Urgent: pray for peace in Goma
A call to pray for “a miracle of peace” in DR Congo
Photo: “Please pray for a miracle of peace.” – Rt Rev Martin Gordon, Bishop of Goma, DRC
As fighting continues between M23 rebels and Congolese forces in Goma, DR Congo, the bishop of Goma, CMS mission partner Martin Gordon, is calling on Christians worldwide to pray for “a miracle of peace” for a nation weary of violent conflict.
21 March 2025
“We still need your prayers,” writes partner Bisoke Balikenga, who runs a peace centre in Bunia. Bisoke shares that tribalism and division is creeping into churches and that the ongoing conflict and suffering is causing many people to lose their faith. Pray for people to put their hope in God and not to give up.
13 March 2025
Please keep praying for peace and stability in Goma and for all CMS partners serving in Goma. There are reports of growing insecurity on the streets and 4.6 million people in the region have now been displaced. Pray for God to position his people strategically to help those in need and pray for peace to come in Goma and the country as a whole.
6 March 2025
The most recent RDC [Congolese] government estimates are that 8,500 died in the recent battle to take Goma. Since then, the conflict has spread to Bukavu on the south of Lake Kivu as the M23 rebels continue their advance. 330,000 additional children are out of school and more than 500,000 people have been displaced bringing the total in the region to 4.6 million. Our understanding is that a main concern of those living in Goma is the growing insecurity on the streets. There are widespread reports of violent attacks and retribution, with people taking the law into their own hands. Please continue to pray for peace and stability and for all of CMS’s partners serving in Goma.
27 February 2025
One of our correspondents from an Anglican parish in Goma reports: “The weapons picked up in the street by the people while the FARDC [Congolese army] were fleeing already constitute a great danger for the population of Goma. Every night we can no longer sleep because these young bandits especially those who were released from the Munzenze prison, make the population uneasy. We record new cases of theft and rape in several families every morning.” Two families from this parish were among those affected. Continue to pray for peace and good order to be established.
20 February 2025
Please continue to pray for people in DR Congo, where conflict is raging on and more people are losing their lives. In addition to Goma, rebels have now taken the town of Bukavu, leading to more people being displaced and more deaths.
Further north, in Ituri province, a different rebel group have killed more than 100 people. CMS partner Bisoke Balikenga writes that in Bunia, where he runs a peace centre, people are now living in fear as they hear rumours that Ugandan and Rwandan soldiers are coming to take their town and fight them too.
As supplies become scarcer, food prices are rising and many are struggling to afford daily essentials, let alone stockpile food in case supplies run out altogether. Pray for comfort and hope for all those suffering and living in fear, for provision of basic supplies and for peace to come to this nation.
If you would like to give to CMS’s emergency appeal for DR Congo, click here.
6 February 2025
The Goma Call for Peace was officially launched in South Africa by Mike Mpanya, a Congolese youth activist, Favor Ange Rohi, a war survivor and women, girls and children’s activist, and the bishop of Goma, Martin Gordon, a mission partner with CMS.
The Call for Peace has been backed by the archbishops of Congo and South Africa, as well as the World Council of Churches and many others. The Church of England Pensions Board is leading investors in joining the Call, recognising the importance of eastern DRC’s mineral wealth in the struggle for control of the region.
You can show your support for peace in three ways:
1. Support the Goma Call for Peace by adding your name to the petition at Change.org.
2. Encourage your family, friends and colleagues to support the Goma Call for Peace using #GomaCallForPeace on social media. It’s simple: just forward the Change.org petition.
3. Email or write to your president or prime minister asking them to support the Goma Call for Peace.
Find out more at https://gomacallforpeace.org
29 January 2025
Bishop Martin is seeking to use his position to advocate for the people of DRC. He has issued the Goma Call for Peace through the Anglican Communion News Service.
“The immediate and decisive response of the international community is what we are hoping for, as well as a call for the global church to pray,” Bishop Martin told CMS.
The Goma Call for Peace issued, 28 January 2025
Call from the Bishop of Goma for the international community to act immediately and decisively for peace in eastern DRC.
With the escalation of the conflict in eastern DRC following Sunday’s incursion of Rwandan troops into Congolese sovereign territory on the Goma/Rubavu border, and mindful of the subsequent humanitarian and security risks in the region, the international community must act now.
In solidarity with those suffering in Goma and across eastern DRC, we call for:
- The immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities and respect of the existing ceasefire agreement.
- The protection of the civilian population and an urgent humanitarian response including the restoration of power and water to the city.
- The withdrawal of those external forces from DRC soil which are in clear violation of DRC’s territorial sovereignty. This includes the M23 and the RDF.
- A resumption of dialogue in good faith between Kigali and Kinshasa believing that peaceful and diplomatic means are the only way to end the conflict which has already caused untold suffering.
- The international community to invest every effort and to consider using all possible means to bring peace to eastern DRC.
People in the region want only peace.
28 January 2025
On Tuesday 28 January, Bishop Martin reported: “The city of Goma still has almost no power and many areas no water. The M23 is pushing to take control of the city. The FARDC [Congolese army] are holding out and pushing back particularly around the airport and other areas. Civilians are being caught in the crossfire. Four thousand prisoners have escaped. Most people are terrified in their homes.”
Bishop Martin is part of a group of people within CMS whose mission focus is making disciples of Jesus in areas where armed conflict has been a continual challenge, including DR Congo, Sudan and South Sudan.
“Please pray for the role of the Church in pastoral care, peace-making and reconciliation,” he said.
Further prayer points from Bishop Martin:
- “For an immediate cessation of fighting and respect of the existing ceasefire agreement
- For protection of the population
- For a rapid humanitarian response – to re-establish water and power, for food, medical care
- For the withdrawal of the Rwandan forces from DRC soil
- For the courageous intervention of the international community
- For the resumption of honest dialogue to find a lasting solution
- For a miracle of peace”
For more about Bishop Martin’s work, sign up to receive Hope from the Edges; the upcoming February edition features him sharing about recent developments in DRC before this current situation gripped Goma.
