BE STILL AND KNOW THAT GOD IS OUR GOD

Greetings dear parishioners. May the blessings of almighty God descend upon you and remain with you.

I am not going to ask you are coping with  “Stay Home”! For starters you will not answer my question since you do not write back, and secondly I know most of you will say it is “killing us”!! Well we can only wait for what the powers that be, are going to tell us next. Meanwhile can these words of an old hymn bring a ray of light to you? (Text by Isaac Watts, & Music by William Croft; 18th Century).

O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Beneath the shadow of thy throne,
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Such words always bring me hope, give me strength and give answers  to all, and I say all, my questions. I know: God will make a way where there seems to be no way.  Try my way and you will see how all the storms within you will be calmed down.

You will remember that on 20th March, our first confirmed Coronavirus case was reported. From then to today when I am writing this piece, we have hit the 200 mark!! (Actual number 203, and of course numbers keep on changing…..). That is not good news  and it is fertile ground for bringing  desperation to some. However, with all due respect, desperation and all that goes with it, even if we stand on our heads or jump from a fourteen floor balcony, will not bring us any light. Only tuning our ears to the One with all the answers, will make us sober down and make us begin to say:_______ “Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure.” that is the way to surviving the “STAY AT HOME” period.

Have I thanked those of you who have used all possible channels, under the circumstances, to streng-then others during these difficult times? I do not think so. So thank you all of you who are doing all they can to assure us that we are not at the end of the road. I thank most especially those using NAGGULU CHURCH PROJECT and KAMU KAMU WhatsApp. Thank you, thank you, thank you. To these I add all those who are strengthening us and keeping us going here at the presbytery. We are most grateful to you brothers and sisters for your spiritual and material support, may God continue to uphold you. 

I take this opportunity to appreciate the contribution of the  people here at the church. They are doing a lot to see that our church area remains clean and well looked after. Maria Namubiru does not only make sure that everybody staying here eats well cooked meals but also teams up with people like Helen and Ivan to  ‘garden’ around flower beds, hedges etc… something which has kept us reasonably ‘clean’. Then on top of that, Ivan regularly sweeps the many leaves that continually and stubbornly fall from the trees around our compound. In all this, George Bogere is always behind the scenes to put his gift of “buyiiya” in practice.

Regarding our liturgy. Maria Salome Kirabo, is doing wonders! Talk of the worship space, requisites for the celebrations and leading the singing….. she is there. And now comes the best part, we’ve been looking for someone to be in charge of the Ministry of Worship Environment, now I am not searching any more. George has proved himself the man! This is one good outcome of the lockdown! When preparing the worship space (decoration etc…), he teams up with Kirabo and they come out with many surprises! While still on liturgy, mention must be made of Musomesa Immaculate, who makes sure that all Masses requested are well registered and said. She is always ready to take the readings during Mass, and adds her voice to the singing. Seminarian Odiya plays his part in the liturgy as expected (serving, reading and singing). 

Lastly, there is Peter, whose hand touches all touchables! From askari to “key-boardist” during our liturgy, driver etc……

As usual I say, hang on in there; be still and know that God is our God! Amen.

Sat 16, May 2020 21:05 pm