Richmond church group departs today for missionary work in Sudan
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A five-member mission team from Richmond's St. James's Episcopal Church departs today for southern Sudan.
As they spend 12 days in the northeastern Africa country, the mission work they do complements that of the nonprofit group Hope for Humanity.
The missionaries from St. James's will help with projects around Hope and Resurrection Secondary School in the southern Sudan village of Atiaba, do some teaching at the school, and interview teachers and students at the school built with funds raised by Hope for Humanity.
The interviews "will connect the reality of what life is like for them to Richmond," said the Rev. Randy Hollerith, rector of St. James's. "It will bring the two places together."
While in Sudan, the mission group also will work with an interfaith program called "Pads for Power," which seeks to address the needs of adolescent and post-adolescent girls who may not have adequate hygiene products and have to miss a week or more of school each month.
"Pads for Power" is a collaborative effort between Christians, Jews and Quakers, that gives handmade, reusable sanitary pads to Sudanese women.
This is St. James's third mission trip to southern Sudan; on the previous occasions the group has been well-received by the Sudanese people, said Thayer Montague, who was a member of the church's mission trip last year.
"They were very appreciative of our time and effort," Montague said. "They didn't come up to us with their hands out."
While there is a plan of ways the mission group can help while in southern Sudan, they can't be too rigid with the schedule, Hollerith said.
"We can't make too many plans -- we have to respond to their needs," he said.
Contact Jeremy Slayton at (804) 649-6861 or
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Reader Reactions
To englishsunset: In spite of going out of the country for mission work, we in essence are helping everyone and that speaks volumes for St. James’ efforts. Our world does extend beyond our doorstep. That is part of our calling to be a part of God’s world beyond Richmond and ourselves.
I know, I went to Central America in 2004 and it’s an experience that you never forget.
I would say you probably have never been beyond Europe for your vacation. There is a whole different world out there beyond London, Paris, Rome, etc.
You have never seen poverty until you get outside of your “comfort zone” in the U.S.
Godspeed to you and may God bless you and your deeds, however isn’t there enough to be done here that you don’t have to travel a world away to serve the Lord? I think what is truly needed here in this land is dedicated people like yourselves to do for the educated, “upstanding”, better off the most of the people in the rest of the world common folk who seem to have lost their way and thus can
no longer be examples the poor lands like the Sudan.
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