By KT Reporter
Reverend Canon Gaster Nsereko has been consecrated and installed as the seventh Bishop of West Buganda Diocese in the Anglican Church of Uganda.
He was consecrated on Sunday by the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Stephen Kazimba Mugalu, at St Paul’s Cathedral, the diocese’s administration seat at Kako in Masaka City. He replaces Bishop Henry Katumba Tamale, who retired last month after clocking 65 years.
Nsereko also made history when he was installed as the pioneer provost of West Buganda Diocese in 2021, a position that gave him full managerial responsibilities of providing overall leadership of the Cathedral and ensuring the implementation of the Church’s mission, vision, objectives, and operations in the diocese.
The Archbishop Stephen Kazimba Mugalu called on the new Bishop to embrace and accomplish the development projects left behind by his predecessor.
He also challenged the Christians to create a conducive working environment to enable the new Bishop to complete his mission of evangelization and transforming the Church.
Until he was elected Bishop in February, Canon Nsereko was serving as the Archdeacon of Kakoma in Rakai district, a position he has held since 2023.
Upon his consecration, Bishop Nsereko undertook to heighten efforts to broaden evangelism and improve the quality and competence of clergy in the diocese.
He adds that he will also put much emphasis on improving the social welfare of the communities through commercial agriculture, as well as promoting interventions that protect the environment.
He, on the other hand, pledged to dedicate more efforts towards improving the quality and outlook of Church-founded schools in the diocese, many of which he says have declined in both academic performance and infrastructure.
The church of Uganda has 240 primary and 25 secondary schools in the nine districts of the West Buganda diocese.
Bishop Nsereko observed that the schools still need a lot of support, both from within and externally, to fully serve their intended purpose, thereby calling the Christians to directly contribute to their sustainability
While preaching at the consecration service, the Bishop of Bukedi Diocese, Rt. Reverend Samuel Agesa Bogere called on the new Bishop to always meditate on his decisions, and stick to Christ and the Gospel as cornerstones for accomplishing his assumed episcopal duties.
He preached against the rampant social evils in the country that taint the image of humanity and Christianity.
Using the biblical example of the parable of Zacchaeus, a very short tax collector who climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of Christ who was passing by a crowd, as an attempt to overcome his natural barrier of height, Bishop Egesa urged the Christians to come down on their various barriers to righteousness.
“Just as Christ called on Zacchaeus to come down from the tree before they had dinner together. Each one of us is challenged to come down on our different barriers that include, among others, corruption, hypocrisy, immorality, unkindness, envy and malice, habits that hold us back from righteousness,” he noted.
He also urged the Christians of West Buganda Diocese to be reconciled from their differences, and to desist from comparing the new Bishop to his predecessor, saying that the two are serving at different times and with different potentials.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa, who represented President Yoweri Museveni, called upon the new Bishop to strive towards realizing both spiritual and socio-economic transformation of the congregation he is going to administer.
Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, the Buganda Kingdom’s Second Deputy Prime Minister, hailed the outgoing Bishop Henry Katumba Tamale for his tireless efforts in promoting welfare improvement projects such as the campaign for coffee growing, which he customized in the diocese.
He promised that the Kingdom would continue to closely collaborate with the new Bishop to better the lives of people in the area.
Bishop Gaster Nsereko, aged 59 years, started training as a priest in the Anglican Church in 1987, at Uganda Martyrs Seminary, Namugongo. he was ordained a Deacon in 1989 and eventually became a full Reverend in 1990 2010.
He was elevated to Archdeacon of St John Church, Masaka Kijjabwemi-Masaka before he was elevated to Cathedral Sub-dean in 2016 and eventually the Vicar in 2020-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
