Father Stephen Lunagula is a graduate of the Orthodox Patriarchal Ecclesiastical School “Makarios, Archbishop of Cyprus” at Nairobi in Kenya, and also holds a degree of Pastoral and Social Theology. He was ordained priest in 1975 by the late Bishop of Uganda Theodore Nankyama. He serves as a Prelatic Commissioner in the Eastern region of Uganda (Busoga). He is the father of ten children.
Dear brothers,
Rejoice in the Lord!
It is a great blessing and opportunity for me from Uganda to be in contact with your Fraternity, which was founded in 1963 by the name “Friends of Uganda”.
I feel the spiritual joy and honor to thank our Bishop Jonah Lwanga, who blessed and entrusted me with the position of the Prelatic Commissioner of the Orthodox Church for the eastern part of Uganda at the region of Busoga.
I am deeply touched to be writing to you humbly asking for spiritual guidance and financial support.
The exact base where I serve is the Holy Church of Saint James Adelphotheos ( Jacob, the brother of the Lord) in Nawango, where there are 919 Orthodox Christians. We have a permanent primary school with 415 children, of which 139 are orphans, or come from very poor families. I try to support them in many different ways to the extent this is possible. We teach them reading and writing, we offer them common meals, we supply them with school uniforms, blankets, notebooks…
Apart from Saint James’ community, we have created other communities as well, like that of the Annunciation of Theotokos in Nakyaka with a primary school, where most children sit under the trees, while some of them learn reading and writing at the temporary buildings. Here we have 365 children, 22 of which are orphans. We also have a permanent Junior High School, which started operating in 2012.
I always try to help them as long as I can afford it, but many times it is technically impossible for me to accept any other children who are srarving, due to lack of financial support. The number of children mentioned is small, but there is a larger number of orphans or children coming from very poor families who need our love and support, and who are waiting to be included in the new aid program. We also have new communities in the regions of Kananage, with 64 Orthodox Christians, Bugondha, with 49 Orthodox Christians, and Kiyunga, with 14 Orthodox Christians.
I would also like to offer the children the following:
- Spiritual guidance, a common meal at school as well as the absolutely essential, especially to the orphans and those coming from very poor families.
- An orphanage, which I hope we will be able to build at the region of Nakyaka, for a more convenient spiritual supervision, medical treatment and concentration of the orphans.
- The construction of a permanent primary school in the same region, which will help us bring the children closer to Orthodoxy.
- In conclusion, with possible future assistance on your part, I would like to do as many things as possible in other parishes of my region too, so that Orthodoxy can expand and flourish, and increase the number of the orthodox Christians in the Church of Uganda.
- Dear Brothers in Christ, I humbly ask for your spiritual guidance as well as your financial support so that we will be able to realize our wishes, dreams and hopes through the love of our Lord and Savior. Amen!
Fr. Stephen Lunagula
Prelatic Commissioner
