The Chosen Evangelical Revival Church (CER) has asked the government to declare September 29 a public holiday to commemorate Salvation Day, which the church says marks the spread of Christianity and reconciliation among communities in northern Uganda.
The church says the day, which is being observed for the 79th time this year, commemorates September 29, 1947, when its founding leader, Yusto Otunu, was born again and began preaching Christianity in northern Uganda. Rev. Ken Odongkara, the CER disciplinary chairperson, made the call during a meeting to prepare for the church’s 79th Salvation Day celebrations and the consecration of Bishop Robert Ocan Tubamoi as the church’s new overseer.
Odongkara said Salvation Day holds historical significance because the spread of Christianity challenged traditional spiritual practices and helped bridge longstanding divisions among clans in Acholi. He said different Acholi clans traditionally worshipped different spirits and had distinct spiritual practices.
“When the issue of being born again came to Acholi, they realised there was a being greater than the one they worshipped, and that is Jesus Christ,” Odongkara said. He said Otunu, who worked as a translator for Dr Eliya Lubulya, embraced Christianity and began challenging some of the traditional beliefs of his community. According to Odongkara, Otunu demonstrated his new faith by cutting down a tree associated with the worship of a traditional spirit known as Wang Yago.
He said elders cursed Otunu, predicting that he would die without having children, but that he survived and later had children. Odongkara said Christianity also contributed to reconciliation among communities that had previously regarded people from other clans as enemies. He said the church therefore considers the date of Otunu’s conversion a significant milestone in the history of northern Uganda.
“That is why Salvation Day is very important, and the church is requesting that, if possible, it should be put on the calendar of Uganda as a public holiday, because being born again delivered many people,” he said. He said CER chose to commemorate the day collectively rather than allowing individual believers to celebrate different dates because of what he described as its importance in bringing communities together.
This year’s celebrations will also be used to formally consecrate Bishop Tubamoi as the new overseer of the church. Wilfred Ojara, chairperson of the central organising committee for the consecration, said the celebrations will bring together CER members from across Uganda and neighbouring countries.
Ojara said the church, which was established in 1947, currently has about 15,000 members in Uganda, with two dioceses and 218 churches operating across several districts. CER has congregations in Kitgum, Pader, Agago, Lamwo, Karenga, Kaabong, parts of the Teso and Lango sub-regions, as well as Gulu, Amuru, Omoro, Nwoya, Masindi, Kiryandongo and Kampala.
The church has also expanded to South Sudan, Kenya and the United States. Ojara said at least 12,000 people are expected to attend the September 29 celebrations at the church headquarters in Go Down Cell, Pandwong Division, Kitgum Municipality. He said the church has invited President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, ministers, the Prime Minister, Acholi Members of Parliament, cultural and political leaders and Christians from other denominations.
Pastor Alfred Komagum, leader of Acholi East under the National Fellowship of Born-Again Pentecostal Churches, called on Christians to join CER in the celebrations. Komagum said CER’s use of Acholi songs and traditional dances in worship has become an important part of its identity and contribution to Christianity in the region. He welcomed the church’s registration under the National Fellowship of Born-Again Pentecostal Churches, saying it would strengthen cooperation among churches.
Bishop Tubamoi said CER, which was registered by the government in 1984 as an independent church, has committed itself to supporting national development through education, health and agriculture. He said the church has established seven schools in Kitgum and Pader districts, which are now government-aided. Kitgum Resident District Commissioner Jimmy Segawa Ebil pledged government cooperation with the church, particularly in education, health, welfare and peace-building.
Ebil also urged CER to help address what he described as the breakdown of the social fabric contributing to the growing number of street-connected children in Kitgum. He said churches can help restore family and community structures and strengthen values that protect children. “We have one problem in Kitgum, Aguu. Aguu came because of the broken social fabric. I request the church to help us unite families and our societal structures to become strong so that children grow in families grounded in culture and religion,” Ebil said.-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
