By Rev. Canon Erich Kasirye
The All Clergy three day retreat which was organized by Church of Uganda at Ndejje University – Bombo Campus was largely dominated by clergy from South Sudan and Northern Uganda while their counterparts from central and western region chose to completely stay away from the gathering, in what clearly looked like an ecclesiastical boycott.
Whether this is realistic, given present difficulties around bishopric elections in these regions or simply a preening of peacock feathers aimed at giving church a bad look, the decision to boycott is sure to raffle feathers within church corridors.
For instance, apart from archdeacon of Luzira and Natete who are clearly vying for the position of Bishop of expected to fall vacant in December 2023 and understandably, must catch the eye of the big man, i.e. the Archbishop; there was hardly any priest in attendance from Namirembe Diocese. Similarly, in Luwero, where nasty skirmishes erupted at the nullification of their Bishop elect Kasana on 28th June 2023, there was hardly any clergy visible at the retreat.
The ecclesiastical doldrums in the western region have also been blamed for the regional disparity at the retreat. In their Wednesday 14th June 2023 resolution proposed at St Emanuel Church Kabwohe hill meeting; Protestants under central Ankole Diocese chapter pledged not to continue subscribing to West Ankole Diocese, over the delayed creation of their Central Ankole Diocese (CAD). Similarly, a dark cloud looms over the Bishop of Kigezi Diocese, whose election and consecration has been contested on academic grounds. As the episcopal future in the region teeters on a knife edge, clergy in the area had more business to handle than to make an appearance at the retreat.
There was also evidence of poor mobilization strategy. Committing Diocesan Secretaries to mobilizing clergy for the retreat was not only unthinkable but also flies in the face of facts already well known that as chief administrators in Dioceses, are so busy to scout for participants.
In any case, the art of mobilizing for a retreat is not only a tedious work of publicity and encouragement, but also requires so much commitment. Mobilizers must commit to being available at the retreat and to help align participant thinking towards achieving set objectives of the retreat. Now, this is asking so much from the Diocesan secretary’s time, given their tight schedule and work in the Diocese. This explains why it was only the Diocesan Secretary of Namirembe who was in attendance, to the peril of the wider clergy family.
Proper planning also seemed quite elusive at the retreat. For instance, the retreat format for achieving set objectives and outcomes of the event was neither clear nor made available to participants on arrival. This cast a huge shadow on retreat presentations, discussions, group consultations and opportunities on informal interactions expected at the retreat. This was further aggravated by clergy missing out on meals when they were caught up in group discussions, for lack of clear time schedules at the retreat.
To clergy that were able to keep the hustle going for three days, like obviously our Sudanese counterparts; they were able to do so largely by scavenging the entire neighborhoods, for quick fix solutions like buying rolex and katogo for meals. Unfortunately, the images of holy men who were meant to be at the retreat instead being caught up in intimate exchanges with the ghetto citizens of Luwero were a prelude to disaster. They did not only cast the entire clergy family in a bit of a shadow, but the optics of it made our church look quite horrible.
It was also not clear who was in charge of the retreat. While it was obvious to clergy that the Chairman, Provincial House of Clergy would dominate deliberations at the retreat, it seemed like the Provincial Mission Coordinator called the shorts. More confusion was created when All Saints Cathedral Choir (Nakasero) dominated the entertainment at the gathering.
Participants instead of enjoying their good ministry in praise and worship, they were caught up speculation as to whether Kampala Diocese was in charge of the retreat. Such confusion in itself , created a level of peril which stifled organizational processes and effectiveness at the retreat.
Statistics and indicators on clergy empowerment are important tool in eliminating stereotypes, formulating policies and in monitoring progress toward full elimination of poverty reduction strategies. Yet regional disparities like these pose significant setback in achieving our set goals and objectives. Therefore, this must be quickly noted and factored into the ongoing work on evaluation and development of the Church of Uganda, Ten Year Strategic Plan (2017-2027).
AUTHOR
Rev. Canon Erich Kasirye 0782-392534
CHAPLAIN, KAMPALA CAPITAL CITY AUTHORITY
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