THE CHURCH

 

THE CHURCH

 

The Church is not the buildings

Or the Priest in celestial garments

It is not separate from you or me

Nay

Not the powerful bell

Or the majestic sounds

Of the Orchestra

 

The Church is you

The Church is me

The Church is Us

We are the true bride of Christ

We are the light of the world

Yes

We are the solution

The Salt

The healing balm

That has been prepared

By Jesus the Christ

 

The Church Isn’t Bishops, Reverends and Vicars

For they can do nothing on their own

The Church is not well tended graveyards

Or silent stone cold ancient cathedrals

Nay

It is we the Parents

Teaching our babies to pray

To forgive

To heal

It is we siblings

Sharing our morsels of bread

With the orphan on the street

 

The Church is the lawyer

Representing the indigent

It is the Judge

With a compassionate heart

For the repentant thief

The Church is the nurse

Treating the rebel and the soldier

Alike

It is the commuter taxi

Giving a free ride

To the disabled beggar

 

The Church is the astute businessman

Giving to Caesar

And to God

It is the empathetic mourner

Supporting the widower

It is the patient driver

Waiting his turn in the traffic

The Church is the School girl

Guiding the visually impaired

Across the busy Northern By-Pass

It is the bespectacled gent

Cautioning the toddler

Not to tease the rabid dog

The church is the Politician

Making laws for the healing

Of war torn regions

And campaigning for just laws

In her beloved land

 

The Church is the Minister

Apologizing for excesses of his policemen

The Church is me

The Church is you

Let us be the Church

 

February 22, 2021

 

Happy Birthday

 February 6, 2021

Happiest Birthday my dearest bestest best friend, companion, partner, counsellor and wife

I celebrate you today and will always bless the Lord who gave you life. We are honoured to know you and to do life with you

It is a humbling honour to call you wife and mother of our children. Thank you for being such an exemplary hardworking and loving mother, and mentor

I have seen you bear the hardship of child birth, nursing our babies and mourn the loss of a loved one; 

I have seen you stand strong amidst adversary, disappointment and hardship;

I have seen you smile with your eyes, laugh with your heart, and celebrate with others;

You have  sacrificed your time, money and talent for the good for others;

I have seen you stay up late at night to nurse little ones, counsel troubled souls or finish your assignments;

I am inspired by you and am honoured to call you friend, mentor, help and advisor

You are truly a proverbs 31 wife. I sit proudly at the City gates;

I love you and appreciate you

Happiest birthday my Gentle one

Muah

06.02.2021

CHANGE – The only constant thing

 

CHANGE – The only constant thing

 

… to make different in some particular /to make radically different /transform/to give a different position, course, or direction to

to replace with another/ to make a shift from one to another/to undergo a modification of …

 

Dear reader, you and I have also gone through a lot of changes since we were born. Once in a while, I pull out my album to look at the old pictures of our children. They have changed so much that one might not see any similarity between the old and current pictures. The mature butterfly goes through a series of transformations and changes before it wows the nature lover’s eye with its magnificent wings. I know that those reading this blog in 2021 have gone through a very unique 2020 which included long periods of staying at home (under a lockdown). This was certainly not planned for. Classes for some shifted to online platforms, church services went online, and the internet became the main form of business and interaction. For those in Uganda, many of you have just gone through yet another election period which is unique because the COVID 19 pandemic made it extremely difficult for campaigns to be run in the usual format without either the government or even citizens feeling wary of the risk of spreading the virus further.

 

“The only constant in life is change”-Heraclitus

 

Very few of us find change as an exciting thing. We are normally comfortable with letting things be and will try to avoid disruptions at all costs. At the workplace and in all other spaces, we tend to resist, either by commission or omission, any changes that might arise. Nonetheless, the inevitability of change means that we need to prepare for change and develop an attitude that is adaptable to the changes that might be arise.

As COVID 19 has shown, sometimes change does not give us notice of when it is coming nor is it noticed when it takes place. Whereas some changes are like the tsunami, other types of change, like the transition from slow mail to email, or email to WhatsApp, actually sneak in like a thief in the night. They are hardly noticed or specifically invited. I am an avid fun of slow mail and would still appreciate a postcard and letter from far away. However, I know that this has since lost its attractiveness. Our children are more comfortable with text messages, emoji’s and social media platforms which make communication instant. This is the new reality.

The best way forward is to be flexible and have an attitude of preparedness for what is inevitable. I am reminded of my days as a Boy Scout, where we had the motto ‘Be prepared!’ So as we begin the year 2021, may we prepare ourselves adequately for the changes and any other circumstances that might present themselves.  

Of

Of the people, the people, the people

Of the power in the hands of the people

Of constitutionalism and democracy

Of free and fair elections

 

Of COVID- 19 pandemic

Of presidential addresses

Of blocked consultations

Of blocked music shows

Of fake news

Of credible intelligence

Of teargas and live bullets

Of diverted routes to campaign venues

 

Of social distancing

Of curfew

Of attempted murder

Of online vitriol

Of vulgarity and careless speech

Of betrayal in the City

Of underhand deals

Of unethical times

 

Of barefooted presidential candidates

Of bullet proof vests and helmets

Of yellow and red for black skins

Of arrested candidates

Of state inspired violence

Of tuli mu situlago

Of face masks and sanitizers

Of black masked armed men

Of hammers and burnt tyres

Of broken limbs and chattered spines

Of snippers and crashed bodies

Of death

 

Of blocked internet

Of jobs for competing candidates

Of incumbency

Of incumbency

Of more incumbency

Of more security vehicles with hidden number plates

Of sirens, tear gas and water hoses

 

Of blocked twitter and face book platforms

Of military might

Of disappearances and hijackings

Of civilians in military courts

Of media bullying

Of pride and prejudice

Of more sanitizer and face masks

Of house arrests

Of court petitions

 

 

Of Ugandan elections 2020-2021