UCU celebrates two decades of growth
Oct 27, 2017
Senyonyi recalls that the students who came in had self-esteem problems because they considered themselves failures for not being able to go to Makerere
Twenty years ago, Bishop Tucker Theological College (BTTC) attained a university status and became Uganda Christian University. At this time, the Church of Uganda sought to have a broader impact on society through higher education, not only for clergy, but other professionals as well.
The Rev. Can Dr John Senyonyi, the vice-chancellor, has vivid memories of the institution when he joined it in January 2001 as the first fulltime university chaplain.
At the time, the institute was less than three years old and still running on the chaplaincy programme most students were non-residents and Senyonyi was tasked with ensuring that worship was at the centre of the university.
The administration block is distinct and one of the oldest buildings at UCU Photos by Henry Nsubuga
Spirituality
Senyonyi introduced community worship on Monday and Wednesday. The inaugural services were held in the main hall which is called the Principal's Hall. The services soon became so popular that the university turned to the cathedral to host them.
"We started having the services in February, but a few months down the road the hall filled up and so in 2002 the Nkoyoyo Hall was constructed," he says.
During this time, the main Sunday service was held at 5:00pm, which was a legacy from the Bishop Tucker days. However, a morning service at 8:30am was soon introduced and eventually became the main service.
A few years later, a second service was introduced. Besides these church services, a mission week was an integral part of the university and students had to reach out to the neighbouring community with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Senyonyi, however, questioned the efficacy of this tradition since most of the students were not theology students and not necessarily believers. He instead recommended that evangelistic missions be held at the university.
Consequently, staff members held crusades in the evenings, mission preachers visited classrooms and on Saturday they took advantage of the large number of students that would turn up for sports. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS STORY
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