ACNS 4109 | ENGLAND | 17 FEBRUARY 2006
New Charity Commemorates 20th Century Christian Martyr
Ugandan Archbishop Janani Luwum was murdered on 17 February 1977 for standing up to dictator Idi Amin. The Archbishop Janani Luwum Trust will be launched in Westminster Abbey this Saturday, 18 February.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu is President of the Archbishop Janani Luwum Memorial Trust. He will join other worshippers for the traditional service of Evensong in the Abbey at 3 pm. After that he will lead hundreds of worshippers a short, exuberant, African-style service with drums and singing.
Dr Sentamu said, "Archbishop Luwum was a major influence on my call to the ministry. I am honoured to have a part in this permanent and practical memorial to him."
Archbishop Sentamu will be joined by Bishop Gideon Oboma from Northern Uganda and by the Revd Dr Jeanette Meadway who is a Trustee of the new charity. Dr Meadway said, "A Ugandan Christian told me of the apprehension she felt on the night when Archbishop Janani was killed. Her story helped me to understand the great respect people had for their Archbishop and his example. The Trust will promote his passion for the Christian Gospel and the wellbeing of all people, by supporting poverty relief and promoting education and health in war-torn Northern Uganda."
Photo Opportunity at West Door after service with Trustees, Bishop Gideon Oboma, African singers and Bwola dancers from northern Uganda in colourful traditional dress
Janani Luwum is one of the 20th Century Christian Martyrs commemorated in stone on the West Front of Westminster Abbey.
Background Notes:
Related Link Janani Luwum Trust http://www.jananiluwumtrust.com/
Archbishop Janani Luwum
Janani Luwum was born in 1922 in Mucwini, near Kitgum, just 18 years after Christianity first arrived in north Uganda. Ordained in 1955, Janani was a gifted leader and teacher, and was made Bishop of North Uganda in 1968. In 1974 he became Archbishop of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Boga-Zaire. In 1976 he stood against the abuse of human rights by President Idi Amin of Uganda, drafting a letter of protest to him and demanding to see him. After a show trial it was announced that Archbishop Janani had been killed in a car crash. In fact he had been shot for opposing the president. It was 17th February 1977.
Northern Uganda
North Uganda is a previously fertile area which has been decimated by twenty years of war with the rebel LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). Rebel soldiers attack villages, killing and injuring adults and abducting children to be child soldiers and concubines.
More than 80 per cent of the population of North Uganda have fled their homes and are living in crowded camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs). IDP camps have shortages of food, water, work, education and health care. Children in families which remain on their land are at risk of abduction, and each night hundreds of children walk into the towns of Gulu and Kitgum to sleep in shelters, on verandas or in the streets to escape rebel attacks.
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