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Church ordains first
Sudanese
Fernando Diaz Staff Writer
Jordan Manpign Long knelt before the altar of the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word on Sunday evening surrounded by his soon-to-be peers as they laid their hands on him.
Within moments, he became the first Sudanese pastor of a community of his countrymen, some of whom came from as far as Buffalo for his ordination, and many other members of the church at 597 East Ave. attended as well.
As Bishop Marie Jerge bestowed a crimson stole over his white vestment, Long also became the first Sudanese pastor to be ordained by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United States.
Long said there are a couple hundred Sudanese living in the Rochester and Buffalo areas. About 20 to 30 were at Sunday's service. Hundreds of others filled the wooden pews to celebrate the end of a journey that began for Long in his native Maban, Sudan, and the start of another chapter in his life, ministering to others.
It was in Ethiopia that the 38-year-old husband and father of four came into contact with the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and was "evangelized."
His next stop would be a brief stay in Des Moines, Iowa, where the "first winter was so bizarre," he said.
He decided to attend the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
Long came to Rochester in 1998 and began working in earnest as a layperson for the church. Winter here made his Iowa experience pale in comparison. "The second year, there was so much more snow than I had in Des Moines."
Standing in the foyer before his ordination service, the tall seminarian glowed as he shook hands with congregants. "I feel blessed to be where I am and providing care for my people."
Long's ceremony was a service punctuated by the congregation's songs and the Sudanese Congregational Choir's lilting hymns in Nuer, one of the many languages spoken in Sudan.
Jerge told those present that it while it takes a village to raise a child, it takes the whole church to accomplish something this significant.
Two of Long's children participated in the service. Loang Manpign served as crucifer and Nyanhial Manpign as an usher.
FDIAZ@democratandchronicle.com
(Monday, October 31, 2005, issue) Reproduced Courtesy of the Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York |