A Very Merry Christmas From Gulu

[John Simpson]

It's noon, Christmas Eve now in Uganda.  A blustery, cold night (55 F) has turned into a dry, blustery, unseasonably cool day, but we all expect that to turn to blistering heat soon enough.  I'm here to tell you about Christmas in Gulu, and what's been happening this fourth month, December, among my twelve in the Diocese of Northern Uganda.

 

This time of year, you'll find a bustling town center, with people lugging black plastic bags filled with food stuffs and gifts.  The bars are filled to the brim, as holiday revelry rivals any football match for seducing the heavy drinker.  Watch your wallets, and don't stay out too late; many are desperate to put something under the tree, including something bought from your pocket.  But above all, clear your schedule and enjoy being around loved ones who've traveled far to be together.  This is the only agenda here.

 

To the ex-patriate, it can too easily feel like any other day.  No (well, fewer) TVs to constantly remind you how many shopping days remain, or to play your favorite Christmas movies.  The temperature has only gotten hotter this month, daily passing 95 F.  I but I do get the sense life is slowing down, and that being together and enjoying company has taken priority over work (which there never seems to be a break from).  On my way to town yesterday, I was hastily pushing my bike past pedestrians, eager to get somewhere, when I heard a familiar tune.  The tenors of St. Philip's (just right up the road) were singing "Hark the Herald."  I about power slid to a stop, and wheeled around in - not amazement, not surrealness... I was snapped to a realization of the season, of Advent, that the season is as real here as anywhere.  The same day, Bishop Onono-Onweng confirmed a lady aged 107 years.  She was born four years before Christianity first arrived in Northern Uganda.  This choir was not singing to keep up tradition, they were singing in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Christ, with songs very few of their grandparents probably ever had a chance to hear. 

 

This afternoon, we'll hear Lessons and Carols at 3:30, then maybe a minor feast.  Tomorrow, a 10am service, a small break-tea to follow, then the Christmas feast (I made a special request for mashed potatoes), which I'll be sharing with the Bishop's family.  Job and I are tapped to contribute chapati (torillas); I think we can handle it.

 

There's something exciting happening at the Diocese that I'm very happy to be a part of.  It's called the Okweyo Initiative, and it's funded (pending) through the Trust Fund for Victims, the counterpart of the International Criminal Court based at the Hague.  Okweyo in Acholi culture is a creeping plant that, when placed over a doorway, pacifies a potentially violent situation.  For us, Okweyo is going to be a comprehensive resource for civilians maimed by the LRA to reclaim their lives.  The cornerstone of this is establishing seminars and long-term small groups for victms based on the "healing of memories" work by Rev. Michael Lapsley.  It also will provide care for the long-term health needs of victims, and advocacy to government and non-government agencies on behalf of victims.  The overall goals are to help victims let go of the anger that can keep them emotionally trapped in the moment of their attack, anger that is eventually let loose on loved ones, and through listening help them turn each other into survivors, perhaps into healers of others.

 

The work is terribly big and terribly exciting.  The proposal will be submitted this week; I'll keep you posted.

 

Best wishes to everyone this holiday season.  A special shout out to the crowd that always reunites outside St. Martin's after the Midnight Mass, coming in from wherever they are around the country. 

 

John Simpson
Missionary, Diocese of N. Uganda
www.ecm-raleigh.org/ecm-raleigh/Uganda