Ordination

Ordination Day, 5 December 2010

 PREPARATION
In June of 2008 I was ordained a deacon by Bishop (now Archbishop) Robert Duncan.  Knowing I was leaving for my second trip to Uganda in just a few weeks, Bishop Duncan direct me to ask Bishop George Katwesigye of the Diocese of Kigezi (where I would be serving) whether I should come as a priest, or wait and be ordained in Kabale.  Not surprisingly, the latter and wiser option was chosen.

I have therefore had the rather unusual honor of being a deacon for 2 1/2 years prior to "being priested," as they say in Anglican circles.  I am grateful for this time as it has ingrained in me the foundational and unchanging role of being a servant to God's people.   ("Once a deacon, always a deacon," is the reminder given to me -- and to many others -- by my friend and former colleague, Archdeacon Mark Stevenson.)

More recently, I have come to these first few intensely difficult months in Uganda as a significant and deep part of my preparation for ordination.  It has been a sustained season of radical self-emptying and utter, desperate reliance on God, and a deep yearning for the presence of Jesus and infilling of his Spirit.  Here my weaknesses loom large and my strengths seem paltry.


To aid in my preparation, Bishop Katwesigye "attached" me to St. Peter's Cathedral.  For about a month I participated in leading the English services, under the guidance of the Revs. Amos, Obed, and Joshua.  These are men I would love to know better, and men worth following.

In the weeks leading up to the ordination, I kept listening to and singing two songs in particular, both by an artist named Randall Goodgame introduced to us by one of Leslie's brothers (thanks James!): John 11 and The Wind (Ignore the video on this one, and just listen to the music).  Both pieces sing simply and poignantly of our weakness and brokenness being met by the grace and quiet power of Jesus.  I also received several emails from family and friends with prayers and wisdom, and I printed many of them out and carried them around in my pockets as reminders and prayers.  One sentence in particular resonated with me:  "The goal of worship is to bring the gathered into the transforming presence of Jesus" (Bishop Doug Weiss).  That's the kind of priest I want to be.

David with me at the retreat

In the last few days, I participated in a retreat with the other 17 (yes, 17!) ordinands, with almost every word of the retreat being spoken in Rukiga, the tribal tongue of this region.  Regardless of the language barrier, I love being surrounded by these men and women.  This time gave me a strong sense of being brought into a community of clergy.  The teaching (translated in bits and pieces for me by a fellow ordinand and his wife) covered a wide range of topics, but kept circling back to 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (God choosing the foolish and weak to shame the wise and strong) and Romans 8:26-39 (nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ) -- words I needed to hear.  Leslie was also able to join us from time to time, and toward the end my long standing, deeply loyal, dear friend David Sunukjian arrived from California to be with me.


ORDINATION

I am so glad we have video and photos to capture this day, but they lack the smells, the emotion, the sounds of robes and murmured conversations, the intensity of the sun, the discomfort of the rash forming on my neck, the gradual filling of the cathedral with people and they energy they brought, the breath of the translators in our ears and noses, the weariness of the long service, the quick and inadequate glimpses of our kids in the congregation, the kaleidoscope of face, with flashes of black and brown brilliance....

If I tried to recount the entire experience -- well, it's better just to share some highlights:

Leslie with me, sitting behind me, kneeling beside me, present throughout the entire service.  We entered this together, when so much of this process has only been piecemeal in its togetherness.

Taking my vows before the bishop, in Rukiga!  Bishop George would ask the question, then one-by-one  we answered in Rukiga.  I was grateful to be standing in the middle, because I was able to listen to about 8 people respond first! I stumbled a bit, felt very hot and self-conscious, but loved the whole experience.  And it went straight to the heart of the people.  They laughed, clapped, and cheered each time I responded. I was told later that this was in surprise and joy, not only that I was reading Rukiga, but that they could understand me!

The weight of the hands. I wish I had a picture of this moment. Moments before I had been taking vows, declaring true words that convey the source and shape of my life, of our lives.  Then, as I stand before the bishop, Subdean Amos unties the deacon's knot of my stole, drapes the stole around my neck and shoulders, adjusting it until it is appropriately "smart" (is what he whispers in my ear).  Leslie and I kneel in front of the bishop, and he places both hands, warm and strong, on my head.  Then comes the weight, a weight my neck muscles strain painfully to hold. 30 or 40 priests have surrounded us completely, joining their hands to those of the bishop's.  It is hot, very hot.  The bishop prays in Rukiga.  I know the content of the prayer from my reading of the 1662 Prayer Book, and I follow it loosely in my mind, then into slip my own prayer.  There's no strong emotion for me; just a quiet yearning, a steady readiness, an openness, a quiet mind, gratefulness, contentment.

The hands lifted, and my head lifted, dizzy from the sudden lightness. The bishop placed in my hands a bible sent and signed by Archbishop Duncan, and he charged me to preach the whole counsel of God, and to administer the sacraments.  I stood a priest, Leslie by my side, and took my place with my brothers and sisters, adding my hands and prayers to theirs as each of the other 17 were ordained.

And then the dancing.  No way this picture captures it.  Watch the video at the end of this blog for the real deal.  A Rukiga chorus was sung repeatedly, hands clapping in alternating rhythms, voices in harmony.  Leslie and I were in the throng before the Table, enjoying the joy.  Then the dancing began -- a few of the new priests' wives bent over in their white dresses with blue sashes, took off their shoes, then hands and arms began pumping, moving rhythmically, then the feet began dancing, then jumping!  Soon the men joined in, then members of the congregation.  Suddenly the bishop was behind Leslie and me, pushing us firmly and urging us loudly, "You dance with them. Go!"  And we went!  We tried!  We move, we jump, we laugh -- we are with them, still very different, very apart, but with them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is so much more I could add about the service --- the sermon by retired Bishop William Rukirande on walking with our older brother Jesus as forgiven men and women, David being called to the front to greet the congregation, serving communion, the experience of the kids (not so glorious as mine), the recessional in which we walked hand in hand with the bishop's wife -- but I'll leave it for the more curious.

There was also the wonderful post-ordination celebration!  Leslie and I invited members of the community who had been particularly significant not only in the ordination process, but in welcoming us to Kabale.  It was a time of giving thanks to them and to God for all the goodness we have received.  We shared a wonderful dinner with these friends at Birdnest, our new favorite restaurant and hotel in Kabale, on Lake Bunyonyi.  Gitta and Raf, the proprietors, did a marvelous job hosting us, and Chef Paul continued to impress us with the best food we've had yet in Uganda.  Among the great joys of the evening was having friends together in one place who normally wouldn't be together, especially having our workers with us!

My friend David asked me the following day whether I felt more spiritual now that I'm a priest.  "No," I answered, "but I feel grateful and content."  I'm content -- we are where God wants us, growing ever more into the people he wants us to be, younger siblings of Jesus relying on the Father's grace, joining with his Spirit in drawing people into the transforming presence of the Son.  I'm grateful -- look what the Lord has done.

Snippets of Life

Here are some random goings-on in the life of the Hines Family, in no particular order.

Rwanda Trip
Until we get our work visa, we have to use a tourist visa that must be renewed every three months.  The simplest way is to drive about 30 minutes over to the border of Rwanda.  We decided to make a full road trip out of it, and go down to Kigali for a brief exploration of Rwanda's capital, and in hopes of finding tasty food and palatable coffee.  Here's an email Leslie wrote that captures part of the trip:

The Kigali report:  short drive, nice paved roads - you could tell the minute we crossed the border - kind of crazy... you're just driving past these tea plantations and rice fields and hundreds of women working harvesting the crops on these beautiful green hills and then you see the city skyline and hotels... the roadside is cleaner on the Rwandan side and once we got to the city it's very metropolitan, lots of European influence (I think b/c after the genocide they received so much foreign aid and it really shows in the infrastructure)  The shopping mall and coffee shops and restaurants looked more like what you would see in the ritzy part of Dallas - prices to match!  Jesse said, "how come there are so many white people here?"  The whole city felt modern and organized and the service was fast and friendly... lots of Europeans and westerners - several Koreans... I didn't use my french much... but it was nice to think I could understand what people were saying and I could read the signs.  Wendy and I felt like the country/village hicks coming to the Big City!!!!  The border crossing is prohibitive though, and you have to fill out a lot of paperwork, not just passports & visa checkpoints, but vehicle registration, separate car insurance for Rwanda and customs for luggage... 3 windows all told and we waited in the car 1 hour each way... driving time 2 1/2 - 3 hrs... so 4 hrs total travel one way - it was a lot to do in a day with all the kids in tow, but we made it!  I'm so glad we had a Ugandan driver b/c it made it so much easier to navigate the border crossing - he drove us all day and we paid 20, 000 shillings ($8 dollars).  So - I think between the border crossing and the exchange rate, we will not go frequently, but it is better than the 8 hour nastiness drive to Kampala and the city of Kigali is much nicer - less congested and beautiful.

And part of an email I sent:

Thank you for your prayers for our travels today.  We had a full but uneventful trip down to the border, into Kigali in Rwanda (where we found some very good coffee), and back again with renewed visas in hand.  We are especially grateful for David Habaasa, our driver, who made the trip so much easier for us.

By the way, Habaasa told me something I found encouraging, and thought you would as well.  He and I were talking of how we're settling in Kabale.  At one point he said, "They know you in town, now.  If I'm there and you drive by, they say, 'There goes your muzungu!' This makes us feel good, because we know they know you belong to us, so we know you are safe.'"

Fruit of the Land
Our garden, planted and tended by our faithful friend Protase, is beginning to bear fruit.  The girls and I enjoyed cutting, transporting, and washing our own lettuce, and Leslie turned it into a wonderful salad!

Art

The more homes we visit in Kabale, the more we realize how hard Bishop Barham University College worked to provide us with a comfortable, attractive home.  We are so grateful to them!

Nevertheless, concrete floors, borrowed, mismatched furniture, and bare walls become somewhat depressing after a while.  We've been yearning for beauty in home.  This yearning first began to be met through Leslie's sister, when she sent via a traveling friend beautiful prints that we put on the walls of our house.

Next, our shipment from home arrived after almost 4 months in transit, and a few pieces of art were quickly hung.  Our favorite is this piece prayerfully and lovingly created by Jesse's godmother for his baptism.

Then we met Edward Ssajjabbi.  We first saw his paintings of African wildlife hanging in a hotel here in Kabale.  Georgia LOVES zebras, and Jesse is very drawn to cheetahs, and so we began negotiating via text messages with the unknown artist for the purchase of two of his works.  This went on for a couple of months, and it was time to make a decision.  We went to the hotel to look at them one more time, and they were gone!  In a slight panic, we called the artist, and he told us he had them at his studio, and was preparing to take them to the States for an exhibition.  We drove quickly to his studio in Kabale to meet him face-to-face at last, and to see the paintings again.


We parked in front of rather dreary store front, squeezed between two buildings, then entered a courtyard where a woman was washing clothes and cooking over her charcoal stove.  There was Edward's studio, a tiny room with almost no light.  Then he began pulling out his artwork to get to the zebras and the cheetahs...but, oh!  The other artwork!  Here are our favorites, and they're now hanging on our walls, turning a house into a home, bringing beauty, life, and color.

The Vendors

Untitled, but you can see the women going to market with children on their backs.

Wedding Portrait

And here are the pieces that led to the discovery of Edward, now hanging in Georgia's and Jesse's rooms.  (The art, that is.  Edward is not hanging in their rooms.)

Acacia Dwellers

Brotherhood

Edward is native to Kabale, and is a self-taught artist.  His wife teaches at a secondary school we pass every morning on the way to the kids' school.  We're becoming friends with both of them, and both they and we see our meeting as clearly the result of God's work in our lives.  The timing, the relational connection, the provision for our family, the provision for their family...it's a beautiful thing on several levels.

Ordination

One final tidbit.  On Sunday, I will be ordained to the priesthood by Bishop George Katwesigye at St. Peter's Cathedral, Rugarama.  I'll write more about this later and what I see God doing in preparing my family and me for this time.  One part of that preparation, however, is a pre-ordination retreat with another 12 or so ordinands and their spouses.  The retreat began today (Thursday), and is conducted almost entirely in Rukiga (roo-CHEE-gah), the language of the tribe of this region.  While we are only understanding about .2% of it, I am loving it.  The overall sense I keep having is: This is beautiful; this is where I belong; these are the people I want to be with.  I look forward to more.