By Aaron Sseruyigo
Preparations are being made by all Churches in the Province of Church of Uganda to pray, support and publicise Uganda Christian University (UCU).
Currently, The Church of Uganda is organized into 35 Dioceses. Each Diocese is administered by a Bishop and includes a Diocesan Office to oversee the priests and deacons and to encourage and support ministries of the parishes and congregations.
Come Sunday, 30th September 2018 each Church in the province is to take a financial collection for the running of the faith-based education institution.
“We are thankful to God that Uganda Christian University is growing, and recently the House of Bishops resolved that in order to support our university, we should declare the last Sunday of every September the ‘UCU Sunday’
“They are 3 main reasons; to pray for our university, secondly, to make it known so that people are aware that this is a university founded by the Church and also that they should continue to associate with it
“Thirdly is to raise money to support our university,” The Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali said recently.
UCU Sunday, the second of its kind, will be held under the theme, “Giving Thanks to the Lord”, drawn from Colossians 1:12-14.
Dr. Benon Musinguzi, Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs, says the purpose of starting UCU University in 1997 was not to do anything different from what other universities do but to “teach students differently in a unique manner to make them different people
According to Archbishop Ntagali, the money raised that Sunday will go towards supporting the institution’s main campus and regional collages.
Established by the Church of Uganda in 1997 in response to a call for quality university education with a Christian perspective, Uganda Christian University replaced the historic Bishop Tucker Theological College which trained clergy and educators during its 84-year history from 1913-1997.
The local chief, Hamu Mukasa, granted land for the college to operate in Mukono. The Church Mission Society teamed up with Ugandan leaders and others to assure the College had the necessary intellectual and other capital.
By the late 1990s, the Church of Uganda sought to have a broader impact on society through university education – not only educating clergy but other professionals as well.
In 2004, UCU became the first private university to be chartered or accredited by the government of Uganda.
