starvation … [they] have now resorted to boiling and eating wild fruit. They boil the fruits for several hours to remove poison before eating them … I doubt we will survive in the next few months.” From the nearby Diocese of Marsabit, Rev. Jeremiah Omar reports that 70% of the livestock are already dead from drought – a disaster for the many nomadic communities in the area. “We are being overwhelmed with refugees from South Sudan.” Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda The whole of northern Kenya and parts of its coastal region are suffering from drought. An added problem is that many of the worst affected areas – in the north and the coastal region – are the places where Christians are a despised, marginalized and oppressed minority amongst a Muslim majority. Deaths expected in Uganda Parts of neighboring Uganda are also affected. Two consecutive crops have failed due to abnormally heavy and destructive rains which were followed by drought, due to the El-Niño climatic effect. Deaths from malnutrition are expected to start this month. There will be no relief until June at the earliest, and then only if the rains have come at the right time. Uganda has absorbed over half a million refugees from South Sudan since last July. Mostly women and children, they are fleeing the conflict there and include many widows and women who do not know what has happened to their husbands. “Many people have very little apart from their clothes they are wearing … people were robbed by armed gangs as they were travelling and lost all their possessions,” said Rev. Canon Nason Baluku, Coordinator of Planning, Development and Rehabilitation for the Province of the Church of Uganda, which is seeking to assist the refugees. “Please pray with us that the long rains [normally starting in March/April] come early and that God provides for His people.” Canon Christopher Chochoi An appeal from: Archbishop Stanley Ntagali Primate of the Church of Uganda Archbishop Nicholas Okoh Primate of All Nigeria, Church of Nigeria Archbishop Ben Kwashi Archbishop of Jos, Church of Nigeria Lord Carey of Clifton former Archbishop of Canterbury, 1991-2002 Archbishop Peter Jensen General Secretary of GAFCON Bishop Julian Dobbs Missionary Bishop, Convocation of Anglicans in North America Lord Donald Curry of Kirkharle Member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on South Sudan Bishop Keith Sinclair Bishop of Birkenhead Bishop Rod Thomas Bishop of Maidstone Bishop Robert and Mrs Sue Martin formerly Bishop of Marsabit, Anglican Church of Kenya and Honorary Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Bath and Wells, Church of England Prebendary Richard Bewes Prebendary of St Paul’s Cathedral, London and former rector of All Souls Langham Place Rev’d Paul Perkin Vicar of St Mark’s Battersea Rise, London Canon Dr Vinay Samuel Church of South India, Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, Embu, Kenya Canon Dr Chris Sugden Canon St Luke’s Cathedral, Jos, Nigeria and St Anselm’s Cathedral, Sunyani, Ghana. Colin Blakely Editor, Church of England Newspaper Save lives     The elderly are amongst the most vulnerable in East Pokot, enduring its worst drought for five decades     Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, and Rt Rev. Bishop Qampicha Daniel Wario, Bishop of Marsabit, Kenya, have appealed to Barnabas Fund for help to provide food aid to save the lives of the most vulnerable Christians in the worst affected areas. Just $37 a month will feed one family in Kenya with maize, beans, cooking oil, powdered milk and salt. That is approximately $1.25 a day. Costs are even lower in Uganda, where food is cheaper. The Church of Uganda has asked us to feed 70,000 people for the next three months. The cost is $5 per person per month – just $1.25 a week.     Many cattle are dying from the drought in northern Kenya, a disaster for communities which are dependent on their livestock     As Lent approaches, and we turn our minds to fasting and prayer, can you set aside a gift to help the starving Christians of Kenya and Uganda? Can your home-group or church give an offering? And remember them in your prayers. Donate now Other ways to give If you would like to make a gift, please direct your donation to 00-1313 Project Joseph Fund Telephone If you prefer to telephone, call: (703) 288-1681 Mail If you prefer to send a check by mail: Click this link for the address of our regional office. Please quote project reference above. Section 501(c)3 not for profit organization Barnabas Aid is ECFA accredited Contact us | Subscribe to Barnabas emails Note to editors: Further details, quotes, and photos on these and other stories may be available on request. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all the information included on our website, we acknowledge that even our most reliable sources and careful interpretations can occasionally be wrong. We apologize for any errors of fact and will be grateful to receive corrections. About us: Barnabas Aid works to support Christian communities around the world where they are facing poverty and persecution. Barnabas Aid helps Christians like the ones you have been reading about in this email who are persecuted for their faith. If you would like to help us meet their physical and spiritual needs, please make a donation to the Barnabas General Fund. Donate barnabasaid.org Follow Barnabas Aid:     Privacy Policy   Copyright 1991-2016 © Barnabas Aid 6731 Curran Street McLean, VA 22101

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.  [Ecclesiastes 3:1]

In 2015, I was working with Congressional Leaders endeavoring to help Assyrian Christians escape the constant danger of Islamic terror. I was thankful for a small but growing number of Democrat and Republican House and Senate leaders who were supportive.

The words of Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Northern Iraq, showed the desperation faced by the Assyrian Christians: Throughout all these long centuries, we have experienced many hardships and persecutions, offering caravans of martyrs. Yet 2014 brought the worst acts of genocide against us in our history. We now face the extinction of Christianity as a religion and as a culture from Mesopotamia [ancient Iraq].

Despite ISIS’ targeting Iraqi Christians, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) told me on January 15, 2015 there was no way that Christians would be supported in coming to the United States because of their religious affiliation.

When the PRM’s position about persecuted Christians was made public in 2015;

• There were no comments about the Department of State being un-American and cruel
• There were no tears from political leaders
• There were no protesters at airports
• There were no Christian leaders protesting with placards
• There was no mainstream media outrage
• There was no political hysteria

There were just suffering Assyrian Christians and the targeted eradication of Christianity from an ancient homeland.

Americas leaders turned their backs on Christians and looked the other way!

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2016 the U.S. admitted the highest number of Muslim refugees of any year since data on self-reported religious affiliations first became publicly available in 2002.  However, religious persecution against Christians and other minorities continues to increase across Africa and the Middle East.

I am thankful that the United States of America has eventually recognized that persecuted Christians and other minorities can now be a priority for our great nation.

Recently, many commentators have cited Matthew 25 as the basis for Christian care and support for the poor of the world, the sick, the disabled, and the homeless.  Some Christian leaders are teaching that Jesus was referring to refugees from other religions when he said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” However the early Church, while providing pastoral care for many needy people, had an emphasis on caring for Christians.

Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth in the late 2nd century, wrote to thank the Church in Rome for the aid they had sent to his church. “From the beginning it is your custom to bestow your alms in all places, and to furnish subsistence to many churches. You send relief to the needy, especially to those who work in the mines; in which you follow the example of your fathers.”

A few years later, Tertullian noted how the non-Christians would comment with astonishment about the Christians, “See how they love one another.”

The early Christians sought to fulfil the teaching of Matthew 25:31-46, in which our Lord Jesus, in His story of the sheep and the goats, commends those who provide practical care for even “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine” (verse 40).

Jesus himself refers to His disciples as His brothers and sisters (Matthew 12:49-50).

To neglect to care and support marginalized and suffering Christian ‘brothers and sisters’ is to neglect Christ Himself.

While it is important and necessary that Christians work together for the good of all people, whenever there is an opportunity, they are called to prioritize their care and for their brothers and sisters in Christ.  [Galatians 6:10]

Bishop Julian Dobbs