Archbishop’s press statement on church of Uganda’s environment and climate change week at Namirembe hill

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Fellow Ugandans,

All God’s people,

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

We who believe in the Bible, Scripture charges us with a God-given responsibility of stewardship of His creation. Thus, Church of Uganda under the theme “Celebrating Environmental Stewardship Genesis 1:28-29”, this year of 2024 has focused on environment and Climate Change conservation.

Dear friends and all of you listening to me today; the signs of environmental degradation and the impact of climate change have become increasingly evident each day, reminding us of our responsibility as religious leaders to steward God’s creation. We are in a climate crisis and we can all attest to this!  The levels of both water and air pollution and biodiversity loss are exceedingly alarming. They constitute the “triple planetary crisis”. Therefore, no entity can act alone since nature has no borders.  Hence, multi-sectoral cooperation and collaboration are crucial in taking action and fostering sustainable conservation and development in our country.

In recognition of the pressing need at hand, the Church of Uganda has organized different events to foster our conservation efforts.  These will eventually enable our congregations in different Dioceses and beyond to adequately be sensitized,

empowered and supported to effectively get involved in environmental protection and climate change mitigation.

As the Church of Uganda, we shall be having  two (2) Environment weeks this year 2024 as follows;

1. The first (1^st ) Environment week started on 17^th March 2024 and will end on Friday 22^nd March 2024
2. The second week will be from 4^th to 9^th September 2024.

A number of activities have been planned for this environment week which include;

1. The Environment Sunday held on 17^th March 2024, where all the Bishops, Clergy lay readers and other preachers delivered environmental Conservation messages to the congregants.
2. Different cleaning drives, sensitization and awareness sessions on climate change, adaptation and mitigation are expected to take place in different areas of the Church of Uganda (Province)  with different Church leaders.
3. We will also be having lunch hour fellowships on Online Church of Uganda focusing only on Environment Conservation.
4. I will also hold a webinar for Church of Uganda leaders on Climate Change and Environment Conservation with Bishops, Diocesan Secretaries, technical staff, key partners and stakeholders to expound more on the role of the Church in promoting Climate action and environment conservation.

Uganda is currently experiencing extreme heat and the same heat has led our neighbors in South Sudan to close schools.  This cannot be taken lightly in anyway because it’s not far from us. Climate Change and its effects is a threat to humanity and everything God has created. This is largely driven by human activities such as deforestation, poor waste management, disruption of swamps for settlement and other human activities that have far-reaching effects on the ecosystems affecting our weather patterns, food security, and the livelihoods of millions of people.

The Church is therefore, focused more than ever coming together to reflect on our relationship with the environment and working on taking meaningful action towards its preservation. It is time to rethink our commitment to stewardship, responsibility and conservation of mother (planet) earth, which sustains our livelihood.

Through combined effort, Church of Uganda commits in the year 2024 to;

1. Organizing a series of events, conferences, workshops, and discussions throughout the year aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues and empowering our congregants to make eco-conscious choices in their daily lives.
2. Growing 1 million trees on selected Church land and engaging Church Congregants to grow trees on their individual land to restore the eco-system.
3. Strengthen our advocacy efforts on Environmental Conservation by advocating for implementation of existing policies, laws and regulations that mitigate climate change.
4. Continuous integration of Environmental conservation into our pastoral programs to create awareness to the people we lead and to emphasize the importance of environmental stewardship and care for creation particularly in our different curricula/courses.
5. To lead by example by mainstreaming Climate Change in all our operations and adopting sustainable climate smart practices in our institutions, such as reducing energy consumption, minimizing waste, and implementing eco-friendly initiatives like reducing paper print.

In conclusion, I would like to thank our partners;

•  Kerk Inactie (Church in Action) and
• Online Church of Uganda,
• Ministry of Water and Environment

These have gone an extra mile in making sure we have a successful week of Environment and Climate Change awareness campaign.

• I thank the Bishops, Clergy, Church leaders and all Christians of Church of Uganda within and beyond, who have responded vigorously to this campaign.
• I appreciate all Dioceses that received my pastoral letter and have taken the initiative to engage in different activities of Environment Conservation during this month and those planning to engage throughout the year, particularly in planting fruit and other trees in Church land.

Regardless of our faiths, let us unite to protect and preserve the Earth which is our shared home and combat the effects of Climate Change. I call upon all like-minded partners who are willing to support Church of Uganda, to come on board and we team up to restore the lost glory of God’s creation starting with our country, the Pearl of Africa.

I pray for a blessed season of environmental and climate change awareness, In the name of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu

ARCHBISHOP, CHURCH OF UGANDA