Online Church of Uganda
by Jessica Hughes
One of the good things to emerge from Uganda's lockdowns was an online Church of Uganda, created by UCU's Deputy Vice Chancellor, the Rev. Prof. John Kitayimbwa and his wife, the Rev. Lydia Kitayimbwa.
In Uganda, attending church is a mandatory activity. I have not attended many services in which the church is not full, and since I travel to supervise students on Sundays, I have been to many churches. When the lockdowns closed the churches, obviously, this left a tremendous gap across the globe, though here, church is also where community announcements are made. This means that church is more than worship; it's an opportunity for the community to gather, share, and fellowship.
The Online CoU has a robust weekly program; this schedule omits the daily lunch hour prayers:
There is a team that also creates graphics to announce the various programs and preachers, as these are easily distributed on WhatsApp, such as the images below.
A friend sent me the image below before I saw it posted in various groups:
Each lunch hour service has a leader, a choir, and a preacher. Of course, since it's on Zoom, it has its fair share of "can you hear me?" moments, but overall, it works well. I'm quite grateful for a ministry that has served to feed the flock while maintaining a sense of community during the lockdown.
One of the things I especially appreciated is that online church was never designed to replace the local church; it is a supplemental ministry. Honestly, I assumed that once the churches opened that this ministry would close, but it is still going strong. Of course, several churches and dioceses have similar ministries, so as long as one has access to the internet, there is no shortage of opportunities for church.
Read more about Online Education in Uganda in this article by Uganda Partners that includes an interview with Jessica.
The Rev. Dr. Jessica Hughes is an Anglican priest in the Diocese serving at Uganda Christian University through the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS).