I am writing this from Wakiso at the Joy Centre for Leadership Training. In case you do not know me, I am the Rev. Canon Benoni Mugarura – Mutana. When the Lord found me on the street in my home town of Kabale and saved my life, I was all alone and in gratitude, I offered my life to Him and to his service. I was advised that in order to do this, I should be trained for ordained ministry in the Church and after several interviews; I was admitted to Bishop Tucker Collage, Mukono. It took five years of training and the Lord’s plan was for me to work among the youth in the Province of the church of Uganda and not in the parish which I had been trained for. I was first denied ordination by the diocese that had spent a lot of money on my training but was later ordained deacon in 1972 and priest in 1973. Ever since I have served in the church and mainly in the youth related ministry.

Why Am I saying all this? It was to give you the background of what I will say soon and so do not turn me off.

It is the policy of the Church of Uganda for the serving clergy to retire as soon as but not more that 65 years old. If you are Archbishop you may retire at 70. The question is then, when you retire then what? The late Bishop Alupakusadi Lucas Gonahasa (Peace be upon him) used to
jokingly say, “I am retired but not tired”. What does retirement mean in the church of Uganda? I am not sure I know.

One interpretation is expressed in one of the gifts we received from St. Francis Chapel Makerere University Community when we retired from active parish ministry over a year ago. The 1.00 O’clock community gave us a rocking chair. The image it brings is that now that you have worked very had among us, take this chair and find a good place at your verandah or in my case, under the your moringa tree, rock your self to sleep and when you wake up walk around for some time then come back and rock in the chair. You are retired, see?

I am sorry, St. Francis Community if I have stretched this a little but the point I am making is that most of us in the church of Uganda think that this is what retirement is all about. I think of a Lay reader in one of the dioceses who after over 35 years of service, he retired. One of the things he loved was to see people especially the young ones turn to Christ and be saved. When he retired he looked forward to working with his home church to organize evangelistic missions but was soon reminded that he had retired. He was not allowed even to preach in his home church and more painful for him, was that he was not welcome to even speak to the balokole fellowship in the church where he and his whole family went for church every Sunday. He was reminded that he was old and one of the leaders said to him, “Old man go home!” What does retirement mean?

Often we forget that there has been a lot of experience in ministry and that the persons have had time to develop the gifts God gave them in ministry and we consign them to “retirement”. While thinking about this my mind went to the late Bishop Yustasi Ruhindi. Although his argument at that time he presented the “Garuka” theology it was considered erroneous, he was one of our thinkers. Some of the readers who are a little older may remember that this is the same time that Dr. Christopher Senyonjo hazarded to think about the church could discuss polygamy.

It was in the same season that the Provincial Assembly of 1975 passed the notorious canon on the baptism of children whose parents were not necessarily wedded in the church. The ministers who were not there ask how the church of Uganda could have bowed so low to allow this canon pass in the evangelical Provincial Assembly.

Such men and women could in their time of “retirement” be engaged to develop these thoughts and I believe that the church could have gained from such people. But that was talking about the bishops. Think of Canon Noel Enyagu, Bishop Melchzedek Otim Acar who held together the church in Lango Diocese through the time of war, I think of Canon Yowasi Senoga former dean of Namirembe Cathedral and many more like them.

Probably the church thinks that these and many like them are now on their rocking chairs and rocking themselves to sleep and waking up. Some will go to visit the cows, goats, or even chickens. But isn’t this a strange way of managing the resources God has given to the church? Definitely they do not have to be in “active” ministry to serve the Lord in the church. This reminds me of a beloved clergyman who had recently retired and wished to see the bishop about some concern. Before he retired he could come to the Diocesan offices and wait for the bishop to give him audience. But this time he came the bishop sent back the message though his secretary, “You need to have an appointment to see the Bishop”. He walked away sad and wondered if it was because he was now retired that he needed to make an appointment to see the bishop who he could previously have waited for to talk to.

The second and I think more dangerous is to think that the brain of the retired clergy and other church workers has gone bongo like as if it was milk which has stayed long unrefrigerated.  They may not think well and if they do, it is from the last generation and probably pollute by the thinking of these days.

One bishop is quoted to have said to the clergy in his diocese at the clergy retreat, “I have no place for old people. I am surrounded with the young people in my ministry”. What has happened to the old people? They are retired but is their brain gone bongo or frozen? Doesn’t this remind us of the scripture about King Rehoboam son of Solomon who could not listen to the advice of the old people? (1Kings 12:8) You may think it was then but it is true in our church now. This was very disturbing to my wife and I as we approached the retirement time.

We went to the Lord who had met me on the street in Kabale and asked what this retirement was going to mean to us especially when we did not have retirement package from either the church or the final institution we served. He gave us the vision to continue doing hat he had called us to do. He reminded us that when he called us, he did not give us a contract so that we can retire from service. It was then that we remembered people who have served the Lord and never retired. Among them, my own father and mother in-law who went home still on duty. I think of Canon SP Kigozi, Canon Musajjakawa, Mr. Zebulon Kabaza who never retired from the work of the Lord.

My heart goes to men and women who have rejected the verdict of some of the leaders and congregations in our church and have broken through the stigma. I think of Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo and the successful Rest Gardens in Bweyogerere where many of us have gone to rest and have seminars and retreats. I think of Bishop Michael Senyimba who revived the Ndege University, Prof. Senteza Kajubi and the Rev. Canon David Sentongo starting Nkumba University, My friend Bishop Mac Ochola 11 and the work of restoration in the Northern Uganda conflict. And may others we could not mention in this article. There are many others who have made the difference where they live like Canon Ernest Kibuka of Namirembe Diocese who continues to preach in many parishes with great success.

My wife Joyie and I have decided to move with the calling on our lives and are busy building the Leadership Training Centre in Wakiso for continuing of developing youth into leaders in this nation and church. The LORD confirmed this to us and showed us that he gave to Nehemiah in the Bible leadership skills that we can use in situations like our own to rebuild the nation and to empower the church for evangelism. So we are not retired but re-fired. Join us in prayer for the success of the project.

Rev. Canon Benoni Mugarura – Mutana