African Friendship

St. Matia Mulumba, Irundu, Uganda

Our friendship with Irundu began in 2005 with a suggestion that we find a parish with which to twin in Africa. In 2006 three parishioners went to Uganda to find a suitable parish and one that was willing to twin with us. They decided on Irundu, a parish of 2000 square miles and 36000 parishioners in the east of Uganda in Jinja Diocese.

		Jinja is on the northern shore of Lake Victoria and the source of the Blue Nile. Fifty miles north of Jinja on the shores of Lake Kyoga lies our friendship parish. The tarmac road from Jinja runs out some way before the parish boundary, and there isn’t a single tarmac road within the parish. The Parish Priest is Fr. Stephen Mudoola and he is assisted by Fr Denis and Fr Sylvester. With such a huge area to cover Irundu has developed in a typically African way – with a fully involved laity running most of the parish activities.
The road to Irundu

So there are six major centres and thirty-six sub-centres where Sunday worship is offered without clergy; in addition, there are over a hundred house groups meeting for prayer, scripture study and economic cooperation.

Fr. James, together with a group of parishioners from Worth, went out to cement the friendship in October 2007 and this was followed in June 2008 by Fr. Stephen making a month-long visit to us at Worth.
Coordinating the Worth Irundu Friendship is the committee led by George Fitzsimons This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and members, Charlotte Sharpe, John Coke, Jenny Harrison, Helle Yeates and Rosemary Sanders with Paul Yeates, Sister Jo Threlfall and Cynthia Haynes as advisers

June Visit 2011

Parishioners visiting St Matia Malumba Parish in June 2011

George Fitzsimons receiving the gift of a chicken at a prayer meeting

The Group were warmly welcomed by Fr Stephen and enjoyed a week sharing in the life of the parish and visiting the secondary, vocational and primary schools as well as praying with some of the small Christian communities. They were able to visit various projects undertaken by the Worth Parish including the new Medical Centre which is now up and running. Read Christina Fitzsimon's first impressions of Irundu here

Christina's account of Small Christian Communities in Irundu can be read here

Photographs of June visit courtesy of Dave Hook

Worth-Irundu Friendship House financed by an anonymous Worth donor

The Worth-Irundu Friendship Prayer

God our Father,
Our refuge in adversity,
Our strength in weakness,
Our comfort in sorrow,
Be merciful to your people.

Keep the churches of Worth and Irundu in your special care.
Increase our faith,
Give us this day our daily bread,
And help us to keep learning from each other,
Offering to each other
And receiving from each other.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen

A slideshow from Cynthia's recent visits 2010