Note that there will be no reception after mass since most of the community members will be attending Lwo Cultural group Easter event.
SUMMARY OF JIDO’s ACTIVITIES 2010/20111
Migrants Day Mass Sunday 1st May 2011
Blessed JIDO represented the Ugandan Catholic Community in the UK at the Migrant Workers Mass at St George’s Cathedral on the 1st of May 2011. The Mass, marking the feast of St Joseph the worker which falls on May Day, was celebrated by Archbishop of Southwark Peter Smith with over fifty priests from different churches. Present were many parishioners from London’s Catholic ethnic chaplaincies.
International Mass at Our Lady and St Joseph -12/06/2011
Blessed JIDO was among other Communities that participated for the International Mass organised by Fr Michael the Parish Priest of Our Lady and St Joseph Catholic Church. The Communities that where present on the day were the Nigerian Community, Ghanaian Community, Philippine Community, Caribbean Community and many others.
Our Lady & St Joseph Catholic Parish is host to 13 different Communities and is a very busy Parish in North London. Approximately 400 parishioners attended this event.
Southern Sudan independence – JIDO Community celebration in Leeds
Blessed JIDO attended a spectacular special prayer service in Leeds over the weekend of 9th July 2011 to mark Southern Sudan’s Independence and secession from Sudan as a country. This day was celebrated in different parts of the world as it marked an important milestone towards freedom for Southern Sudan. The Blessed JIDO community was invited by Fr Pasquino of Comboni Missionaries. Approximately 250 parishioners attended this event.
Acholi Day Oxford – JIDO Community wows the crowd
On the 30th July 2011, Blessed JIDO Community was invited to participate in celebrating Acoli day organised by the Lwo Heritage Foundation in Oxford. The lively fun-family event focused on celebrating the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Acoli people from Nothern Uganda. Participants were treated to many activities including: traditional drumming, Nanga and Adungu dances, Acoli lifestyles, Acoli Riddles and Folktales, African style market stalls’, Acoli traditional performing artists, a fashion show and Acoli food with an added twist of soul. The event attracted over 150 people, was well co-ordinated and it provided a platform for Acoli community to share and showcase their heritage with other none Luo speaking people.
Blessed JildoIrwa& Blessed DaudiOkello Feast Day celebration – Sunday 09/10/2011
Blessed JIDO celebration was a successful day and well attended by over 400 community members from Acholi London, Acholi Oxford, Lango, Teso, Southern Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana, Caribbean, Philipino, Oasis, Comboni Sisters and Buganda.
Our community priest John Fraser Okello was flanked by Fr Gerald (community priest for Uganda Martyrs). Fr Martin Devenish was the main celebrant and also the guest of honour. Fr Martin who is the head of Comboni Fathers in the UK was involved in gathering evidences for the beatification of the two Martyrs when he was based in Northern Uganda in the 90s. He gave a touching sermon on forgiveness that all of us should consider embracing and stressed the needs for people of Acoli to keep their culture and tradition.
One of the key events from the reception was a presentation from the Community Advisor Dr. Alfred Banya. A brief paper explored the Martyrdom of Blessed Daudi Okelo & Jildo Irwa. This was a follow on from last month’s presentation about the history of Blessed JIDO. Approximately 350 parishioners attended this event.
The presentation provided the context of the martyrdom of Blessed JIDO by describing the arrival of the Comboni Missionaries and the establishment of Kitgum Mission. It described how the two became catechumens and were accepted into the Catholic Church, and thereafter how they were chosen to spread the Gospel Finally it describes the sequence of events that led to their killing, hence their martyrdom.
JIDO & Uganda Martyrs Catholic Community Celebration
Blessed JIDO were invited to celebrate Christmas praise by the Uganda Martyrs Catholic Community on Sunday the 27/11/2011 at St Gabriel’s Church Archway. The lively fun-family event focused on celebrating Christmas encompassing the rich culture of people from Uganda.The Christmas carols extravaganza commenced after the mass and the congregation were treated to songs such as ”Joy to the world, Pak rwot, Silent, night, Karoli, Lwanga etc. Approximately 150 parishioners attended this event.
Blessed JIDO attended a spectacular special Christmas carol concert organised by the Nigerian Catholic Chaplaincy for England and Wales on 4th of December 2011. This special Christmas event brought together 5 African communities originating from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and Uganda. On this great night, the congregation were treated to performances from guest artists Pascal Obidile from Rome, Solo song from resident sister Jennifer Ekeigwe, Duet by Hemish Gary and Celia Gardiner. JIDO wowed the audience with their traditional praise songs and the congregation were astonished by the fantastic music produced by Adungu which was well above the standard of guitar. Approximately 400 parishioners attended this event.
Rejoice Sunday – Christmas Celebration 2011
JIDO Catholic Community celebrated Christmas mass on rejoice Sunday the 11th of December is a spectacular way. The mass was led by Fr Martin Devenish who is the head of Comboni Fathers in the UK. Father Martin gave a very touching sermon based on the theme of Advent. He urged the congregation to reflect on their behaviour towards one another and advised all to value their family and friends. Sr Monica, JIDO’s patron encouraged community members to reflect on the constitution and requested members to put forward any suggestions that they may have about the document to the interim management committee.
The Christmas celebration commenced after mass and the congregation were treated to lots of activities such as video of the fashion show from our elder Princess Dorothy, presentation of Christmas gifts to children the audience were treated to the exclusive harp instrumental played by Santos Omona. There were a wide range of foods and refreshments which included – freshly cooked Malakwang, sweet potatoes, beans and many more delicious cuisines.The visual photos of the event below speaks for itself. Approximately 120 parishioners attended this event.
JIDO’s day out to Comboni Fathers home in Sunningdale on Saturday the 9th October 2010
Following a series of programmes drawn by JIDO, the group organised a trip to Sunningdale on Saturday 9th October 2010.Sunningdale is a regional home for Comboni Fathers and has lots of sports facilities. The trip was led by the Community priest Fr. John Fraser. The day was packed with activities for adults and children and it included: a football match between the men and women, net ball for ladies, Lawn Tennis & Table Tennis and tag of war between men and women.In the evening, JIDO enthusiastically wowed the congregation at the mass with Luo songs and Adungu instruments. The evening ended with a lovely dinner and free flowing wine. Approximately 120 parishioners attended this event.
Papal Visit to the UK, 18/09/2010
On the 18th of September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI prayed and gave his blessing to his flock in the UK at special event in Hype Park, London. The event was well organised was packed to its capacity as Christians from the UK and abroad congregated to listen to the Papal message.
The Ugandan community was well represented by JIDO Community. The community was picked out by BBC News crews for live interview on the day. The interview was broadcasted live around the world. This achievement was not only for the community but also for the entire patriotic Ugandans especially the Luo Community who are proud to cling to Christ as their saviour despite of what they have been through in their home land Uganda. 50 community members attended this event.
JIDO at Father John Fraser’s Golden Jubilee in Glasgow
Blessed JIDO community made it to Scotland to give their full support to Fr. John Frazer who is our community prieston Saturday the 24/04/10. Fr Fraser’s homily started with the following quote “on the day I left my last parish in Lira, Uganda, I baptised 63 babies. The marathon ceremony summarised my 50 years as a Comboni missionary in Uganda.That moment has always stayed with me and my ministry has helped many lives”.
Father John left a great legacy in Northern Uganda where he spent 50 years serving the people in Northern Uganda.
JIDO were enthusiastically welcomed to the event which culminated in the best performance in the Church since we came to the UK. The choir team were exuberant hence, produced the best performance of their lives bringing together the combination of different songs in Luo and English with an explicit application of Adungu, Bul and ajaa instruments. As the Archbishop of Scotland who was the guest of honour put it, “if only we could be regular in Scotland, more people would turn to God because we have a unique way of praising God and that should be exported to Scotland”. The Parish Priest of the Church also extended his open invitation to the community to go back to Scotland for more get together masses in the Future.
The hospitality our community received was unprecedented and we were all booked in Premier Inn Hotel for the night. It was hard to say goodbye to our Scottish hosts who wished we could have stayed longer. Approximately 200 parishioners attended this event.
JIDO Management Committee
Interim Chair: John Oyet
Interim Vice Chair: Sr Karen
Interim Treasurer: James Otim-Obaya
Interim Vice Treasurer: Grace Ejang
Interim Secretary: Charles Eliba
Interim Vice Secretary: Vicky Kolo
Interim Information and Publicity Officer: Florence Owor
Interim Organising Officer: Paul Odur
Liturgy Officer: Santos Omona
Interim Vice Liturgy Officer: Betty Okwera
Non members of the Interim Management Committee who have been supporting the Community include:
Patron: Sr Monica Butler
Advisor (Finance): Liam Ryan
Advisor: Alfred Banya
Martyrs players
Lord, you enkindled in the hearts of the blessed catechists David and Jildo
an ardent desire to proclaim the Gospel,
and through their martyrdom strengthened the early growth of the Church in Uganda.
By their example, strengthen us in our faith,
and grant that we may share it with out brothers and sisters.
Through their intercession, give us the grace we need in this moment,
and may we all come to enjoy the fruits of your redemption.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
Amen
JIDO 