Emmanuel's ordination

On December 14, I went to Soroti to attend Emmanuel’s ordination.  Emmanuel was in my discipleship group, and I supervised him for both his Sunday and block [diocesan] placements.  When I thought I had a conflict and wasn’t able to attend, he reminded me that he is my son, and gets first preference.  He’s right, and thankfully, the conflict resolved itself.

Happily, I now know the way to Soroti, and it’s actually pretty easy:  go east on Jinja Road, and after Iganga, branch left to go to Mbale.  At Mbale, go through the town and take the road to Soroti.  The cathedral is just after the middle of Soroti town.  There are precious few road signs in Uganda, and last year I missed the branch at Iganga (I expected a roundabout, and it’s just a street) and took the long way to Mbale.  This year, I took the branch, but had some issues at Mbale because the entire town is being repaved.  Once I got through that, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the road to Soroti has been tarmacked, at least a rough paving.  That turned a horrible road into a good one, even if I wondered if I was on the wrong road for about 90 minutes.

Since it’s the dry season, it tends to be hot, but Soroti is warmer than Mukono, so it was about 90 during the day, feeling between 95-97.

The Soroti cathedral is a simple building, but holds about 2,000.  The church was packed for the ordination, naturally, and while there is no air conditioning, there are a plethora of fans working hard.  The service was to start at 10, but began around 10:30, and the service itself probably ended around 1:30.  Given that there was a reading, a sermon, commissioning about 15 lay readers, ordaining two deacons, offertory, and Holy Communion, that’s not bad at all.  However, then there were the introductions (to include yours truly), and the bishop had some announcements, which carried us to 3:00.  One of the announcements was that he expects all clergy to vest for the ordination, though visiting clergy (like me) are exempt.  I leaned over to Godfrey, one of my current students, and whispered that I would vest for his ordination next year.  After dismissing us, the bishop looked at the clock, saw the time, and exclaimed “we can’t be in this hot cathedral at 3:00!” 

Bishop George of Soroti; Rev. David is holding his staff; David is the vicar of the cathedral, and is a friend from my student days at UCU.

The newly ordained Rev. Emmanuel, with the Dean of the Cathedral to his right, Canon Abraham.

Emmanuel had asked me to come to a thanksgiving service at his home; what I missed is that I was the chief guest (guest of honor).  My challenge with that was that I had intended to be in Mukono before it gets dark at 7:00, and it’s at least a four-hour drive.  Since we got out of the service late, I begged Emmanuel to let me come and make my remarks, then go.  He agreed.

After a stop to get plates for the lunch that was to come after the thanksgiving, we arrived at Emmanuel’s place around 4:30.  We were greeted on the road by a group of people cheering, yelling, and waving makeshift banners. 

This is some of the crowd that welcomed us; you can see the tents on the compound to shelter the guests from sun or rain. 

They absolutely crowded the car, and I felt like I was driving a VIP.  I reckon I really was; one of their own had reached two milestones, a university degree and his ordination.  One of the women holding a banner was on my side of the car, and was fond of inadvertently covering the windshield, and I was afraid I would run over one of the kids. 

When we reached the compound, it had been closed off with ribbon for Emmanuel to cut, much like is done at wedding receptions here.  Emmanuel knelt in prayer, and seeing him shed tears while he was praying reminded me of how overwhelmed I was at my ordination.

Emmanuel kneeling in prayer outside his compound.

Like any good function, we began with the Uganda national anthem (in English, which I mostly know), then they sang the Ateso anthem (which I didn’t know; I do know the first verse of the Buganda anthem, however).  The emcee announced the agenda, and Emmanuel asked if we could break protocol and I could make my remarks first, as I had wanted to be on the road three hours ago and was getting quite antsy that I wouldn't even make it to Mbale before dark. 

In my speech, I thanked everyone for their sacrifice in letting Emmanuel come to Mukono for three years; it is hard on extended families while our students are with us.  His wife even delivered a child when he was with us, and while he traveled for the birth, he had to come back to school.  I’m sure I said some other things, but ended by charging Emmanuel to continue to be faithful to Jesus, to continue to love the Christians in his care, and to preach the Gospel faithfully. 

Emmanuel had been translating for me, and when I was finished, he gave me a big hug, again with tears in his eyes, which brought tears to my eyes.  He then told me how much being his lecturer and discipleship tutor meant to him, and how much he has learned from me, and then translated that for the crowd.  If I’d not already teared up, I certainly would have then!

I write that not to say that I think I’m a terribly important person here, but to tell you that I’m grateful to have the opportunity to have an impact on my students.  They mean the world to me, and I treasure teaching them, talking with them, and learning with them.  Being able to celebrate with them is icing on the cake.