Dear Chris,

We have learnt with shock the demise of our Bro. John Bradley but also due to the fact he was in the Lord’s Ministry, we believe God has called him to himself for a divine purpose

On behalf of the Diocese of North Mbale and the Christian Community in our part of the world, wish to join the rest of the Anglican Communion worldwide, not only to mourn but also to CELEBRATE the life of John and his ministry to the Church of Christ. We therefore send our sincere condolonces to the Bishop, the Diocese of Bristol and the family of Father Bradley. We pray for the Diocese and for his family that the “Lord God will be your refuge and strength and A very present help in trouble.” Ps 46:1-2.

May God bless you all.

Sincerely Yours,

+Daniel and Perpetua Gimadu

North Mbale Diocese.

We have been deeply saddened by the news of the sudden death of Father John Bradley on Wednesday 12th August, one of the assistant priests at Westbury-on-Trym Parish Church; he will be greatly missed. His funeral will be held on Wednesday 2nd September at 1.00 p.m. in the Parish Church.

John was a long and loyal supporter of the Diocesan Link with Uganda. He came across as a gentle, courteous and unassuming man, yet when the need arose he was also a man of courage and action. In 1985 he visited the Diocese of Mbale at the height of the troubles and stayed near Kabwangasi training college in North Eastern Uganda.

This is his account in his own words, “A meal has been prepared … rice, meat and matoke … suddenly our peace is shattered. An immensely lound bang is followed by others and shouting. Automatic fire is coming through the glass front door. The gunmen are in the room … As I go down I feel a sharp pain in my shoulder … Bullets hit the floor beside me … One of the intruders has a panga. It swishes jsut above my head, too close for comfort … it lasts for some ten minutes … one by one we picked ourselves up … I light the lamp. Some seeem to have been hurt quite badly. The worst is the local rural dean, with a bullet wound in the head. A flesh wound only, but he has lost a great deal of blood. … we got him to an armchair. Someone produced some small plasters and gave them to me. I used to of them to hold his wound together (the bullet had grazed his temple) then cut my pyjama trousers in two and used one leg to make a tight bandage to stop the flow of blood. He said it hurt, but it worked.”

While many people after an experience like that would have gone home to recover, John, after a day of rest, went on to complete another 17 days touring the diocese, preaching, teaching, listening and befriending. A great ambassador for the diocese and his Lord. On his return he asked that the “Close links [with Uganda] should be strengthened in spite of his experience.”

His last act for the Link was to draw together a small exhibition of photographs and memorabilia for the 40th Anniversary Celebration of the link and it was a great joy that he was able to be there for the service in May 2009.

Message from the Archbishop of Uganda; http://tinyurl.com/kkad88

Message from North Mbale; http://tinyurl.com/lcajmr

Message from Mbale Diocese; http://tinyurl.com/nhqfge

The following is an extract from the website of the Diocese of Northern Uganda

The house of bishops elected the Rev. Canon Johnson Gakumba as the new bishop of the diocese of northern Uganda replacing Bishop Nelson Onono-Onweng. The consecration and enthronement is set for December 20th 2009 at St. Philips Cathedral Gulu. Rev. Canon Johnson was a Vicar at Bugolobi church of Uganda in Kampala until his election.

Congratulations Canon Johnson

Rev. Willy Akena

DIOCESAN INFORMATION OFFICER

0772667334

This month Bristol West Deanery will be packing a container with school equipment, desks, chairs, screens, computers, all you need to run a school and sending it out to Kitgum in Northern Uganda. All the equipment has been donated by Nailsea primary school.

Ricky Winn writes:

We shall be loading the 40ft  container at Nailsea school on 19th and 26th August. It has to be off site on 28th August. We have been able to buy the container which Kitgum Diocese say they will value.

For more pictures of the packing click here

Romans gives us an insight into a convention at Kako in West Buganda Diocese which he attended with Tabitha Ddembe and Amy a young woman from the UK. It took place from 23rd to 26th July, 2009. Over 1,500 people attended, including 3 bishops, over 60 clergy and more than 100 lay leaders.

The Theme was “Drop the staff” a reference to Exodus 4:2-3 when Moses had to obey God even when it seemed impossible.

Dear Bristolian friends,

We pitched our tents on the 23rd, while the other delegates slept in empty school class rooms. The conventions kicked off with a showing of Samson & Delilah, after which Rev Tabitha Ddembe and her parishioners led the participants in praise, worship, preaching

and giving testimonies which continued all through the night.

On the 24th Amy and I had a great school assembly where we spoke about sin and salvation. The children and teachers were very much amused by the magic colours which my friend David Glover from Newcastle had given, and learned that whatever our colour we are all the same to God. Later we joined the main meeting and listened to the speakers. Many of them were translated so Amy and the non–Baganda delegates were able to understand them.

Lunch around 2pm, then back for more speakers who spoke about:

the sins we must drop (our staffs) so that God can use us; sharing stories from their own lives about the sins they have had to drop and the changes God has made in their lives.

In the evening we showed the film of The 10 Commandments to several hundred people.

On the Saturday the programme continued in the same vein, and in the evening we were all moved by a screening of the Mission. Many thanks to Alan Reader who provided all the DVDS when he last visited us.

Sunday the 26th we shared Holy Communion with the newly consecrated Bishop of Mityana the Rt. Rev. Dr. Kazimba. He gave a very animated message and many came forward to receive Christ for the first, still others recommitted their lives. I had a chance to catch up with him about our time together in the Holy land of Israel last year. The service which started at 10 am did not end until 4pm.

After lunch at 5 pm we packed up and headed home, all of us longing to be back home.

We all pass on our heartfelt thanks to OAC Bristol for sending us the funds which really came just at the right time when we wondered how we would pay for the convention. Sarah always says “With faith signs and wonders happen – Romans signs a cheque and wonders where the

money is going to come from” I needed money for fuel, accommodation etc. so your support was very timely.

Thank you very much.

Ever yours in Him,

Romans

Rev David (Romans) Serunjogi visited Bristol to take part in our 40th Anniversary celebrations in May 2009.

It is with sad, but grateful hearts that we received the following message from the Diocese of Northern Uganda.

“From Rev. Willy Akena

Christian greetings from the Diocese of Northern Uganda is the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Diocese of Northern Uganda with deep sorrow announces the untimely death of Mrs. Blandina Oboma, wife to Rt Rev Gideon Oboma the Retired Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Uganda. Blandina went to the Lord on Tuesday June 30, 2009 at 6:30 am from St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor. She left behind four biological Children, two girls and two boys and many children she whom she has been caring for. Blandina has been a very hard working, dedicated, faithful, loving, caring and friendly lady.

The Burial was held on Tuesday 6, July 2009 beginning with prayers at 10:00 am at St.Philip’s Cathedral and followed by a committal in the Cathedral Cemetery.”

Gideon, with his wife, was one of the first bishops to train at Trinity College, and he had a close connection with St. Peters’s Henleaze and the Deanery.

We have sent cards from the parish and the Deanery.

A full obituary can be read at the Diocese of  Northern Uganda Blogspot

Submitted by Ricky Winn

Since our return from Uganda Chris Hawkes and I have been actively developing links between our local schools and schools in Uganda.

School Partnerships

A very successful partnership seems to be developing between Greenmeadow School and Bwasiba school in Uganda. One of their teachers is very keen to go out to work there for a while. Greenmeadow has recently been sent a drawing and a piece of writing from every single child in Bwasiba school.

Mutual learning.

There is much to learn from each other. I was surprised to see how a few visual aids there were in the schools in Uganda that we visited. There was rarely so much as a picture on the wall. No doubt British teachers could contribute a huge amount in that area.

On the other hand, Greenmeadow staff were enormously impressed by the quality of the work coming from Bwasiba, both in terms of neatness, spelling, artwork and imagination. One teacher said, “This is better than ours could do.”

A helping hand for a young teacher

We were particularly delighted to receive a gift of £350 from the school in order to continue the educational degree of Esther Nakamya.

Esther, is a dedicated teacher in her 20s. She works at the school at Bwaziba, specifically teaching the blind children, who are based in a home about half a mile down the road.

Esther teaches the children not only to read and write in Braille, but to look after themselves in their daily life. They learn to cook, find their way around, obtain water and grow food, which is an essential skill in Uganda. She has also formed a choir.

Her source of funding was interrupted halfway through her university course. Now we are confident that, with just a bit more help, she will be able to finish that.

Having seen the importance of Esther’s work in that community, we are delighted with the way this link between the two schools is developing.

Ugandan shopping bags

We are also delighted to have been part of a small scheme for selling handmade multicoloured shopping bags made in Luweero. These are tremendously useful, now that supermarkets are reluctant to hand out plastic bags. I am sure we could sell dozens and dozens of them in the diocese if a way could be found of getting them to us. We would love to receive your suggestions.

Raymond

SMRT has recently come through that they have received funding grants to allow two teachers and two pupils from their link school in Ikoba to come over and visit Bristol in September 2009.

They are hoping to run a Skittles Challenge during the day on Friday 25th September and to have a Cultural Celebration Evening on Tuesday 29th whilst the visitors are here.

Year 7s provide food and nets for Ikoba

James House (our Year 7s) have raised some funds to provide enough mosquito nets so that everyone sleeping at the school has a net. We also think some children miss out on food at lunchtime so we are hoping to support some extra food.

Latest SMRT Uganda Newsletter

4th May 2009

Arrival of Revd. Romans Serunjogi, Mission Co-ordinator for Central Buganda Diocese to stay in the East Bristol Partnership for two weeks. How blessed we are! Today Romans is accompanied by Revd.Tabitha Ddembe, his friend and counterpart in West Buganda Diocese, who is in the UK for the first time and sensibly wearing a fleece jacket to keep warm.

My hope was to grow the link in East Bristol. Having been to Uganda twice, I am only too aware of the wonderful way in which we can be enriched by our Ugandan friends. I hoped and prayed that the next two weeks would demonstrate that for all of us.

Also, I wanted Romans to experience something very different from the bigger churches he normally visits. He is mission co-ordinator in Central Buganda Diocese; I felt sure he had insights to share with us.

A ‘magical’ mission …

Over the next two weeks Romans led assemblies in St. Matthias and Dr. Bell’s School, Two Mile Hill Infant and Junior Schools and Air Balloon Hill Infants School. He was a real hit with the children, speaking about Uganda and the schools he runs as part of his mission. His magic tricks were a particular favourite, as he talked about diversity, but reminded the children, “We are all one.”

We ate school dinners with the children. I watched with embarrassment as some of the children pushed their meals aside. I thought of the children in Romans’ schools, who would be glad of anything to eat in the middle of the school day.

Most of the schools we visited are not church schools. Romans was scandalised that we had to be careful about how we spoke of our faith in a multi-cultural setting. When I explained the history of one of our older schools, he replied, “Do you mean to say the church started the school, the Board of Education took it over and now we can’t talk about Jesus?”

Accompanying Romans in East Bristol was certainly an opportunity to view our own culture through a very different lens.

Down on the Farm

One morning we visited a local dairy farm. Romans was wide-eyed with amazement when he heard of the staggering yield of milk the cows there gave every day. The farmer explained that their diet was supplemented with maize to keep them healthy and productive. I blushed as I thought of the two maize mills Romans has set up in Central Buganda Diocese to improve the nutrition of the local children.

I blushed again when the farmer showed us his state-of-the-art electric bore hole, which provides clean drinking water for the cows. I could not help thinking of the lakeside village of Lubajja some of us had visited in 2005, where there was no sanitation and no clean drinking water at all; the City Deanery churches have worked so hard to enable them to construct pit latrines, and a basic bore hole and pump so that the children can grow up in a healthy environment.

The Parable of the Great Feast

Romans was a great encouragement to us in our local mission. We visited the Saturday drop-in lunch at St. Mary’s, Fishponds; a fairly new venture. Volunteers were waiting inside, but as yet there were no diners. Romans and I went into the local park and told people on park benches and in the children’s play area about the offer of a free lunch. Soon the tables inside were full.

“This place is in a great location for mission,” Romans said encouragingly. “You are next to a park where you can do things outside and so close to the shops (on Fishponds Road).”

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

The highlight of the two weeks was the day the Uganda Roadshow came to East Bristol, featuring the Anglican Youth Fellowship Band. The atmosphere as they led assemblies in Air Balloon Hill Junior School was electric. The children responded enthusiastically to the dancing and singing; volunteers were able to joining in with both dancing and drumming at the front.

We moved on to Bristol Brunel Academy, the former Speedwell Secondary School, where the band would perform in the reception area during the students’ three, overlapping, half-hour lunch breaks.

The Vice-Principal watched anxiously as they unloaded electronic instruments and amplifiers. She reminded us that it was exam time and that we would need to keep the volume at an appropriate level, as some students would be in class at all times.

The first group of students began to appear. The band began to sing. The lyrics were very openly Christian: “Hold on to Jesus; he is your best friend, he will not let you fall.” There was a bit of jeering and my heart sank for the band. I could see that members of the band had noticed the jeers, but they were undaunted. Those of us who were with them prayed silently for a miracle, the band took their music to a new level and the miracle happened.

Suddenly there were students all around us and gathering on the walkways above, at levels two and three. They danced and cheered, joined in with the actions, took pictures with their mobile phones and mobbed the band for autographs afterwards. This happened three times, as each successive group of students took their lunch break.

In the final break, Revd.Tabitha Ddembe, who was with us for the day, started dancing for joy in the middle of the arena. One of the older boys approached her, tapped her on the shoulder and danced energetically with her during the last song.

The Vice-Principal’s fears were laid aside; not a single member of staff complained. In fact many admitted to having a tear in their eye, the Principal told me afterwards. The Academy was pleased to be able to showcase the occasion to a visiting group of head-teachers who arrived part-way through.

“They think we are wonderful now!” said the V-P.

Perhaps it was that we had given the young people, “The chance to show a different side of themselves,” in the words of my youngest son. Perhaps, but I have no doubt that the Spirit moved among us on that unforgettable afternoon; and BBA rocked!

Coming down from the Mountain-Top

Now Romans, Tabitha and the band have gone back to Uganda. They have to get on with their work and we have to get on with ours. We have shared some memorable times and made new friends.

I still have the niggling doubt that our Ugandan visitors realise quite how much they have given us from their side of the link, but those of us who met and shared with them are in no doubt. We have been blessed, enriched and encouraged, as well as perhaps being made a little more conscious of just how difficult it is for those of us who are materially wealthy to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

We have squandered the gift of life.
The good life of some is built on the pain of many;
The pleasure of the few on the agony of millions.
To you we lift our outspread hands.
We thirst for you in a thirsty land.
We worship death in our quest to possess ever more things;
We worship death in our hankering over our own security,
As if our own survival, our own peace,
As if life were divisible,
As if love were divisible,
As if Christ had not died for all of us.
To you we lift our outspread hands. Amen.

Prayer used at Sixth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Vancouver 1983

Article contributed by Susan Allman

Bristol Diocese Mothers’ Union is linked with West Ankole in Uganda so it was with great pleasure that we welcomed Canon Edidah Mary in June. Edidah Mary had been Diocesan President and is now Provincial President in Uganda; she is well known to a number of us who have visited Uganda including Jane Gibbs with whom she stayed.

On the Sunday she attended worship at St. Philip’s Stratton, read a lesson and the choir sang her a special blessing.

On the Monday she came to Bristol and was taken by Judy Winn (Bristol West deanery leader) to Easton Cof E primary school where both the head and most of the pupils are Moslem. She spoke to the older children and said that the visit was so interesting it would be included in her PhD thesis. Then she went on to visit the Easton family centre.

Bristol Archdeaconry members met her for lunch in the Cathedral Refectory and then she was taken ‘South’ by Annette Sealy (Bristol South deanery leader) to see the Hartcliffe and Withywood Teenage Parents Project another of our MU involvements. She then met Bristol South members over a strawberry tea.

Finally she met Kingsglo members for supper at Coalpit Heath.
On Tuesday, which turned out to be her birthday she had a lunch party with Malmesbury deanery members and Bishop Lee, and the next day our overseas rep., Julia Lettey, took her up to Mary Sumner House, our headquarters in London, before the service in Southwark Cathedral and the Annual Meeting next day.

It is so good for our members to meet friends from our link dioceses and we thank Edidah Mary for coping so well will a very busy schedule in Bristol.

Rosemary Thomas (Diocesan President).