A Service for Justice and Peace in Sudan

Sudan stands on the brink of collapse after two years of devastating war between the national army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces under General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti. What began in April 2023 as a struggle for power after years of failed democratic transition has become a humanitarian catastrophe. Towns have been reduced to rubble, more than twelve million people have been driven from their homes, and famine grips whole regions. The violence has been especially brutal in Darfur, where the RSF—descended from the Janjaweed militias of past atrocities—has targeted non-Arab communities with systematic killings, sexual violence, and forced displacement. The United Nations calls Sudan the world’s largest humanitarian crisis; the United States has determined that genocide is being committed. International efforts toward peace have faltered, and the suffering of Sudan’s people continues largely unseen by the world. Today we remember them before God—the hungry and the displaced, the bereaved and the endangered—and we lament a world that so often turns away from their cries.1

A SERVICE FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE IN SUDAN

Opening Sentences

(Standing)

Leader:
Out of the depths we cry to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear our voice and answer our prayers. (Psalm 130:1–2)

People:
The word of the Lord is like fire in our bones;
we are weary with holding it in. (Jeremiah 20:9)

Leader:
What does the Lord require of us?
To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8)

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Chosen Hymn: O God of Every Nation (Glory to God #756)

Opening Prayer

(BCW 626, adapted)

Mighty and merciful God,
lover of justice and equity,
you call us to support the weak,
to help those who suffer,
and to honor all people.

Today we remember the people of Sudan—
those who flee from war,
those who mourn their dead,
those who thirst for water and for peace.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
make us advocates of your justice
and instruments of your peace,
that all may share life abundant
in your beloved community,
through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Amen.

Scripture

Suggested Readings:

• Old Testament: Isaiah 58:6–12 — “Is not this the fast that I choose…?”
  (A text linking true religion with justice and the repair of broken walls.)
• Psalm: Psalm 10:17–18 — “O Lord, you will incline your ear to do justice for the oppressed.”
• Gospel: Matthew 5:1–12 — The Beatitudes
  (Promises of blessing amid persecution and mourning.)
• Epistle: Romans 8:18–25 — Creation groans in labor pains, awaiting redemption.

A brief homily may follow, connecting Christ’s peace to the cry of the suffering in Sudan. Leaders may prepare by learning more about the crisis in Sudan through Human Rights Watch and the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness.

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Chosen Hymn: For the Healing of the Nations (Glory to God #346)

Prayer of Lament

(At the baptismal font or before a cross.)

Leader:
Gracious God, by day and night we pour out our prayer to you.
We cry for justice, we long for peace.
Come quickly to help us, O God;
save those who call upon your name.

After each petition: People respond: How long, O Lord?

• We hear of massacres in Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, of families driven into the desert without food or shelter…
  How long, O Lord?
• We see your image desecrated in the faces of children who starve amid indifference…
  How long, O Lord?
• We grieve for those silenced by violence, and for those whose names are known only to you…
  How long, O Lord?
• We confess the sins of the nations: our failure to intervene, our comfort with delay, our numbness before evil…
  How long, O Lord?
• We pray for those still risking their lives to bring water, medicine, and mercy…
  How long, O Lord?

(A moment of silence may follow.)

Leader:
God of compassion,
keep us working and praying for the day
when your justice will roll down like waters
and your righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Replenish our strength, stir up our hope,
and fill us with the deep peace of Christ,
in whose holy name we pray.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

(In unison)
Our Father, who art in heaven…

Offering

(If desired, collected for humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, or peacebuilding efforts in Sudan.)
Leader may say:
Let our gifts bear witness to our faith,
that mercy may take flesh among those who suffer.

Hymn, Psalm, or Spiritual Song

Chosen Hymn: Come! Live in the Light! - We Are Called (Glory to God #749)

Blessing and Charge

Leader:
Beloved people of God—
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable—
if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise—
keep on doing these things,
and the God of peace will be with you. (Phil. 4:8–9)

People:
Amen.

Leader:
Go forth to seek peace and pursue it,
and may the blessing of Almighty God—
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—
rest upon you and remain with you always.

People:
Amen.