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.
Kehinde Sanni spends his days smoothing out dents and repainting scratched bumpers in a modest autobody shop in Lagos. He has never left Nigeria, yet he speaks glowingly of Burkina Faso military leader Ibrahim Traore. “Nigeria needs someone like Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. He is doing well for his country,” Sanni said. His admiration is shaped by a steady stream of viral videos, memes and social media posts — many misleading or outright false — portraying Traore as a fearless reformer who defied Western powers and reclaimed his country’s dignity. The Burkinabe strongman swept into power following a coup in September 2022
‘FRAGMENTING’: British politics have for a long time been dominated by the Labor Party and the Tories, but polls suggest that Reform now poses a significant challenge Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor Party yesterday in local elections that dealt a blow to the UK’s two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities, including one mayoralty. The group’s strong showing continues momentum it built up at last year’s general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics. “For the movement, for the party it’s a very, very big
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
SUPPORT: The Australian prime minister promised to back Kyiv against Russia’s invasion, saying: ‘That’s my government’s position. It was yesterday. It still is’ Left-leaning Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday basked in his landslide election win, promising a “disciplined, orderly” government to confront cost-of-living pain and tariff turmoil. People clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, who visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and journalists. Albanese’s Labor Party is on course to win at least 83 seats in the 150-member parliament, partial results showed. Opposition leader Peter Dutton’s conservative Liberal-National coalition had just 38 seats, and other parties 12. Another 17 seats were still in doubt. “We will be a disciplined, orderly
RSS