The Diocese of Southwestern Virginia has had an ongoing link with the Diocese of Bradford in England since 1977 and with the Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan since 1982. The Bradford link involves:

• frequent personal communication and occasional “across the pond” visits between the bishops and diocesan staff members
• an annual Summer Youth Exchange program , with a group from Bradford coming to us and our young people going to England in alternating years
• visitors from Bradford attending our annual diocesan Council
• representatives from our diocese attending clergy conferences and "Diocesan Days" (similar to our Saturday @ Council events) in Bradford
• inclusion of prayer requests from Bradford in our Prayer Calendar and of our requests in theirs
• a number of our parishes matched with parishes in Bradford , with pen pals, visits, and shared prayer lists featured with varying degrees of frequency and enthusiasm

Our diocese and Bradford are both linked to Sudan, and both of our Prayer Calendars include prayer requests from Sudan. However, Bradford’s link is limited to the four northernmost dioceses in Sudan while we are, theoretically, connected to the whole Province. In actuality, most of our connection to Sudan involves the Diocese of Bor, where Marc Nikkel , a priest who was canonically resident in our diocese, served and taught. Since Marc’s death in 2000, we have had little direct contact with Sudan, lacking “feet on the ground” there, and several attempts for groups or individuals to go there since Marc’s death have failed, mostly due to the difficulty of getting visas approved by the Sudanese government in Khartoum. However, over the years several Sudanese priests have received their theological education at Virginia Theological Seminary, of which we are an owner diocese.

One of these priests, the Rev. Bartholomayo Bol Deng, a protégé of Marc Nikkel who is now Archdeacon of the Diocese of Bor, has started a school, named for Marc Nikkel , to serve the children of Bor, and we are deeply involved in helping him in this project financially and with our prayers.

Our 2005 St. Nicholas Day Appeal brought in over $50,000, with which Bol has installing a solar windmill to provide electricity and a reliable water supply for the school. He plans to establish a clinic there as well and to provide boarding facilities for students who live beyond walking distance.

In November of 2006, three members of the Companions for Mission Committee--David Jenkins of Christ Church, Blacksburg, the Rev. Dr. Ellen Hanckel, rector of Christ Church, Martinsville, and the Rev. Kim Webster, rector of St. John's, Waynesboro--traveled to Bor, bypassing Khartoum and entering Sudan through Kenya. They visited the Marc Nikkel School, met with Bol Deng and the Bishop and Assistant Bishop of Bor, and presented gifts from Bishop Powell and from various parishes. On their way to Bor, they also visited the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where many Sudanese displaced by the civil war await the opportunity to return to their homes. David, Ellen, and Kim shared what they learned on their trip at the Annual Council of the Diocese at the end of January 2007. The Committee is arranging for Bol to return to our diocese to participate in Council 2008.

In other matters Sudanese--

We are exploring ways to assist Dr. Oliver Duku, the Principal of Bishop Allison Theological College and member of the Commission on Theological Education for the Episcopal Church of Sudan, in his efforts to improve the education of Sudanese priests. We are relying on Dr. Richard Jones for guidance in how to go about this project. Dr. Jones is canonically resident with us, Professor of World Mission at Virginia Theological Seminary, and a leader in American Friends of the Episcopal Church of Sudan (AFRECS) .

In 2005 we sent a substantial amount of money to Bishop Gray of the Diocese of Virginia to help him fund the retirement of elderly Sudanese bishops.

In 2004 Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail of the Diocese of Kadugli Nuba Mountains (one of the dioceses linked to Bradford) visited our diocese as part of his fund- and consciousness-raising tour of the United States. His appeal for funds to build schools in his diocese met with great interest and some success here, partly because his diocese is one of the four that are linked to Bradford.

A significant number of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” now live in our diocese. A number of our people are involved in helping them make new lives in the United States.

The education of the people of our geographically large, largely rural diocese in matters pertaining to our links to Bradford and Sudan is handled largely through the Companions for Mission area of the diocesan web site.