Church bans funeral services for uncommitted Christians

By Lillian Namataka

A  Church in Gulu town has announced that it will no longer conduct funeral services for uncommitted Christians and those who are not known by the churches in their respective areas.
    
The Vicar for Christ Church, Godfrey Luwum, made the announcement during the service on Sunday. He said the decision was arrived at during a meeting of the top management of the Church of Uganda.

“Top leaders of the Church of Uganda have come to a decision that the Church will no longer hold funerals or send-off prayers for unserious Christians. These are people who never attend church services and do not generally participate in church-related activities,” Luwum said.

However, the Archbishop- elect of the Church of Uganda, Stanley Ntagali said: “That is not true, it is not the position of the Church. Maybe, it is a statement from an individual.”

Luwum said the decision follows several disturbing incidences where funeral services have been conducted believing the deceased were followers of Jesus Christ, only to discover they practised witchcraft.

He added that in future, before a funeral service is conducted, the family will have to prove that the person was a committed Christian attached to a particular Anglican Church.

Luwum said that families of those who lived outside the region or abroad would be asked to produce a letter of introduction from their churches.

He urged Christians to register in their local churches in order to be on the safe side.