By Kefa Senoga
The Anglican Church in Uganda recently marked Sunday September 25 with a common theme throughout the province – “Arise, let us build the walls” (Nehemiah 2:18). And the call throughout the province was to rally Christians to contribute towards helping Uganda Christian University (UCU) build a special project for a special category of students, the ordinands.
The Ordinands Apartment, a project that the university is currently undertaking, seeks to build a residential block for UCU students who are training to be priests or church ministers. Currently, such students are residing in the same halls of residence with other students, which, according to the Rev. Richard Mulindwa, the Acting Manager of the Church Relations Office at UCU, is not ideal for their concentration. The apartments are expected to house more than 50 ordinands.
September 25 was the last Sunday of September, a day set aside by the House of Bishops of the Church of Uganda, for the province to hold prayers for UCU, a church-founded institution. On the day, named UCU Sunday from its start in 2017, representatives of the university spread the word about UCU in all services.
The intention of the day is three-fold – to solicit prayers for the university, to increase awareness about university programs and to raise money to support the university.
Preaching at All Saints Cathedral Nakasero, UCU Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs, the Rev. Assoc. Prof. John Kitayimbwa, urged the congregation to donate to help the church and its ministers.
“Many of the ministers in the church have children, but cannot afford to offer them a good quality education,” he said. “Therefore, what you offer during UCU Sunday will help us, as UCU, to try to bridge that gap.”
Kitayimbwa, who preached at all the three services at All Saints Cathedral Nakasero that Sunday, said UCU is one of the greatest tools that the Church of Uganda can use to spread the gospel. The choral voices that pierced through the cathedral’s rooftop at all the three services were of the UCU choir.
At Makerere University’s St. Francis Chapel, the Rev. Canon Dr. John Senyonyi, UCU’s former Vice Chancellor, centered his preaching on the topic: “Let My People Go.” Senyonyi reminded the congregation that God’s intention was to entrust man with the responsibility of looking after the world, emphasizing that when one chooses to serve God, He blesses them abundantly.
The Rev. Dr. Elly Kansiime, head of department foundation studies at UCU spent the Sunday preaching during services held at Sts. Philip’s and Andrew’s Cathedral Mukono, while the Rev. Lydia Nsaale Kitayimbwa, the Assistant Chaplain at UCU, preached at St. Paul’s Cathedral Namirembe.
Urging people to donate generously for UCU’s cause, the Rev. Lydia Nsaale Kitayimbwa tipped the congregation on how to make long-lasting impact on the world.
“If you want to make a difference in the world for a year, plant rice; if you want to make a difference for 10 years, plant trees; and if you want to make a difference for a hundred years, educate children,” she told the St. Paul’s congregation.
The Rev. Mulindwa says as people move out of the Covid-19 pandemic, many have lost hope, businesses and family members, and, therefore, the theme of building walls as enshrined in Nehemiah 2:18 is not just about the physical walls, but also rebuilding people’s souls, to give them hope.
According to the Vice Chairperson of the UCU University Council, James Abola, the institution has so far used collections made in the past UCU Sundays to support 52 students to graduation level.
UCU Vice Chancellor Assoc. Prof. Aaron Mushengyezi recently said sh400m (about $113,000) had already been secured for the apartments project that is estimated to cost sh8.5b (over $2.2m).
Collections for the past UCU Sunday events have been used to implement a number of projects at the institution. For instance, the sh300million ($78,148) that was collected for the UCU Sunday of 2018 was invested in building the UCU School of Medicine at Mengo Hospital in Kampala.
American donations can be made through the Uganda Partners Web donation button at https://www.ugandapartners.org/donate/. Put “UCU Sunday” in the comment box.
