The Church of the Incarnation has a long and close relationship with the Christians of Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. This remote, rugged region was home to the Kushite people who have a storied history of interactions with God’s people – a history that dates to the time of Moses, who was married to a Kushite woman.  As early as the first century, Christians brought the gospel to the region of Sudan. The most prominent of these figures was the Ethiopian Eunuch, an early convert described in Acts chapter 8. This man was likely from the Nubian Kingdom of Meroe, located in modern day Sudan.

Since the late 20th century, the people of the Nuba Mountains suffered through 50 years of civil war that was fomented by genocidal and self-serving policies of the Islamic-centric Government of Sudan. In June 2011, Andudu Adam Elnail, an Anglican Bishop from the Nuba Mts, was targeted for assassination by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he openly opposed al-Bashir’s policies of religious and ethnic persecution. Andudu’s family had to seek asylum in the U.S. where he eventually received U.S. citizenship. He and his family have been members of the Church of the Incarnation since 2015. While at Incarnation, Bishop-in-exile Andudu helped form Kush Anglican Church that meets in our building. Kush Anglican includes Arabic speaking refugees from Sudan and other sub-Saharan nations. In addition, several times each year, Bishop Andudu travels to Sudan undercover to support the Christians in the Nuba Mountains and to be a stalwart advocate for God’s peaceable Kingdom. Members of Incarnation traveled to the Nuba Mountains with Bishop Andudu in early 2020. This resulted in the formation of a nonprofit called Pax Dei for Nuba (Latin for ” God’s peace in Nuba”). This organization is dedicated to the renewal of all things in the Nuba Mountains through the spread of the Gospel and associated humanitarian and peace-building activities. The Church of the Incarnation, along with other faith-based groups, now partner with Pax Dei for Nuba to support this important work.

Visit the Pax Dei for Nuba website to learn more about the Nuba people and Pax Dei For Nuba, and to find ways that you can get involved.