Prayers are underway at Namugongo as thousands of Christians commemorate the day the Uganda Martyrs were killed some 127 years ago.
The martyrs who refused to reject their faith in Jesus Christ were killed on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga in 1886.
Read it all (and what a picture!).
O God, by whose providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: Grant that we who remember before thee the blessed martyrs of Uganda, may, like them, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, to whom they gave obedience even unto death, and by their sacrifice brought forth a plentiful harvest; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
A Zambian priest has challenged Christians across Africa to stand up and fight corrupt practices that are “soiling the fabric” of many countries on the continent.
The Revd John Kafwanka, currently Director of Mission at the Anglican Communion Office, was speaking following the recent arrest of Ugandan anti-corruption activist and retired Assistant Bishop of Kampala Diocese the Rt Revd Zac Niringiye.
Niringiye and eight other campaigners were arrested on Monday by the police at Uganda’s Makerere University for distributing pamphlets calling for an end to high-level corruption. The group was later released on bond.
The Church of Nigeria has about 17 million members and Uganda another 8 million. As in other African provinces, most members in these two countries are regular churchgoers.
The Church of England counts about 26 million baptised members, but says only about a million of them attend services every Sunday.
—Reuters from a story last week entitled “African Anglicans denounce Church of England gay bishop rule”
(Via email–KSH).
It is very discouraging to hear that the Church of England, which once brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Uganda, has taken such a significant step away from that very gospel that brought life, light, and hope to us.
The recent decision of the House of Bishops to allow clergy in civil partnerships to be eligible to become Bishops is really no different from allowing gay Bishops. This decision violates our Biblical faith and agreements within the Anglican Communion.
When the American Church made this decision in 2003 it tore the fabric of the Anglican Communion at its deepest level. This decision only makes the brokenness of the Communion worse and is particularly disheartening coming from the Mother Church.
We stand with those in the Church of England who continue to stand for the Biblical and historic faith and practice of the Church.
Our grief and sense of betrayal are beyond words.
(The Most Rev.) Stanley Ntagali is Archbishop, Church of Uganda
BISHOP Stanley Ntagali was installed as the eighth archbishop of the Church of Uganda in Namirembe Cathedral, Kampala on December 16th.
During the service outgoing Archbishop Henry Orombi signed a certificate of abdication and formally handed over the primatial cross, “which had become too heavy to bear” to Archbishop-elect Ntagali. Bishop Orombi, as he wants to be known, then spoke words of thanks and encouragement to his successor. Observers noted that a point might be being made to President Museveni who attended part of the service, who at 72 had had the constitutional provision for a limit to his term changed.
President Museveni urged the new archbishop to focus on young people, as 70 per cent of Uganda’s population are under 30. He noted that though the incidence of AIDS had initially dramatically declined since 1986 due to the Abstain, Be Faithful and use a Condom campaign, it was now on the rise. He urged the church to “use the pulpit to save our children”. He urged that sexual behaviour should be private and confidential, and that while they were not going to persecute or marginalise those who engaged in homosexual practice, they were not going to promote them.
He sat between two men of God. They have been in his position. Faced with a tougher job, under close scrutiny of a bigger congregation, the new Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali, looked relaxed and only shifted occasionally in his seat during his enthroned on Sunday, Dec. 16. The 57-year old sat between his mentor, retired Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo, and his predecessor, immediate-past Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi. After signing a few documents as the new archbishop, he said something that left Orombi in quiet laughter and smiles.
Over 30,000 people flocked St. Paul Cathedral, Namirembe to witness the enthronement. President Yoweri Museveni, Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, ambassadors, chief justice, Catholic Cardinal Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, Pastor Joseph Serwadda, head of the Pentecostal Churches, the Metropolitan YonaLwanga, and a representative of the Mufti of Uganda attended.
Via email–KSH.
The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali was enthroned as the 8th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda on Sunday, 16th December, at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe.
More than 3,000 people attended the colourful ceremony, including His Excellency the President, political leaders, business leaders, and all the Bishops of the Church of Uganda.
Ten Archbishops (Primates) from other Provinces in the Anglican Communion were also present ”“ Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan, Kenya, Indian Ocean, Nigeria, Jerusalem and the Middle East, England, Scotland, and North America ”“ along with other Bishops from Kenya, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Australia, United States of America, and England.
The President of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, attended the function and addressed the gathering, urging the Church to increase their ministry to young people and to guide the youth in moral, upright, and productive living.
The Most Rev. John Sentamu, Archbishop of York and a Ugandan by birth, represented the Archbishop of Canterbury and read a letter of greeting and congratulations from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The preacher for the service was the Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America. Preaching from Philippians 2:5-8 and John 21:18, Archbishop Duncan addressed two vocations for the Church of Uganda and the new Archbishop.
Archbishop Duncan cited Paul’s invitation to “have the mind of Christ,” and noted “God has especially called you [Church of Uganda] to the humility ”“ the servanthood ”“ of the East African Revival. You know, better than most Christians that you are sinners saved by grace.”
Referencing John 21:18, Archbishop Duncan spoke directly to the new Primate and his wife about their calling in this new stage of ministry. “Becoming Archbishop means going where you do not plan to go. You are to have the mind of Christ in a very new way. The Lord Jesus is speaking to you as He spoke to Peter. You Stanley, and Mama, are to die and to live. Many days you will be carried where you do not want to go. You will be Christ’s servant more than ever now, as you seek to serve Him by being the servant of the servants of God.”
The enthronement service combined the singing of traditional Anglican hymns with spontaneous outbreaks of Tukutendereza, the traditional hymn of the East African Revival.
The Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, retiring Archbishop, handed over the Provincial Staff to Archbishop Ntagali, thus symbolizing the transfer of spiritual authority from one Archbishop to another. The congregation broke out into spontaneous and extended applause, showing their love and affection for both Archbishops.
Archbishop Ntagali was then seated in the Primatial Chair at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Namirembe, and greeted by every Bishop of the Church of Uganda and all visiting Archbishops and Bishops.
In his Charge, the new Archbishop pledged to finish the construction of Church House and ensure that it generates income for the Church’s wider ministry. He identified support for Uganda Christian University, Theological Education, youth and children’s ministry, GAFCON, and HIV/AIDS ministry as priorities.
The Rt. Rev. Stanley Ntagali was elected the 8th Archbishop of the Church of Uganda during a meeting of the House of Bishops on 22nd June. Bishop Ntagali was consecrated in December 2004 as the first Bishop of Masindi-Kitara Diocese.
The retiring Archbishop, the Most Rev. Henry Luke Orombi, announced his early retirement in January 2012. Enthroned as Archbishop in January 2004, he served nine out of a possible ten years.
Archbishop Orombi’s tenure as Archbishop was marked by extensive travels and preaching around the country, a commitment to youth ministry, and the construction of Church House, a commercial building on Kampala Road.
Referencing John 21:18, Archbishop Duncan spoke directly to the new primate and his wife and the vocation of this new stage of ministry.
“Becoming Archbishop means going where you do not plan to go. You are to have the mind of Christ in a very new way. The Lord Jesus is speaking to you as He spoke to Peter. You Stanley, and Mama, are to die and to live. Many days you will be carried where you do not want to go. You will be Christ’s servant more than ever now, as you seek to serve Him by being the servant of the servants of God.”
The sermon also reflected the deep friendship between the two men which began some eight years ago when Archbishop Ntagali visited Pittsburgh before his consecration.
His Grace Rev. Henry Luke Orombi announced his early retirement in January 2012. He was enthroned as Archbishop in January 2004 for a ten year term till 2014.
“My passion as a Christian and a leader is preaching the Gospel, and that has been my life-long calling. When I have been invited to our Dioceses on pastoral visits, I have always made it an opportunity to preach and invite people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So, I want to devote the rest of my life, while I am still able, to fulfilling this calling full-time,” said Orombi while addressing the press about his early retirement.
He has consecrated 26 new Bishops and launched four new Dioceses, made extensive travels and preached around the country. He has been a source of encouragement for the emergence of the Global South churches as leaders for Biblical faithfulness within the worldwide Anglican Communion.
A group of Bishops and senior clerics from Nigeria and Kenya issued a call for the Archbishop of Canterbury effectively to be replaced as leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion by an elected chairman.
Meanwhile the Anglican church in Uganda offered Bishop Welby its support but warned the Church is “fractured” over questions such as homosexuality and the interpretation of the Bible.
The remarks come following a meeting of Anglican leaders from around the world in Auckland, New Zealand, which ended this week, attended by he current Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams.
“The Church of Uganda welcomes the news of the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Justin Welby as the new Archbishop of Canterbury. We are pleased to hear that he is an evangelical and will pray for him to lift up Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life,” and to set the Word of God written as the authority for our common faith and morality. It is a challenging season not only in the Church of England, but also in the global Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion remains fractured due to the inability of the Instruments of Communion to restore the Communion to Biblical faith and morality. We pledge our cooperation and prayers for him as he takes on the mantle of leadership.”
In Uganda, during the eight years in the 1970’s when Idi Amin and his men slaughtered probably half a million Ugandans, “We live today and are gone tomorrow” was the common phrase.
We learned that living in danger, when the Lord Jesus is the focus of your life, can be liberating. For one thing, you are no longer imprisoned by your own security, because there is none. So the important security that people sought was to be anchored in God.
As we testified to the safe place we had in Jesus, many people who had been pagan, or were on the fringes of Christianity, flocked to the church or to individuals, asking earnestly, “How do you prepare yourself for death?” Churches all over the country were packed both with members and seekers. This was no comfort to President Amin, who was making wild promises to Libya and other Arab nations that Uganda would soon be a Muslim country. (It is actually 80 per cent Christian)….
It became clear to us through the Scriptures that our resistance was to be that of overcoming evil with good. This included refusing to cooperate with anything that dehumanizes people, but we reaffirmed that we can never be involved in using force or weapons.
…we knew, of course, that the accusation against our beloved brother, Archbishop Janani Luwum, that he was hiding weapons for an armed rebellion, was untrue, a frame-up to justify his murder.
The archbishop’s arrest, and the news of his death, was a blow from the Enemy calculated to send us reeling. That was on February 16, 1977. The truth of the matter is that it boomeranged on Idi Amin himself. Through it he lost respect in the world and, as we see it now, it was the beginning of the end for him.
For us, the effect can best be expressed in the words of the little lady who came to arrange flowers, as she walked through the cathedral with several despondent bishops who were preparing for Archbishop Luwum’s Memorial Service. She said, “This is going to put us twenty times forward, isn’t it?” And as a matter of fact, it did.
More than four thousand people walked, unintimidated, past Idi Amin’s guards to pack St. Paul’s Cathedral in Kampala on February 20. They repeatedly sang the “Martyr’s Song,” which had been sung by the young Ugandan martyrs in 1885. Those young lads had only recently come to know the Lord, but they loved Him so much that they could refuse the evil thing demanded of them by King Mwanga. They died in the flames singing, “Oh that I had wings such as angels have, I would fly away and be with the Lord.” They were given wings, and the singing of those thousands at the Memorial Service had wings too.
–Festo Kivengere, Revolutionary Love, Chapter Nine
[See here for further information, and, through the wonders of the modern world, you may also find a copy online there]; this was used by yours truly in a recent teaching on the Book of Acts
The Anglican Mission in America (AMiA)’s Society for Mission and Apostolic Works has lost one of its two ecclesial sponsors. In a 22 August 2012 statement given to Anglican Ink, the Church of Uganda said the canonical cover offered by one of its bishops to clergy who wish to affiliate with the society under the leadership of Bishop Chuck Murphy had been withdrawn.
Yesterday, the House of Bishops elected Bishop Stanley Ntagali as the eighth Archbishop of the Church of Uganda. The new archbishop is expected to be dedicated and hardworking, if he is to overcome challenges faced by his predecessors and the entire Anglican Church.
The archbishop has been elected at a time when the Church House project is underway. This project started in 1970s, but its actual construction was realised during the tenure of Archbishop Luke Orombi. Although work is progressing, some sources at Namirembe revealed that most of the money used to fund the project is borrowed.
Some Christians, especially in Kampala, are worried that if the church fails to get the money, it will be forced to sell off its land, especially in Kampala, to clear the debt. It is going to be the work of the Archbishop to look for more funds to complete the project.
The House of Bishops, comprising leaders of the 34 dioceses in the country, elected the new Archbishop this morning after a week-long retreat at Lweza Conference Centre.
Ntagali becomes the eighth person to assume the seat in the history of the Church of Uganda….
The new archbishop will be consecrated on December 16 at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Namirembe.
Church of Uganda Bishops are converging at Lweza conference center in Lweza along Entebbe road for a week long retreat to elect a new Archbishop.
The New Archbishop will replace the outgoing Archbishop Church of Uganda the Right Rev. Henry Luke Orombi .
Despite a terrorism threat, tens of thousands of Christians visited Namugongo to honour 26 Ugandans who were killed because of their faith 126 years ago. Some of the pilgrims walked for hundreds of kilometres before reaching the shrines.
On the concrete floor next to Namugongo’s Catholic Martyrs shrine sits Regine. The old lady doesn’t know her exact age. For the last three nights she has been sleeping here, next to the church. Nobody accompanied Regine when she travelled across Uganda. “Last night it rained and we all got wet. I didn’t care about that. We have to endure some suffering to strengthen our faith. Just like the martyrs here did,” she says.
Religious leaders from the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox denominations have welcomed a proposal by the government to start funding the activities of the church to expand its role in social service delivery.
The clerics under the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) said the church needs state funding in critical areas such as health and education because their interventions in these sectors supplements government’s efforts to improve the livelihood of the population.
The Anglican archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi who is the UJCC chairman said during their annual assembly at Pope Paul memorial center in Kampala that if the church starts receiving State funding, it would make a sizeable contribution towards poverty alleviation and improving the standards of living among the populace.
As Uganda gears up for the 50th independence jubilee, bishops from the Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox faiths have called on spiritual leaders and politicians to advocate for unity and love to promote peaceful coexistence among Ugandans.
The bishops under Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) came together for a prayer pilgrimage at the Catholic and Anglican shrines in Namugongo Wednesday ahead of Uganda Martyrs’ Day due June 3rd.
The historic day is marked in memory of the 45 Catholic and Anglican martyrs who were murdered on the orders of Kabaka Mwanga of Buganda for refusing to forsake their faith between 1885 and 1886.
“The Anglican Church in Uganda submitted its views on David Bahati’s Private Member’s Bill formally when it was first tabled, and made clear that they were not in favour of introducing a death penalty for homosexuality. I completely support that position.
“It is important that across the world we stand in solidarity with people, flesh of our flesh, who are being in many cases victimized or demonized because of their sexual orientation….”
O God, whose Son the Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep: We give thee thanks for thy faithful shepherd, Janani Luwum, who after his Savior’s example gave up his life for the people of Uganda. Grant us to be so inspired by his witness that we make no peace with oppression, but live as those who are sealed with the cross of Christ, who died and rose again, and now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Primate of Uganda, Archbishop Henry Orombi has announced that he will step down from office at year’s end, retiring after nine years as Archbishop of Kampala and leader of the second largest province of the Anglican Communion.
In an address to a meeting of the Ugandan House of Bishops on 7 January 2012, Archbishop Orombi issued a call for the election of a new archbishop to be held at the June bishops’ meeting.
In a statement given to The Church of England Newspaper by the Church of Uganda, Archbishop Orombi said he was leaving office a year before his mandatory retirement at age 65 in order to focus on mission and evangelism.
In the mountainous and beautiful south-west of Uganda, the Anglican Diocese of Kigezi is running a highly-successful water and sanitation programme. This is providing safe facilities for village communities, many of which are located in remote areas, where many people have died from water-borne diseases.
Trained staff teach the locals about the importance of good hygiene and safe water and the conservation of supplies. Rain water tanks are built, pipes are laid over rugged terrain, taps are installed and springs are protected and fenced off from animals and other predators.
The women and children are thus saved hours of carrying heavy containers of water daily up steep hillsides. Accordingly, the children have more time for school, and the parents have more energy and opportunities take greater care of their families, their land and their livestock.
Precious in thy sight, O Lord, is the death of thy saints, whose faithful witness, by thy providence, hath its great reward: We give thee thanks for thy martyrs James Hannington and his companions, who purchased with their blood a road unto Uganda for the proclamation of the Gospel; and we pray that with them we also may obtain the crown of righteousness which is laid up for all who love the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
The Diocese of Kigezi has once again been recognised by the Ministry of Water and Environment for its outstanding performance in the Water and Sanitation sector.
The Diocese received an award as the ‘Most Outstanding NGO’ in Water and Sanitation promotion for the financial year 2010/2011 during the just concluded Joint GoU/Development Partners’ Water and Environment Sector Review held at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala from 11th -13th October 2011.
The House of Bishops of the Church of the Province of Uganda sitting at Commonwealth Speke Resort Munyonyo on September 28, 2011 elected Rev. Canon Nathan Ahimbisibwe as the 1st Diocesan Bishop of the newly created South Ankole Diocese. The Diocese was carved out both Ankole and West Ankole Dioceses.
[Bishop Dan] Zoreka, who started pastoral work on October, 10, 2010 has confirmed 1,675 Christians in the Anglican faith.
Zoreka, accompanied by his wife, Florence, said it was important for Christians to build the foundation of the church by ensuring that the young ones attend Bible lessons at their local church.
Scenes of joy and praise played out as hundreds of Christians who attended the rededication and reopening ceremony celebrated the completion of the project. The Anglican archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi, led the mass in which the church was rededicated to God before it was symbolically re-opened by fisheries minister Ruth Nankabirwa who represented President Yoweri Museveni.
Museveni and Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi were some of the individuals who were honoured in absentia with accolades and certificates in recognition of their outstanding contribution towards the renovation.
The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda (COU), Henry Luke Orombi has urged the members of the Anglican Church to be more prayerful like their counterpart Muslims, Catholics and born again Christians.