£7000 raised in 4 hours for Diocese of Northern Uganda
When Revd Willie Nixon designated Tuesday 5 May ‘Kindness Day at Drumbeg Parish,’ he (literally) got much more than he bargained for.
An invitation simply to be kind to one another took, in Willie’s words, “a God turn” as £7010 was raised in 4 hours in a huge act of kindness to God’s people in Uganda.
“This was God,” says Willie. “I asked for £1000 and promised to make up any shortfall myself and God gave us £7010.”
Kindness Day at Drumbeg Parish was actually inspired by some wise words from Willie’s 17–year old daughter Anna (pictured above).
“Anna, my eldest child, said something profound to me on Monday evening,” says Willie. “’Daddy when everything is uncertain what we need more than anything is kindness,’ she said. For me that was a ‘lightning bolt’ moment of inspiration!”
“We got talking and she said: “Daddy, you see your long daily reflections during lockdown on WhatsApp?” I answered, “Yes darling,” to which she replied: “Daddy, tomorrow forget big thoughts and just tell our people to be kind”. How right she was!
“Anna and I left the conversation with the decision that Tuesday 5 May 2020 would be remembered as the “Day of Kindness” at Drumbeg Parish during lockdown.”
Willie circulated an email and WhatsApp message to his parishioners, but the day took a ‘God turn’ with the arrival of an email from the Mission Committee and dire news from the parish’s link diocese of Northern Uganda.
Willie quickly sent a WhatsApp message to Bishop Johnson Gakumba, who replied to say that his clergy were on the verge of starvation. There was a major need for food for over 350 church workers and for masks to protect them when called upon to conduct funeral services.
Bishop Johnson ended the message with these words:
Personally, I am overwhelmed by the vulnerable people who call or even come ‘knocking knocking’ at my door for help yet am also struggling to feed my own family. These are people who live from hand to mouth who lost their jobs. I feared bothering you because I know that this is a worldwide problem and your people also may be struggling to cope but to see that you want to help your brothers and sisters this is being your brother’s keeper.
Moved and humbled, at 5.00 pm Willie sent out another message asking for donations of £20. By 5.10 pm he had been given £810 and by bedtime the total had reached £7010.
The money has already been sent to Bishop Johnson in Uganda to feed his starving clergy and their families.
Willie concludes: “Last week at our school in Nyapeya (Uganda) the families were boiling stones to make soup…yes boiling stones. Such imbalance in this world, but God has enough to go round. All we need to do is share it with them.
“To God be the glory great things he hath done today amongst us!”