wfn.org | Episcopalians: Anglicans in Uganda live their faith in difficult circumstances

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

June 18, 2003

2003-145

Episcopalians: Anglicans in Uganda live their faith in difficult 
circumstances

by James Solheim

(ENS) "In the midst of devastating situations of poverty, 
HIV/AIDS with all its attendant consequences, armed conflict and 
the abduction of children, this heroic church remains faithful 
and perseveres," said Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold in a 
letter to bishops following a week-long visit to Anglicans in 
Uganda.

The visit came at the invitation of Archbishop Livingston 
Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo, primate of the Church of the Province of 
Uganda, and was timed to coincide with the celebration of the 
Feast of the Martyrs of Uganda on June 3, a national holiday. A 
crowd estimated at 800,000 people flowed like a human river to 
the site of the martyrdom at the Roman Catholic and Anglican 
shrines at Numugongo east of the capital city of Kampala.

Nkoyoyo welcomed the crowd of several thousand on the hillsides 
near the actual site where 22 Christian pages in the court of 
King Mwanga of Buganda were wrapped in reed mats and roasted 
alive in 1886 for their refusal to renounce their faith and 
swear allegiance to him and submit to his sexual advances. 
According to witnesses, the youth went to their deaths singing 
and praising the Lord. 

The occasion marked a major turnaround for the church, changing 
the perception of Christianity as a white man's religion to one 
that was truly African. Today Uganda has the largest percentage 
of professed Christians of any nation in Africa.

"The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church," the archbishop 
reminded the crowds--even today. He introduced the widow and 
children of his predecessor, Archbishop Janani Luwum, who was 
martyred by the dictator Idi Amin in 1977. The service was 
planned to honor all the church's martyrs, including those being 
martyred on a daily basis in the war-torn northern part of the 
country.

Grace and endurance

In his sermon at the four-hour Anglican service, Griswold said 
that the Ugandan martyrs were on the calendar of saints in the 
Episcopal Church in the USA. He talked of the heroic witness of 
the church to the power of the Holy Spirit, "giving grace and 
endurance even to this day in difficult conditions." Listening 
to the stories of struggle to be faithful in Uganda was "an 
inspiration that has strengthened our souls, seeing how the 
church is reaching out in ways that shows in a very real way the 
compassion of Christ."

During an overnight stop in London on his way to Uganda, he said 
that he took an early morning walk to Westminster Abbey where he 
saw the statue of Luwum on the fagade of the church, with other 
20th century martyrs. 

The service was an adventurous blend of elements, part Anglican, 
part enthusiastic African Pentecostalism with a great deal of 
singing and dancing. Griswold was escorted to the podium, for 
example, by a hundred women from the Mothers Union and Daughters 
of the King, singing and dancing their way across the lawn. 
Also, following the sermon, the archbishop introduced an 
evangelist who spent almost an hour deploring the corruption in 
the nation, with Prime Minister Apollo Nsibambi sitting a few 
feet away. 

The prime minister had the last word, pointing out that the 
martyrs "paid the highest price for their principles. They had 
absolute faith in God." He wondered how many Ugandans today had 
that kind of faith. He also expressed the hope that one day the 
Anglicans and Roman Catholics could hold a joint service to 
honor the martyrs.

The message of reconciliation

Griswold, his wife Phoebe, and several staff members were 
welcomed May 28 to Uganda in a service at St. Mark's Church near 
the airport at Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria. In what 
would be one of the few references to the sexuality 
controversies in the Anglican Communion, the retired bishop of 
Namirembe, Wilson Mtebi, said with a smile that they would 
encounter a church that "does not permit any deviation from 
Scripture," one that stands on the resolutions passed at the 
Lambeth Conference of 1998 condemning practice. 

In response, Griswold said that he came as a brother. "I expect 
to be surprised and I'm also prepared to answer any questions 
about the U.S. and the church." That opportunity came at a 
meeting with the Uganda Joint Christian Council where he made 
his first presentation. A lay theologian described a nation 
riven with ethnic conflict and politics, torn between north and 
south, between the Acholi and Bugandan tribes. Those divisions 
are also apparent in the church," he said, charging that the 
church was indifferent and insensitive to the martyrdom of 
Luwum, who was "loved abroad but forgotten at home" because he 
was an Acholi from the north.

In his address, Griswold talked about the terrorist attacks of 
September 11, 2001, and how "the effect was to teach us in the 
U.S. that we are vulnerable--a lesson hard to bear. In that 
moment we joined the world community where suffering and violent 
death are a daily reality." In a subsequent letter to the 
primates of the Anglican Communion, he said that "this is a 
moment in which the U.S. might see ourselves differently and 
must ask about our relation with the rest of the world, 
examining our politics in light of world suffering. The 
fundamental message," Griswold said, "is one of reconciliation. 
How can we as a nation seek to be an instrument of 
reconciliation."  A number of the church leaders present at the 
meeting expressed deep appreciation for the comments and 
gratitude that "the developing world has allies in the West."

Hope for the future

The party visited a rural development project supported by 
Episcopal Relief and Development where a widow had created a 
five-acre compound with cattle and a few crops, enough to 
support her family. In a service at the cathedral in Mityana, 
Griswold noted that "in many parts of Africa rural life is 
collapsing" so he was encouraged see concrete examples of 
progress. He also thanked the people of the diocese for giving 
the Episcopal Church Benjamin Musoke-Lubega, a Ugandan who is 
the church's partnership officer for Africa--who had been 
ordained in the cathedral.

The province's highly respected and very effective department of 
Planning, Development and Rehabilitation (PDR) has gone right 
down to the local level, working with the people to determine 
the needs and the resources available--and providing glimmers of 
hope for the future. "Anglicanism is a people church so ordinary 
people hold the key," said the Rev. Tom Tuma, director of PDR. 
"Our emphasis is on quality of life at the local level. If peole 
are poor, the church is poor. We must play our part, make our 
contribution."

Tuma is convinced that the church "should not run away from the 
immense obstacles. The greater the obstacles the greater the 
determination to overcome them. And small results provide 
motivation for us," he said with an enthusiasm that has 
attracted international donors--including Episcopal Relief and 
Development--to PDR's projects.

Chilling stories from the north

One of the most sobering conversations during the trip was a 
session with the bishops of Northern Uganda and Kitgum who told 
chilling stories of what 17 years of war had done to their 
people. Expressing disappointment that the security situation 
had prevented a visit by the presiding bishop and his party to 
the north, Bishop Nelson Onono-Oweng of Gulu described how 
"traumatized" people were with hundreds of thousands reduced to 
waiting for the war to end in squalid camps. "I don't know how 
many will survive."

Under those conditions HIV/AIDS had become a major problem, 
creating thousands of orphans. He said that two-thirds of the 
people were living in desperate poverty, twice the level in the 
rest of the country. About 80 percent of those who go to the 
hospitals are HIV positive. "The American government could make 
a big difference," they said, "but we sometimes wonder if the 
U.S. even knows that we exist."

A group of Daughters of the King, a part of the delegation from 
the north, described the suffering of women caught in the 
violence and dislocation, trying to hold their families 
together. Thousands of children are being abducted and trained 
as "killing machines" for the Lord's Resistance Army, the main 
rebel faction. (According to a recent Human Rights Watch Report, 
a record 5,000 children have been abducted in the region in the 
last year.) 

The bishop and his delegation said that the situation was 
compounded because of their isolation. They have no links with 
the outside church and feel forgotten. In response, Griswold 
said that he found their testimony "an incredible sign of God's 
grace" and reported that the Episcopal Church has been involved 
in efforts to affect legislation to alleviate the 
situation--including the testimony of a bishop before a 
congressional committee.

(The Episcopal Church's Office of Government Relations has 
joined other advocates to press for diplomatic and humanitarian 
assistance, proposing legislation for conflict prevention and 
reconciliation programs in the Acholi region and aid for the 
growing number of those internally displaced. Jere Skipper, the 
international policy analyst in the office, said that the bill 
recognizes the important work of peacemakers, such as the 
interfaith Acholi Leaders Peace Initiative, to bring the warring 
parties together and seek a peaceful solution. She expects 
action on the bill before Congress takes its summer break.)

Later the bishop would describe life in the north where "the 
nights are long--and dangerous." He told the story of his life 
being threatened by a young rebel on a path near a village--and 
recognizing him as someone he had confirmed.

'Life must go on'

The delegation from Kitgum said that their situation was in many 
ways worse because they are located on the border with the 
Sudan. "We are isolated by the violence, even from other 
Ugandans," said Bishop Benjamin Ojwang. Luwum's grave and a 
school named for him are located in his diocese. In a memorandum 
prepared for the discussion, the delegation pointed out that 90 
percent of the people in the region are living in camps that are 
often raided by the rebels who seize children to serve as 
soldiers. "The U.S. can stop the war. You must become our 
voice," they pleaded.

Representatives of the Mothers Union described a complete moral 
breakdown in the camps. Rebels abduct children between the ages 
of nine and 13, sometimes forcing mothers to kill their own 
children when they try to resist. Some of the women are forced 
into prostitution to save their children. Clergy are also 
confined to the camps and are just as vulnerable as the rest of 
the people, the delegation reported. "We can't wait for the war 
to end," said one participant. "Life must go on."

Deeply moved by their stories, Phoebe Griswold promised to take 
their story back to America. "Your story needs to be told, 
especially your struggle to survive."

US Ambassador Jimmy Klocker verified the horrific stories, 
praising the church for its peace efforts and its "resilience." 
He said that the church in the north is the only institution 
holding society together. But he warned that the situation was 
not getting any better, largely because the Lord's Resistance 
Army doesn't seem to have a political agenda that would open a 
path for negotiation, other than trying to replace the present 
government with a theocracy based on the Ten Commandments. He 
said that the people are actually being terrorized by both the 
rebels and the government troops. In the long-term tension 
between north and south the northerners don't relate well to the 
government in Kampala and feel that they have been neglected and 
persecuted--a perception that must be addressed before there can 
be reconciliation, he said.

The ambassador estimated that there may be as many as a million 
people internally displaced. "We need to be ready when the war 
ends to move into redeveloping the region," he said. "It's a 
very religious country and many programs have been initiated by 
the churches and the NGOs." He noted their participation in the 
fight against HIV/AIDS, now being used as a model, with its 
emphasis on abstinence, faithfulness in relationships and the 
use of condoms.  He gave substantial credit for the program's 
effectiveness to President Yoweri Museveni, who was welcomed to 
the White House June 10 and honored for his "extraordinary 
leadership." An estimated five percent of the population is now 
infected, compared with 15 percent a decade ago.

Uganda will also benefit from the Bush Administration's 
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, "the largest 
single up-front commitment in history for an international 
public health initiative involving a specific disease," 
according to President George W. Bush.

The party visited the Archbishop Carey Regional Resource Centre 
for AIDS, named for the former archbishop of Canterbury, opened 
by him during a visit in 1998. Bishop Samuel Ssekkadde	of 
Namirembe, who had just returned from an international 
conference on AIDS in Germany, has been a tireless advocate for 
the church's role in fighting the pandemic. 

The centre mobilizes efforts by the church, offers information 
and documentation, provides advocacy for those affected and 
infected, as well as training for those living with HIV/AIDS. 
During a ceremony, Griswold described his experience as a 
care-giver for someone living with AIDS when he was the bishop 
in Chicago--an experience that led to a commitment to join the 
fight against the disease. "We will not stop our efforts--ever," 
he said. 

Sharing realities during a retreat

In a day-long retreat with bishops of the Ugandan church and 
their wives, both Griswolds shared their spiritual journeys.  He 
talked about "how I have been shaped and formed by Christ over 
the years," admitting that "sometimes the seed grows slowly." 
Although he was baptized, "there were no signs of fruit in the 
early years." 

At boarding school he was fascinated with the complexity of the 
worship rituals as he sang in the choir--and was confirmed at 
the age of 15. Yet he expressed shock when a roommate reported 
that a priest at the school thought that Griswold should be a 
priest. Describing it as a "laughing annunciation," it finally 
dawned on him that the priesthood might indeed be a vocation. 

"Faith is a constant search and exploration," said Phoebe in 
describing her own spiritual journey. It has been a challenge, 
over the years, to find her own voice, as a woman, one who 
nurtures others. She developed a deep concern for children and 
the hungry, adding that "Frank allows and encourages my spirit 
to flourish."

Griswold said during one session that he is concerned that, in 
the United States, "we have too many resources and not enough 
spirit." The question, he said, is how we can share one 
another's burdens. When asked about divisions in the church, he 
said that "at some fundamental level all things have already 
been reconciled through Christ so the question becomes what are 
the barriers to recognizing what God has done." He added, "I 
have to trust that God can put the pieces together. That gives 
me some hope, confidence and courage. God's time is different so 
I try not to be dispirited by the divisions we are living with." 
He warned them to watch out for rumors that create mistrust 
because "that is the Evil One at work."

During a discussion after Griswold's meditations on the role of 
bishops, several bishops confessed that they were feeling 
completely inadequate in the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They 
also said that it was the first time they had met as bishops 
without a business agenda--and how important it was to develop a 
new sense of collegiality and support for one another. "It was 
very important time with the bishops in the context of prayer 
and retreat where they shared the Scripture of their lives--the 
unfailing and absolute power of the Gospel," Griswold said 
later.

Wives of bishops have clear vision

In a separate meeting with the wives of the bishops, Phoebe said 
that "despite the poverty and AIDS, they have a very clear 
vision of their roles," even if they find it daunting. A 
bishop's home is open all day and it is not unusual to wake in 
the morning to find people standing outside expecting breakfast. 
Widows and children sometimes show up looking for a place to 
stay. "They constantly share whatever they have--and they pray 
and pray with the people," she said. Despite the obvious 
frustrations in trying to meet these needs and expectations, 
"they look to Scripture for strength."

Leadership was cited as a major issue for the church in Uganda. 
In the past, Bishop Tucker College prepared many of the clergy 
and now, since it became Uganda Christian University in 1997, 
that role has been expanded. Griswold noted that "the vision of 
a thriving university has been close to the archbishop's heart."

The Rev. Stephen Noll, an American volunteer for mission who is 
serving as vice chancellor of the university, said that there 
are now 136 students studying theology, between 20 and 25 of 
them are women. The university has also developed a program for 
theology by extension, available to hundreds of students spread 
throughout eastern Africa. "People seldom think of higher 
education as mission," said Noll. "But I've seen a growth of 
mission awareness." 

Tribalism a nagging issue

It was apparent from conversations with church leaders that they 
face immense challenges in the future. Neither the church nor 
the nation are unified. "We speak many languages--and our 
ethnicity leads to more tribalism," said the Rev. Stanley 
Ntigali, secretary of the province who was instrumental in 
arranging details of the visit. 

He added that "tribalism knows no boundaries," often interfering 
with the election of bishops. In one extreme case, a bishop was 
improperly involved in the election of his successor and, as a 
result, many in the diocese moved to prevent the consecration of 
his successor. The archbishop was forced to delay the 
consecration because of security threats. The matter is now in 
the courts as one faction sued the archbishop, trying to force 
the consecration to proceed. The house of bishops has postponed 
the consecration indefinitely, seeking reconciliation. With two 
dioceses vacant, the election of a new archbishop this fall is 
also uncertain.

Ntigali said that "poverty remains a huge problem with a 
majority still very poor--as high as 90 percent in many rural 
areas where there is no health care, no clean water, and a poor 
infrastructure." Economic conditions are complicating church 
life. Most clergy never receive their full salary of about $100 
a month and must supplement their income. That makes recruitment 
very difficult. Yet women clergy "are doing very well. We have 
83 ordained women and value their ministry very much."

Understanding of HIV/AIDS is "still low in villages where there 
is tremendous ignorance. It is creating many orphans and family 
structures are crumbling. The church doesn't have many ways of 
handling such enormous problems."

Ntigali said that he has lost two brothers to AIDS and has taken 
in their children, adding them to his own five children. "Every 
family is affected and the problems seem beyond control, beyond 
the church's ability to help." Yet he said that the church has 
"started to talk about the dangers, preaching about them, 
teaching awareness. And it has made a huge difference."

Praying for peace

The Rev. Hellen Oneka, one of the first women ordained in the 
church and now director of Mothers Union for the province, works 
with women in the villages, training them in health care and 
child care, promoting morality during visits to schools. She 
also promotes agriculture in an effort to support AIDS orphans 
in what she describes as "a very difficult situation." Everyone 
gets involved, she said, revealing that she has 20 children who 
depend on her for support. 

Oneka had just returned from a visit to the north where she saw 
people hiding and sleeping in the bush out of fear of attack. 
"You see the situation and you just cry. There are thousands 
jammed together in camps with no food, under constant attack by 
rebels. Women are sometimes raped in front of their children. It 
is too much," she said with a deep and weary sadness. "If the 
war would end people could return to their homes and put their 
lives back together." During the trip she was held at gunpoint 
four times but, since she is from the area and speaks the 
language, it probably saved her life. "Our prayer is that the 
war ends."

At the end of the trip, Griswold said that one of the most 
moving visits had been to the archbishop's retirement home to 
meet 65 street children and orphans who were living there while 
the church builds a new village for them nearby. That kind of 
desire and determination to do something to address a desperate 
need "is at the very heart and soul of the church in Uganda."

------

--James Solheim is director of Episcopal News Service and was a 
staff member on the visit to Uganda.