Ordination and Independence

No, the two aren't related; they just fell on the same day.

Sunday morning was my usual service at the cathedral, and the third service (in Luganda) included the ordination of four new deacons.  Three had attended UCU; I don't know anything about the fourth.  It appeared to be a lovely service; our dean preached the sermon.  Her sermon was 50 minutes, Eucharist was about 20 minutes, the ordination was about 20 minutes.  The bishop spoke for a bit at various times, including at the end when he announced that the dean and her husband (who is the diocesan secretary) would be made canons on 22 Aug.  Otherwise, I'm not quite sure what took three and a half hours, but it was a joyous time.

For Independence Day, I went to the American Recreation Association (ARA) of the American Embassy for their barbecue and fireworks with Sandra, the other American student.  It was a nice time; eating overdone hamburgers, potato salad, and cole slaw was definitely American.  Sitting on the lawn watching fireworks was very American.  Sitting with 200 other Americans and being greeted by absolutely no one was also very American.  Sandra and I are used to greeting and being greeted by anyone who's breathing, so being treated like Americans by Americans felt quite odd.  We spoke more with the Ugandans who were working the security detail than we did with any Americans.  Since I'd worked at the Embassy in New Delhi, I didn't take my camera, thinking that security wouldn't allow it in.  Silly me.  Not that there was anything in particular to photograph, though I have to say that seeing the Marine Corps Color Guard was a beautiful sight.

The ARA is nowhere near the Embassy.  We took the long way home (accidentally, but it worked), and we drove by the new Embassy, built and fortified after the Embassy bombings in 1998.  It's a beautiful building, but even at night, the thing looks like a fortress.  And huge.  This is the building where my camera would have been confiscated.  

Sandra stays in Namugongo, and since we got back late, she wouldn't let me take a taxi back to school, so I stayed there.  Since it was unplanned, I was staying outside without permission.  I felt like a college kid sneaking back into the campus/the dorm to shower this morning.  And no, I never did that in college.  Or ever, actually.  :)