A recent article from the Anglican Communion News Service, by Matthew Davies editor and international correspondent of the Episcopal News Service, reports on Archbishops appeal to government, international community as Sudan approaches referendum.

 With fewer than 100 days to go before southerners in Sudan vote on whether to remain a unified country or to separate from the north, Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of the Episcopal Church of Sudan is making every effort to ensure that the Jan. 9 referendum goes ahead as planned and that peace holds in the war-torn country.

Archbishop Daniel  Deng and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who are appealing to the international community to support the people of Sudan, briefed media at Lambeth Palace on Oct. 7 ahead of a series of meetings with officials in the U.K. Government’s foreign office.

The critical issues include:

• delays in voter registration,
• tensions in the border regions,
• the future for some 4 million refugees from the south who are currently living in the north,
• If the southerners vote for separation, there is no preparation for how receive the influx of refugees from the north back to south Sudan, and
• The threat of open war.

 The Archbishop of Canterbury spoke about the danger of Sudan “sleepwalking towards disaster … if action does not continue from the international community.”

 Please join with me in praying for the people of Sudan as they approach this critical time, that the referendum will go ahead, for the Church of Sudan as they support the referendum, for peace in this country, and for other countries to stand with and support Sudan.

 Read the rest of the article here.