The newly enthroned Archbishop of the Province of Church of Uganda, Dr. Stephen Kazimba Mugalu had listed his priority areas. Dr. Kazimba, who enthroned on Sunday morning as the 9th Archbishop of Church of Uganda, intends to focus youth, health, and upholding institution of marriage among others issues as priority areas during his tenure.
Shortly after his enthronement, Dr. Kazimba says his service is a call to the Ministry of “Conversion of the Head, Conversion of the Heart and Conversion of the Hand” derived from the book of Jeremiah Chapter 17:9-10. He explained that as he begins his tenure as Archbishop Church of Uganda, he believes that amid the despair over many things, God is calling everybody to be fully converted through the conversion of the head, heart and the hand.
“Since I have known Christ, my calling and personal mission is that I want Christ to be known by word and life in the power of the Holy Spirit. In this next season of our life together, I want us to sharpen our focus so we are single-mindedly focused in everything we do on making Christ known in the power of the Holy Spirit. This will bring us to a conversion of head, heart and the hand,” said Kazimba.
Boy Child
Kazimba says the Church and nation have focused on educating and empowering the Girl Child with more attention towards reducing teen pregnancy, early marriages and preventing gender-based violence.
“It is a great irony, however, that as we have focused on the girl child, it has been my observation that we have neglected the boy child. This has negatively impacted them and our society. In our commitment to educating and empowering the girl child, we have neglected the boy child. If we continue on this path, we will lose them,” he warned.
He appealed for adequate training, mentorship and discipleship for both boys and girls.
Ministry to the Children and Youth
Kazimba also said that there is need to give youth and children, who currently out number adults, sufficient attention by transforming them in all areas of life. “After Children are confirmed, many lack discipleship and do not have a clear direction where to go; we have lost many in the crowd. Confirmation is not a graduation. Confirmation is an induction into the way of life as a disciple of Jesus. The children should not be blamed for getting lost after confirmation,” he explained.
He said the Church needs more discipleship and mentorship programs designed specifically for youth and those who are inducted into the ranks of “the confirmed’. “We should also increase our outreach programmes in Schools, Colleges and Universities if we are to achieve a complete conversion of the head, heart and hand. If it wasn’t Rev. Canon Baddokwaya who visited our school I wouldn’t have registered for Baptism,” he reveled.
Marriage
According to Kazimba, Church of Uganda under his leadership shall continue to emphasize marriage as the lifelong, exclusive bond between one man and one woman for procreation. Kazimba ruled out the possibility of CoU ever supporting or blessing same-sex marriage or any parallel institution to marriage drawing applause from the congregation.
“This is the trend in the Western world and some Anglican Churched in those contexts are being pressured into doing this, including our mother Church of England. But, for us in Uganda, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” Kazimba said. He observed different pressures in Uganda that undermine God’s plan for marriage citing polygamy, early marriages, domestic abuse, incest and bestiality among others.
Kazimba says that these are not God’s way and therefore invited cohabiting couples to make marriage vows and put on wedding rings since they are not satanic as said by some heretical teachers.
Church of Uganda Television
The new Archbishop said that the Church is living in a time of a lot of change especially in the area of technological advances. He noted that the Church has old tools, which are not enough to counteract new challenges since it doesn’t own a Television station of its own for gospel outreach.
“It’s time for this to change, and I call for the Church of Uganda to establish its own television station and I encourage all of us to render a helping hand for this cause,” said Kazimba.
Healthy Nation
Kazimba urged Ugandans to go for regular medical checkups and to get fully immunized to reduce the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. He appealed to government to establish a National Health Insurance scheme in order to help people access specialised health care services like heart and brain surgeries and kidney transplant among others.
Kazimba also emphasized the need to increase
access to clean water and sanitation and a reliable and genuine drug supply in
hospital facilities. “We need to have public toilets on our highways
and also work on poor disposal of polythene bags, which has led to
environmental degradation and climate change,” he said.
A Harmonious Nation
Kazimba appealed to Ugandans to be a listening ear, peace makers, forgivers and promoters of dialogue. He cited the need for love among Ugandans of different walks of life especially as the country approaches the 2021 general election.
Develop Financial Resources
Archbishop Kazimba said that his mission for socio economic development and community engagements are strategic areas, which are very big goals and dreams for the Church that will require big resources to accomplish.
“One of my personal core values is financial integrity. We will continue to build the capacity of clergy and parish staff, diocesan staff and provincial staff to be good stewards of the resources God has given us and not take advantage of their positions,” said Kazimba.
He noted that the Church cannot speak against corruption in the
country if there is corruption in the Church and promised to work toward sa
church that can be trusted with resources.
The News Editor ,Reporter at Kagadi Kibaale community Radio
