I would like to recognize all the dignitaries here present as follows:
Your Excellency the President of Uganda and all dignitaries in the Government of Uganda;
The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, the Archbishop of Church of Uganda, and all Bishops and other church leaders;
The Most Rev. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese and Bishop Anthony Zziwa of Kiyinda Mityana.
The Katikkiro of Buganda and all other leaders from Buganda Government.
The Katuukiro of Busoga and all other leaders from Busoga Governement.
The Head of Mamba Clan. Omutaka Gabunga and all members of the Mamba Clan
All Christians present, members of other faiths, the sports fraternity specially my fellow Express FC Fans and those following this function via internet and other media.
Accept my Christian greeting that “Praise the Lord”.
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| Rt. Rev. Dr. James Bukomeko after this consecration and Enthronement |
WELCOME REMARKS
Dear Brethren,
I take this opportunity to warmly welcome and greet you in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is heart-warming that you have come to personally witness my Consecration and Enthronement as the 5th Bishop of Mityana Anglican Diocese.
The Bible states that a Bishop is a shepherd (1Tim, Phillipians1, Acts) who has the responsibility of tending the flock which the Lord purchased with His own blood. So, your presence gives me the trust that you like this shepherds.
When I was informed that I had been elected Bishop, I trembled because it is not a mean responsibility. But with all of you, I am now sure that the Lord has called us to serve His Church.
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY.
My name is James Bukomeko. I was born on 1st November 1968 in Luwero. The youngest of twelve siblings. My parents were the late Yonasani Kijjo and Maama Alice Janet Nabyonga Kijjo. on the side of education I hold the following qualifications:
Provincial certificate in Theology from Uganda Marytrs Seminary Namugongo
A Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from Uganda Management Institute – Kampala.
A Bachelor of Education and a Diploma in Education from Nkumba University – Entebbe.
An Executive Certificate from Hertfordshire University – UK
A Master of Divinity degree from Uganda Christian University – Mukono.
A Doctorate – honoris causa, that is honorary from the London Bridge Business School – UK.
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| Archbishop Ntagali introduces Bishop Bukomeko to the congregation |
THE CALLING TO THE ORDAINED MINISTRY
I became saved, that is, a mulokole at the age of 21. I was ordained IN 1994 and priested in 1996. I have served in various capacities in Namirembe Diocese, including being Parish priest of the following parishes.
Kireka Parish 1994 – 1997
St. John’s Entebbe 1998 - 2000
Namasuba Parish 2001 - 2007
Kansanga Parish 2008 – 2009
Namirembe Cathedral 2009 – 2010
Maganjo Parish 2010 - 2013
Nansana Parish 2014 – 2019
MY FAMILY
Since 1996, I have been married to Rose. God has blessed us with five children.
Babirye Juliet Nansubuga (Student at U.C.U in Education)
Nakato Julian Namutebi (Student at U.C.U in Law)
Grace Namubiru (S.4 at Kings College Buddo)
Alice Janet Nabukomeko (S.1 at Kings College Buddo)
David Mwesigwa Nsubuga (P.6 at Sir Apollo Kaggwa, Mengo)
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| Bishop Bukomeko introduces his children to the congregation |
The first two girls are twins. That is why at home my friends call me Ssaalongo. This family has been supportive in the ordained ministry in the last 24 years. We are also going to carry out the roles of episcopacy together. My wife and the entire family feel privileged to take up church leadership at this time. Allow me to welcome and introduce our parents present, Taata ne Maama Kasozi from Gomba Kabulasoke are parents of my beloved wife. My late parents, Mr and Mrs Kijjo would have loved to see such a day in life, let us observe a moment to commemorate them. However I would like to request my other parents present led by Dr. Adam Kimala to rise up for recognition.
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| Bishop Kazimba Mugalu hands over the pastoral staff to Archbishop Ntagali |
First of all, I praise the Lord God for calling me to the leadership in His church. I thank profusely all the Bishops who have led Mityana since its inauguration in 1977 by the Most Rev. Silvanus Wani.
So, I thank all of them starting with the most recent:
The Most Rev. Stephen Kazimba Mugalu 2008 - 2020
The Right Rev. Kapoliano Bukenya 2002 - 2008
The Right Rev. Wilson Mutebi 1989 - 2002
The Right Rev. Yokana Mukasa 1977 - 1988
I am grateful to those Bishops for their leadership and nurturing of the diocese. I particularly thank the Most Rev. Dr. Kazimba Mugalu the most recent leader for leading the renovation of the Cathedral.
St. Andrew’s Cathedral has been made into what it should be. This church is important because it has a Cathedra (that is, it has a seat of the Bishop).
In the same breath I am thankful to all the Clergy and the Laity of the Diocese of Mityana for the great pastoral work they render.
I appreciate all the diocesan departments and allied agencies like Father’s Union, Mother’s Union, Christian Women and Men’s Fellowships, Chaplaincy and Sunday schools and others for the great work which they render in the various sections of the Diocese.
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| Bishop Emeritus Wilson Mutebi and Bishop Emeritus Dunstan Bukenya both of Mityana Diocese lead the procession of prelates at Namukozi |
MY VISION FOR EPISCOPAL MINISTRY
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. 5. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6. These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. 7. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”
I firmly trust that the Lord God has called us to lead His people in promoting this greatest commandment of “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” in the whole Diocese and beyond. Jesus advises that we seek the Kingdom of God first and other things we desire will be added (Mat. 6:33)
THE CURRENT STATE OF MITYANA ANGLICAN DIOCESE
The Anglican Diocese of Mityana is part of the world-wide Anglican church. The statistics of Anglican are very interesting. They give the following picture.
Population of Anglicans
Region Number of Anglicans
World – wide 86 million
Africa 51 million
East Africa 26 million
Uganda 14 million
Mityana 0.7 million
The Number of Anglicans is growing in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is declining in Europe and North America. This also means that as the population in Uganda increases so also the number of Anglicans increases. The work of the Diocese must also grow.
The Anglican Diocese of Mityana covers the districts of;
Districts covered by Mityana Anglican Diocese
District Population
Mityana 328,964
Mubende 684,337
Kyankwanzi 214,693
Kiboga 148,218
Total 1,376,212
So, approximately 52% of the people in the four districts are Anglicans. Those are the people we are called to serve.
The Diocese has organized its service in nine archdeaconries and one Cathedral Deanery. There are 68 parishes and 20 mission parishes. We shall ensure our Christians in these jurisdictions are served well and brought to love God with all their hearts, souls and strengths. We shall be serious on this because we are aware that in 2002, about 36.7% of Ugandans were Anglicans. But at the close of 2014 that percentage had dropped to 32%. The 4.7% drop indicates that we have a challenge to keep all the sheep without any getting lost. And we have to find the lost (Luke 19:10).
Roman Catholic lead with 39.3%, followed by Anglicans in second position with 32% in the third position are Muslims with 13.7% followed by Pentecostals with 11.1%. Seventh Day Adventists comprise 1.7%. The Baptists are 0.3% and the Orthodox are about 0.1%. Those who belong to other faiths constitute 1.5% (e.g Bahai, Hindus, Owobushobozi etc). The worshippers of African Traditional Religions make up 0.1% of Ugandans. Those who say don’t have any faith make up 0.2%.
These statistics indicate that we are not supposed to be complacent but rather work hard and make all people in our jurisdictions to believe and love God with all their hearts, souls and strengths.
EMPHASIS OF OUR EPISCOPAL MINISTRY
In view of the above facts we shall endeavour to emphasize the following activities:
Preaching the word of the Lord. For people to believe and love God with all their hearts, souls and strengths, the Gospel must be preached. The Diocese will train both the clergy and laity so that there is an army of empowered Christians who will do the preaching, counselling, teaching and church planting. We shall work together with clergy and laity to spread the word of God to all categories of people. For that matter, when we invite you don’t hesitate because it is the Lord’s command.
Strengthening Holistic Mission .
The Bible states that, Jesus went throughout the cities and villages teaching, preaching, healing, feeding the hungry and doing some social work (Mat. 14:13-21; Mat 15; John 11:17-34). We are confident that the Diocese will do all these activities vigorously so that the ills like: (a) purposeless killings; (b) corruption; (c) fights; (d) Moral decadence (e) kidnaps and other such ills will be reduced to the minimum.
We shall strengthen our relationship with the following organisations, UPMB, Unicef, Uganda Joint Medical Stores, Inter Religious Council & UJCC, Bible Society of Uganda, AEE, Life Ministry, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Rooted In Jesus, TLT and Ndejje University among others.
We shall continue to work in partnership with the dioceses and churches in Uganda and abroad that have fellowship with Mityana Anglican Diocese.
Training of Clergy and Lay Readers in use of IT
Times have changed. The world now demands the use of new technology. The world now is facing in the direction of fourth industrial revolution. We shall train new and retrain serving clergy and lay readers so that their relevance is maintained in the Diocese. We shall ensure that the clergy and lay readers use internet to share the Good News, they will use animations to screen when they talk about important Christian events. The Diocese will be IT compliant.Secondly, we intend to further the theological training for our Clergy and Lay Readers. We need our clergy to preach and speak from an informed theological stand point. The theological stand point is the basis of our faith. Therefore we shall prepare seminars, retreats, workshops and conferences at all levels to build a strong team.
Resource mobilization
Mityana Diocese like many other Dioceses in the country has many needs. This requires the Diocese to respond to those needs. Appropriate needs necessitate availability of resources. These resources have to be mobilized. The Diocese will set up projects for raising funds. We shall encourage our Christians to create a SACCO in every Archdeaconry. We shall also create a special fund to enable the Diocese settle its outstanding obligations, creating new friends within and beyond the Diocese will be prioritized.
We will ensure that we promote and enhance all existing projects and also initiate new ones. I do therefore call upon all of you Christians of Mityana Diocese and beyond to pray and support us whenever we appeal to you.
The Diocese will come up with the strategies of resource mobilization which will involve all the Christians in the Diocese and beyond.
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| Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda represented President Museveni |
When we embark on those plans. I suggest that even our greeting should change. If someone says “how are you?” Your response should be “I am progressing in Jesus’ name”! I want us to have a positive and progressive attitude towards life. That is what the Lord has called to. We should not be lamenting and sad.
Institutional development
We will promote institutional development and this will include church planting, infrastructure development, Human resource development, and strengthening of the pillars and Traditions of the Anglican Church. We shall promote professional conduct and ensure that discipline of clergy and other church workers is handled through administrative structures whenever need arises.
Education Ministry:
The Church established schools as centre of learning. Our vision is to promote both private and government aided schools at all levels. Chaplaincy work in all schools will be vigorously promoted so that the Glory of the Anglican Church is seen in the young people.
This Diocese is blessed with Land and majority of the Christians are farmers, we shall work with the government agencies and individuals to promote agriculture and also preserve the Environment. Trees will be planted and we shall combat misuse of swamps by sensitising our people. Through the Diocesan departments, modern farming, and
Co-operatives in Agriculture will be encouraged and supported. I therefore appeal to the government to donate tractors and other agricultural equipment that will support this effort.
Various church departments
Through various department we will work as a team to empower youth, women, and all fellowship to fight gender based violence, teaching men new skills as good managers of their homes and to build good economic base for themselves and the church.
Addressing Health Challenges in the Diocese
There are a number of health challenges in the Diocese. The available figures show that more than 40,000 in the Diocese are struggling with HIV/AIDS. About 2.5 million Ugandan children are orphans. Some of those orphans are in the catchment area of Mityana Diocese. Other health challenges include high blood pressure, diabetes and malaria. The Diocese feels the burden to contribute towards improving the general health conditions of all our people. We shall encourage our Christians to immunize their children and adults to do regular health check-ups. Remember that my passion among others includes sports and I am a strong supporter of (Express F.C) and the team that is about to win Premier League (Liverpool). Starting with church leaders the Diocese will encourage physical exercises as a routine way of life for all categories of people. My desire is to have in the Diocese, Christians who are physically fit and healthy. The Lord wants believers who are physically fit (1 Cor. 9:27).
Automation of Diocesan operations
It is our intention that most of the Diocesan operations are automated. This will enable the Diocese to use data and other information productively. When we are planning, mobilizing resources, etc it becomes easier if people can access information quickly. Figures of Christians, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, church projects, events, messages, evangelism programmes and many more should be accessed on the Diocesan website. Other things like the Daily Scriptural readings, prayers and homilies would be available online. Christians should be able to access them.
APPRECIATION
In conclusion, we would like to thank the President of the Republic of Uganda for the continued support rendered to Mityana Diocese and all his input to ensure this consecration is a success.
I also thank the (Kabaka) of Buganda, the Katikiro and the entire Buganda Kingdom. I am very grateful to the special committees and all the Christians in the Dioceses of Mityana, Namirembe, Luwero and other Dioceses who have worked tirelessly to organize my consecration and installation. I can assure you that your labours are not in vain.
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| The Katikkiro of Buganda Owek. Charles Peter Mayiga and his wife together with Deputy Katikkiros Owek. Kawaase Mukasa and Owek. Nsibirwa Waggwa |
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| Archbishop Ntagali shares a light moment with Katikkiro Mayiga as Archbishop Elect Kaziimba Mugalu looks on |
To the Catholic Church, especially Dr. Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, and my brother Rt. Rev. Anthony Zziwa the Bishop of Kiyinda Mityana Diocese thank you for welcoming me and the cordiality you extended to me immediately after my election. I pledge to work with you in this great work of building the Kingdom of God.
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| The Archbishop of Kampala Archdiocese Cyprian Kizito Lwanga (in purple) and Bishop Anthony Zziwa of Kiyinda Mityana Diocese attended the consecration service |
Our clan leader Gabunga, and all heads in the Mamba clan, thank you for your support and love.
To the Diocese of Namirembe where I have served for 24 years, we shall always remember the fellowship we have had, my brother Bishop Wilberforce Kityo Luwalira and Maama Faith Luwalira. Rt. Rev. Samuel Balagadde Ssekadde and Maama Allen Ssekadde who ordained me and priested me, thank you for nurturing us to the level where we have reached. Glory be to God.
Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my wife, Rose, our children, parents, relatives, friends and colleagues for your prayers and support. First, you have allowed us to serve the Church all these years. Secondly, you have encouraged us to take on the Episcopal vocation. For that reason, continue praying for us. We are sure that the One who has called us is faithful, and He will fulfil what he has planned to accomplish through our ministry in Mityana Diocese (Thessalonians 5:24).
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| Bishop Bukomeko is joined by the Prime Minister, Arechbishop, Bishops and other dignitaries in a group photo |
CONCLUSION
We shall endeavor to fulfill our mission for providing holistic mission in the Diocese through the eight departments which are; (a) health; (b) treasury; (c) education, (d) mission, (e) administration, (f) youths and children, (g) Estate and lands, (h) Planning and Development. With those departments, I am certain we shall meet God’s will especially if people come to “love the LORD God with all their hearts and with all souls and with all their strength”.
May God’s choicest blessings and mercies be with you all.
+Rt. Rev. Dr. James Bukomeko
FIFTH BISHOP OF MITYANA ANGLICAN DIOCESE
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