The Uganda Church
[The writer of this article, Rev. A. B. Lloyd, of the C.M.S., has been since 1926 Commissary here for the Diocese of the Upper', Nile. He was formerly Archdeacon of Western Uganda.] " y NEVER believed in the Christian nigger," said a -I- prominent American artist to the writer, "but since I have seen Apolo (A Christian Muganda) I know now what a Christian ought to be." This was a great testimony, the testimony of a great man who meant what he said. He had visited with the writer one of the out- posts of the great Uganda church, and seen not only the man Apolo, but the work that God had enabled him to do.
The Uganda church is a monument of the greatest significance to the power of the Gospel of the Love of God. It has been raised to its present glory, with a quarter of a million Christians within its fold, in less than sixty years, and founded in the middle of the great Continent of Africa, once called "Darkest Africa." It has been built up upon that unfailing foundation of the Love of God, in a land so lately under the deadly sway of witchcraft and cruelty : its great success is largely due to the zeal of the African Christian himself. When Stanley visited Uganda in 1874 he found in this remarkable land, which was surrounded by naked savages, a people far in advance of their fellow- Africans in native culture and in the matter of Govern- ment, although the administration of justice was corrupt in many of its particulars. At the same time there was an excellent foundation upon which to build. Let it be said that the evangelistic zeal of the early Christians of Uganda has been at the root of its rapid growth. The Uganda man who adopts Christianity becomes a propagator.of that Truth, and a distributor of the Word of God. An old African heathen custom still maintained in most parts of the Continent is significant. Food is readily. shared, even with the stranger who may merely be a bird of passage from one part of Africa to another, so that it is often the case when the members of the home are about to participate in their evening meal (the chief meal of the day) a stranger who may be passing by quite unhesitatingly sits down with the party and is given a share of the food, no question being asked. The reason for this- is that all food is looked upon as the gift of the great God (Katonda) who alone can make the food grow, and supply the needs of man, and therefore the heathen man will give the hungry a share of his food, even though he does not know him, merely because he is a human being and has therefore the right to participate in the gifts of God. _ When the writer first went to Uganda in 1894, Mwanga, the notorious -persecutor of the Christians, was the king. In spite of his many efforts to overthrow the faith by the slaughter of Christians, he found his arm. utterly para- lysed, for the more he persecuted the more rapidly did the church grow. It is no doubt difficult for the ordinary person brought up in a civilized and Christianized country to understand the tremendous significance of the truth of the Love of God. We at home have been living in the environment of love all our lives in a Christian country that simply bristles everywhere with institutions of com- passion, which are the direct outcome of the knowledge of the fatherly Love of God. The African idea of God was that of a supreme being who had little or no concern with the affairs of man, and who was generally thought to be working against man and who demanded constant propitiation. The Gospel of the Love of God, therefore, is the supreme message that has altered the whole outlook of the African and brought satisfaction to his life. As a means of forwarding this knowledge of God among the Uganda people Medical Missions have played a very large part in the missionary work of the church. The practical demonstration of sympathetic care and self- denying help to the sufferers has made it clear to the African what God is like. The man who has done medical work amongst the Uganda people has invariably been spoken of as a man who is "full of grace" (ajude kisa). This appellation seems to be the nearest approach to the great truth of the Love of God that the Uganda inan is able to phrase within the scope of his language. The word usually translated for Love (kwagala), literally to like or appreciate, had its original meaning as something far below the true standard of love and entirely excluded love's sacrificial significance. "Full of Grace," however, seems to approach much nearer the mark, for it generally denotes a work of supererogation, a work that need not be done, but which is accomplished for the good of others. It is not surprising, therefore, that the medical missionary work in Uganda has had a truly wonderful effect upon the whole nation. " Sympathy " and "thought for others" are by no means characteristic of the heathen man of Africa. The care of little children, of mothers, or of the sick and aged was conspicuous by its absence. The five great hospitals of the Church Missionary Society in Uganda, the Maternity Training College, and the innu= merable little dispensaries and welfare centres scattered' throughout the country have all helped to bring about the changes to be found to-day.
Another great means for the uplift of these people has been the educational work amongst the younger genera- tion. So great has been this development within the past few years that to-day the missionary societies, both Protestant and Roman, are straining their powers to the very utmost to meet the demand. Thousands of children flock to these schools, and the accommodation at present is utterly insufficient, and the future holds great possibilities. The Uganda Government has most generously risen to the demand, and is devoting thousands of pounds to this purpose, and is making large grants. of money to the two great religious organizations (R.C. and C.M.S.) for the building and equipping of their schools. Full well does the Government know that only upon a religious foundation can this educa- tion be given successfully, for the African is distinctly a religious man, and does not dissociate education from religious teaching, but accepts it as one of its greatest assets.
Lastly, let me add one word about the man Apolo of whom the American artist spoke, whose words are at the beginning of this article. Apolo was a poor lad of heathen parentage, who heard the good news of the Love of God in his early life, when he was living steeped in all kinds of wickedness. He at once devoted his life to the sharing with others the "Bread of Life" that had brought so much joy to him, and for the past thirty years he has been living in perhaps the wildest part of Africa amongst the Pygmies and Cannibals of the Ituri Forest in the Belgian Congo. To any who may doubt the efficacy of the Gospel of the Love of God in Jesus Christ a visit to this African pioneer is recommended.
Apart altogether from the obvious Christian duty of missionary enterprise, such results as these make the work of the church eminently- worth while and full of promise for the future welfare of Africa, where the great Love of God makes the supreme appeal.
ALBERT B. LLOYD.
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