Yesterday, the new bishop of Ankole (in the western part of Uganda) was consecrated and enthroned. Previously, he had been the dean of education at UCU, while the Ankole folks would have attended anyhow, due to Bp. Sheldon’s relationship here, oodles of people went. We filled the big tour bus, the smaller Guild coaster (reminds me of the little hotel shuttle-type buses, but less comfortable), and then there were the other people who traveled in advance.
I went in the smaller, uncomfortable Guild bus because 1. the big bus was mostly filled with faculty, and 2. I didn’t know we were going, and 3. really hadn’t planned to attend until I was invited. My initial reaction was that I didn’t have time, but realized that this would be a good thing to do.
I reckon it was a good thing. Truly. We left UCU at 4:30 am (we were delayed about 30 minutes), and returned about 10:30 pm. We arrived at St. James Cathedral, Mbarara (where Bp. John Guernsey was consecrated, I believe) about 10 am; we had a flat tire on the way, and had to stop and change it. The good news is that the road to Mbarara has been paved (in large chunks; much of it is still in dire need of TLC since I traveled it about 18 months ago), so we were able to travel at good speed.
So, with the tire delay, it took 5.5 hours to get there. We got stuck in a bad jam returning to Kampala that night, and that journey took about six hours. We were a mite bit late, but we left the service during speeches to have lunch so we could leave. We had lunch at 4, and it was over at 4:30. Yes, the service started at 9 (I think), and ended around 4:30. The speeches would have gone on longer had it not been late and people starving. And hot.
We knew that the president was coming, so I didn’t bother taking my camera. We had to pass through metal detectors again to go sit in the open-air tents. It was a lovely, though incredibly long, service. Today I asked someone what took so long. I mean, I was there, but in my American mind, I’m still struggling to reconcile the time. But I tend to forget about things like the song presentations, so that helps explain it. The response I got was that “it would be un-African to have a consecration in two or three hours,” and that’s about right. The president spoke for about 30 minutes (in Ankole; I have no idea what he said), and at the end, presented Bp. Sheldon with a car, which from what I gather, is his practice. Not bad!
(Tiny bit after original posting) I just realized that this could read somewhat negative. It really was a lovely service, just lengthy. And the journey was lengthy. This was my first consecration, so I have nothing to which to compare, but there was such joy, and yet gravity, in what was happening. The bishop has such a great responsibility in guarding the faith and caring for the flock, and I appreciate the solemnity with which this is approached. And you should have heard the crowd when the Bishop Sheldon sat on his bishop’s chair! Wow! Such excitement!
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