Uganda Archives

A yellow tricycle and a magical plate of biscuits

Posted February 16th, 2021

Validating loss and understanding our feelings is a concept not difficult to grasp during a global pandemic. But for mission co-workers the Revs. Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather, their 7-year-old son Jordan reminded them that sometimes you have to find the courage to lean into the pain to get through it.

A yellow tricycle and a magical plate of biscuits

Posted August 27th, 2020

Validating loss and understanding our feelings is a concept not difficult to grasp during a global pandemic. But for mission co-workers the Revs. Nancy and Shelvis Smith-Mather, their seven-year-old son Jordan reminded them that sometimes you have to find the courage to lean into the pain to get through it.

Planning and hosting virtual mission network meetings

Posted July 17th, 2020

The Rev. Sharon Stewart of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the Rev. Dr. Melodie Jones Pointon, senior pastor and head of staff at Eastridge Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently served as co-conveners of one of the first virtual mission network meetings.

Finding a new normal during a global pandemic

Posted June 8th, 2020

On the surface, things seemed calm. Professors came and left every two weeks, teaching courses to adult South Sudanese students on various aspects of peacebuilding. The students sang together during morning devotions, laughed while acting out dramas in class, and played boisterous volleyball matches before dinner. The staff enjoyed the liveliness of a campus brimming with activity. Yet underneath, we were all aware of the country’s instability. At any time, a spark might fly, igniting a rapidly spreading flame of violence.

Building bridges between South Sudan’s Dinka and Nuer tribes in Uganda’s refugee camps

Posted February 11th, 2020

“The weight is on whom?” the Rev. Peter Tibi, executive director of RECONCILE International, asked those gathered at a church in Uganda’s Omugo Refugee Camp.

Two women turn past pain into present hope

Posted May 3rd, 2019

In 1993 fighting erupted within the small South Sudanese town of Yei (pronounced “Yay”). Machine guns mounted atop land cruisers and men wearing fatigues launched shells of ammunition into the air. Mothers and grandmothers hurried out of gunfire with babies tied to their backs and cooking pans seated on their heads. They emptied into forests, pushed through branches and waded through streams, moving up gravel-covered hills and down shadowed valleys. They assembled at border crossings bulging from the influx of refugees. Thousands flowed across the border of the world’s newest nation into United Nations-sanctioned areas in Uganda.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance hosts Kenyan church leader

Posted August 9th, 2018

A representative from a Kenya-based church organization visited the Presbyterian Mission Agency on Monday to discuss the plight facing South Sudanese refugees. The Rev. Nicta M. Lubaale, general secretary of the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), was hosted by Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

Pastoring in war

Posted October 5th, 2017

Reconciliation is a sacred space where weary bodies are refreshed and troubled souls are soothed, where the roar of oppression is silenced and the calm of compassion resounds.

Empowering women in East Africa

Posted September 12th, 2016

As the organizer and secretary of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) National Woman’s Guild, she’s working to change the perception about women in East Africa.