Ugandan President Praises “Oneness” Promoted by Interfaith Council to Which Nation’s Adventists Belong
31 December 2019 | Uganda’s president has praised the “oneness” among religions promoted by an interfaith council to which the nation’s Adventists belong alongside the Catholic Church, Muslim representatives and other religious groups.
The country’s Uganda Media Center (UMC) describes the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda as “an indigenous national faith-based organization that strives to promote efforts for unity by religious institutions in the country to jointly address issues of common concern.”
The UMC released a news bulletin on December 14 covering a speech made by President Yoweri Museveni the day before at the Annual National Thanksgiving Service. The event was organized by the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda.
“When I see different religions coming together, I thank God for that,” said Museveni at the event that was aimed at thanking God for blessings and to pray for continued peace in the country as well as a successful end to the year.
The president urged religious leaders present to, in the words of the UMC report, “embrace all efforts to ensure that we gain command and dominion over nature as ordained by God.”
He framed his challenge in the context of African underdevelopment despite the presence of great natural resources on the continent.
The outgoing Church of Uganda Archbishop, the Most Rev. Stanley Ntagali, preached a sermon at the event. He prayed for national deliverance from corruption and appealed to the media to bring positive change and development to the country.
According to data from the denomination’s Office of Archives, Statistics and Research, the Adventist denomination had 381,494 members in Uganda by June 30, 2018.