Church House: A pipe dream becomes reality
Aug 24, 2018
The idea and Vision of the Church House (House of the people of God) coalesced when the Church of Uganda House Limited was incorporated on 7th May 1971
The journey of the Church House can be likened to the journey of the Israelites (the people of God) from Egypt to Canaan (the Land of Milk and Honey).
The idea and Vision of the Church House (House of the people of God) coalesced when the Church of Uganda House Limited was incorporated on 7th May 1971 to undertake business ventures for the Church of Uganda especially the Church House. In fact the Original name of the company was Church of Uganda Church House Limited but the Church before House was later deleted from the name of the company to fit in with the wider objects clauses of the company.
The Subscribers to the company were Z.C.K Mungonya, Chairman of House of Laity of Provincial Assembly and Erica Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and Boga Zaire. Each subscribed to one share. The original share capital of the company was Shs 2,000/= divided into 100 ordinary shares of shs 20 each.
Subsequently the share capital of the company was increased in the latter part of the 1990s to Shs 20 billion divided into 200,000 shares of shs 100,000 each and congregations were invited to buy shares in the company through their Dioceses which are the shareholders of record being represented by the sitting Bishops.
The reception area at the main entrance of Church House
As is common knowledge, the years 1971 to 1979 were extremely difficult years for Uganda both from economic and political view points. The Archbishops of the Church of Uganda during this time Erica Sabiti to 1974 and Janani Luwum (1974-1977) tried to raise money for the Church House but the general poverty of the average Ugandan, the very high inflation rates which eroded the value of whatever amounts were collected and the unavailability of goods including building materials on the market meant that nothing much could be accomplished during this time.
As is also common knowledge, Archbishop Janani Luwum was martyred in 1977. The Archbishopric of Silvanus Wani (1977-1983) was a period of mourning and despondency not only for the Church of Uganda but also for Uganda as a country.
When Yona Okoth (1983-1995) was installed Archbishop he re-awakened the Church to refocus on the goal of Church House. His strategy was to collect a cockerel also known as a cock, on average, from every member of his Church. He valued the cock at Shs 5,000/= and computed that with about 7 million Anglicans each on average giving Shs 5,000/= for Church House, the work would be done. He deployed the Bishops to implement his strategy. The strategy was not very successful perhaps because of the unstable times in the earlier part of his Archbishopric and possibly because of the effort of reconstruction every aspect of life in the latter part of his time in office.
Staircases as one of the ways to access the interior of Church House
Archbishop Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo (1995-2004) of "The Road to Development is always under construction" hit the road running, to mobilize funds for construction of the Church House.
He personally visited all Dioceses, going down to Archdeaconries and Parishes in his mobilization drive. His efforts brought in a sizable amount of money but not anywhere near what was needed to start construction. He organized the breaking of the ground at Church House by His Excellency the President as Guest of Honour but still the collections were not sufficient to start the work.
Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi (2004-2012) got convinced that the Church House project was too big to be implemented with collections from individual Christian. He sought out partners and financiers to help undertake the project.
Africa Evangelistic Enterprise
Church Commissioners Holding Company Limited