A son of Uganda who became the Church of England's first black archbishop brought an African beat to his installation in northern England, and declared his hope of energizing the dispirited church with the confident faith of his homeland.
John Sentamu recalled that one of his predecessors had dreamed of a black taking the second-highest position in the English church, and told an applauding congregation in York on Wednesday: "Well, here I am!"
Sentamu, who moved to Britain in 1974 after clashing with Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, is the first black to serve as an archbishop in the Church of England.
PHOTO: EPA
In his sermon, Sentamu recalled that a predecessor at York, Michael Ramsey, spoke in the 1960s of longing for the church to "learn the faith afresh from Christians of Africa and Asia."
He quoted Ramsey as saying: "I should love to think of a black archbishop of York holding a mission here, and telling a future generation of the scandal and the glory of the church."
Anglicans are a growing force in Africa, and their leaders have been in the forefront of battles in the Anglican Communion over homosexuality and the correct interpretation of Scripture. Those arguments also burn within the Church of England, the nation's official but increasingly poorly supported church.
Wednesday's enthronement ceremony at York Minster -- Sentamu's official welcome following his confirmation as archbishop on Oct. 10 -- drew a packed congregation of 3,500.
Dancers in leopard skin-print outfits, their heads covered in feathers of red, white and black, performed a dance of rejoicing and thanksgiving. The 56-year-old Sentamu -- who wore a bright blue and yellow cope and miter -- joined the drummers to beat time to Siyahamba, a favorite African hymn.
Quoting again from Ramsey, Sentamu asked: "Why have we in England turned this glorious gospel of life in the Spirit into a cumbersome organization that repels, and whose people are dull and complacent?"
The new archbishop added: "And I would urge people who are judgmental and moralizing as followers of the Prince of Peace, the friend of the poor, the marginalized, the vulnerable -- I bid you, by the mercies of God, to go and find friends among them, among the young, among older people, and those in society who are demonized and dehumanized; and stand shoulder to shoulder with them."
Sentamu had been a barrister and a judge in Uganda but was studying in England when his friend, Archbishop Janani Luwum, was murdered by Amin's agents in 1977. Deciding to become ordained, Sentamu said he had vowed, "You kill my friend; I take his place."
Sentamu has been a parish priest in Cambridge and London, was suffragan bishop of Stepney in London and was appointed three years ago as bishop of Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS