The East African Diaspora Media Watch (EADM)

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In Summary: The Massachusetts-based St. Peter’s Anglican Church of Uganda will celebrate its 10th Anniversary this Sunday June 18 at its parish home located at 129 Lexington Street, Belmont. Founded by Venerable Dr.  Alex Kasirye Musoke on December 25, 2006, the church has weathered and survived a turbulent history; splits within its ranks, switching from  one premise to another, and fending off pressures to endorse and integrate LGBT-inspired viewpoints in its doctrine; has every reason to praise the Almighty.  Inaugurated by the retired Bishop  of Mityana Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Wilson Mutebi in April 2007, the church was finally handed over to Bishop William Murdock of the Anglican Diocese of New England by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda His Grace Stanley Ntagali about 3 years ago. Celebrations marking the anniversary of the now fully-fledged parish within the Anglican Diocese of New England will be presided over by Archbishop Stanley Ntagali. During the Sunday morning service, the Archbishop will conduct a baptism and confirmation ceremony for 2 children and 6 Christians respectively.

Belmont, Massachusetts—The Massachusetts-based St. Peter’s Anglican Church of Uganda will celebrate its 10th Anniversary this Sunday June 18 at its parish home located at 129 Lexington Street, Belmont. Founded by Venerable Dr.  Alex Kasirye Musoke on December 25, 2006, the church has weathered and survived a turbulent history; splits within its ranks, switching from  one premise to another, and fending off pressures to endorse and integrate LGBT-inspired viewpoints in its doctrine; has every reason to praise the Almighty.  Inaugurated by the retired Bishop  of Mityana Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Wilson Mutebi in April 2007, the church was finally handed over to Bishop William Murdock of the Anglican Diocese of New England by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda His Grace Stanley Ntagali about 3 years ago. Celebrations marking the anniversary of the now fully-fledged parish within the Anglican Diocese of New England will be presided over by Archbishop Stanley Ntagali. During the Sunday morning service, the Archbishop will conduct a baptism and confirmation ceremony for 2 children and 6 Christians respectively.

“We feel that it was fitting to invite the same Archbishop Stanley Ntagali who handed us over to Bishop William Murdock of the Anglican Diocese of New England to come and officiate at our 10th anniversary celebrations,” Dr. Alex Kasiry, the Archdeacon of St. Peter’s Anglican Church of Uganda told the EADM in an interview on Wednesday.

Later on Sunday, the church will host a reception and dinner dance for its guests and members at the American Legion hall in Newton. Venerable Dr. Alex Kasirye told the EADM that the church also invited 18 members of the Fathers’ Union of Namirembe Diocese to come and participate in the festivities. “We thought it would be a befitting recognition to invite members of the Fathers’ Union and interact with them during this event which also coincides with Father’s Day celebration this Sunday,” Dr. Alex Kasirye said. Unfortunately, Archdeacon Alex Kasirye bemoaned that one of the guests, Mzeei Tom Tomusange died abruptly at his granddaughter’s home in Lynn, Massachusetts on Wednesday before he could participate in the celebrations  to which he had been invited.

But the ten years the church has been in existence have not been without some drama or twists and turns.   Tracing the history of the Church, Venerable Dr. Alex Kasirye Musoke, the Archdeacon of the Church, a Canadian citizen, told the EADM that when he came to the United States, there was no Anglican church in the Boston area for Ugandans. He said that together with other Ugandan Anglican believers, they mobilized fellow Ugandans and held the first-ever service on Christmas Day, December 25, 2006.

Moving forward, “We developed by-laws (a constitution), elected leaders, and registered the church as a no-profit organization in the State of Massachusetts,” Archdeacon Dr. Alex Kasirye recalled. He said that when the church was founded, it was named and registered as St. Paul Anglican Church in 2007. “Our original rented home was based in the Methodist Church building in Waltham,” Dr. Kasirye recounted.  “At that time, we were paying $500 a month for the church space,” he said.

To inaugurate the newly registered church, Dr. Kasirye said they invited the retired Bishop Wilson Mutebi of Mityana Diocese to open the church. “The retired Bishop Wilson Mutebi came here and inaugurated us as a fully-fledged Church in  April 2007,” Archdeacon  Kasirye recalled. Later, as the church grew, we moved from the Methodist Church premises and we became tenants of the Episcopal Church on Main Street  in Waltham.  Archdeacon Kasirye also said that when they moved, they even changed the name of the church from St. Paul to St. Peters Church. However, Dr. Kasirye told the EADM that within less than 2 years, some differences arose between the leadership of the Episcopal Church, within the leadership of the now renamed St. Peter’s Church, and among the congregation.

He said the sharpest of differences with the Episcopal Church revolved around  the language used during worship, and more importantly,  over the relationship between the church and LGBT issues. “First, the Episcopalian Bishop wanted us to worship in English yet we started the Church for Luganda worshippers; a requirement we could not readily accept and they also demanded that we  compromise our long-standing position  on LGBT-related issues; doctrinal and canonical  differences that were irreconcilable,” the scholarly  prelate said reflectively.

The Venerable Dr. Alex Kasirye said that matters came to a head when the leadership of the Episcopal Church, their landlords, asked St. Peter’s to join the Episcopal Church. “We opposed their  demands because we were only tenants and not part of their Church,” Dr. Kasirye said. “At that point, the leadership of the Episcopal Church gave us 2 choices; to either join the Episcopal Church or vacate the premises within two weeks,” Archdeacon Dr. Alex Kasirye Musoke recalled.

It was barely two weeks before they found a new Church home and left the premises they were renting from the Episcopal Church.  “Within a week, we had acquired a new church home; a former Baptist Church building in Belmont at a monthly rent of $1800,” Dr. Alex Kasirye told the EADM in an interview.  “With God’s Grace, the congregation of 300 registered members is poised to grow by leaps and bounds,” the erudite cleric added with unbridled optimism. While some of the church members remained, those who came with us constitute the core of our congregation. “We now have 3 Anglican churches with predominantly Ugandan congragants in  Massachusetts; St. Paul on Moody street in Waltham, St. Peters at Christ’s Church on main street housed within the  Episcopal Church, and St. Peter’s Anglican Church of Uganda on Lexington Street in Belmont,” Dr. Alex Kasirye disclosed.

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