If church can’t be spared, then what can?

August 10 should be marked as a black day in Uganda’s history as the day when a house of worship got razed. It is a day when the Anglican Church lost a place of worship at the hands of those who are pursuing materialism.

Being a daughter of a canon, we were nurtured under the Anglican umbrella and one would miss anything, but not going to church. The horrific scene of the whole Fountain of God, St Peters Church in Ndeeba, being pulled down to rubble cannot get off my mind.

Imagine destroying a church in order to develop the place, including building an arcade, is outrageous.
The Bible warns us about our great love for money. ‘But Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it’ (1st Timothy 6:6-10).

‘But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil’.
Nothing in this world can satisfy if one lacks Godliness. To any believer, a church is not just a structure, but something divine, and a holy ground where people gather to seek God’s grace.

This is an attack not only on the Anglican Church, but also on all believers. The act of destroying a church shows that no one and nothing is safe. Legalities must also be revisited with a view to ensuring that we respect what is divine, if we are to claim that we are a God-fearing country.

In all this, the most painful bit is that it is after the destruction of the church and school that the government came out to arrest the suspects, yet they were aware of this land wrangle for a long time. To make matters worse, the erroneous act of destroying the temple of God, was done in the night and with curfew in place.

The wrong doers might have though they are hiding from the masses, but they cannot escape from the eye and hand of God. It was more than a week when the men in uniform were guarding the same church that sits on a two-acre land. So were the police not aware of this?

Any attack against the church is a direct attack on God and as consequence, the suspects should expect God’s wrath. 1st Corinthians 3:17, says: ‘If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him..’.

Question is, what is left for the people of Uganda, if even schools and churches are destroyed? These are the only places that give hope to the people. Such acts might see many people lose hope and resort to evil means of overcoming their stress.

Where was Namiremebe Church and other Anglican leadership fraternity in all this? These are matters that should call for serious and open condemnation. When the same church was calling for legalising tithing, the alarm was loud and clear, but when it came to defending the church, we hardly knew St Peters Church was facing a problem. If we can’t defend the church, then we also can’t defend anything else.

Not in a country whose motto is ‘For God and My Country’! Not the same nation whose leaders hold the Holy Bible when they swearing-in. This is all cosmetic if we can’t stand our ground and defend the church with all we have. It is a big shame. Much as the law will take its course, it is said when two parties fail to reconcile, there is power beyond legalities - and that is the power of God. Parents should raise God-fearing children and not children who will put material gains before their God.

With all the vast land in Uganda, one insists on the Church land! The Anglican Church should start the process of rebuilding the church. This church should be rebuilt if we are to be in good books with God.

Carol Mukisa,
[email protected]