INTERVIEW: Bishop John Guernsey
September 21, 2007

Q: How did you end up a bishop with the Anglican Church in Uganda?

A: God has his ways, and his thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways, but I've had a long association with the church of Uganda. I first went to Uganda in 1989 on a SOMA [Sharing of Ministries Abroad] mission trip, and I've been back many times. We had a long-term partnership with both the provinces and also with what became our jurisdictional diocese, the diocese of North Kigezi, and when we separated from the Episcopal Church in 2006 we went under that diocese, and so when the church of Uganda felt it was time to have an American bishop to help look after the churches here, they were led to call upon me to do that.

Q: Why did the church of Uganda feel it was necessary to have a bishop here?

A: Well, there are 33 congregations here, and new churches are being planted, and that number will doubtless increase. While the relationships have been extraordinarily fruitful between U.S. parishes and Ugandan dioceses and bishops, they are thousands of miles away, and they really felt the need for those bishops to be supported by a bishop on the ground here who can be more immediately available to their congregations. the rest

Religion and Ethics Newsweekly:

U.S. Episcopal Bishops Meeting in New Orleans

Bishop Charles Jenkins

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

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(h/t Thinking Anglicans)