Friends of Nyamitanga Parish (FoN)

Friends of Nyamitanga (FON) Uganda Twinning Ministry Lenten Endeavor

This year’s Lenten Endeavor is based on Continuing to Build God’s Kingdom! This Lenten season, the FON Twinning Ministry invites you to reach around the world to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mbarara, Uganda by participating in raising funds to build a Multi-Purpose Room for the Ngaara Primary School. Last year, we raised enough funds to build two dormitories at this school – one for the boys and one for the girls. We were also able to furnish the dormitories with bunk beds and build a fence for additional safety and to establish a school boundary. The Multi-Purpose Room will serve as a dining hall, meeting room, extra classrooms, and more. The estimated cost is $61,433, factoring in the current exchange rate. If there is an excess of funds they will be used at the discretion of the FON Twinning Ministry and OLPH Parish. For questions regarding the FON Lenten Project, please contact Mary Jo Burns (burnsmj@stsusanna.org, 513-398-3821, ext. 3120), Ricky Mathews (ricky.f.mathews@gmail.com), or Martha Stegbauer (mjstegbauer729@gmail.com).

Our Mission Statement

To build meaningful relationships between the communities of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) – Nyamitanga, Uganda and St. Susanna, USA to deepen our faith and learn better ways to unite with God while serving each other.

If you wish to get involved with this ministry, please contact: Ricky Mathews at 513-755-7645 or rkanj2005@yahoo.com

Friends of Nyamitanga Parish FAQs

What is Twinning?

A Twinning Relationship between parishes is a sharing of the life and love for Jesus while building God’s reign.  We are the body of Christ.  Christ is present in all peoples. A Twinning Relationship includes two parishes from different parts of the world coming together in a faith commitment of solidarity.  It binds people together in spirit and culturally in the sharing of resources. We do it:

• For unity
• To promote solidarity
• To appreciate the universality of the church
• As part of being the laity in mission for the church
• To emphasize parish life
• To engage with and learn about people of another culture

Where is OLPH Parish?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish is Fr. Elias Mwesigye’s home parish located in the Archdiocese of Nyamitanga, Uganda.  Our Lady of Perpetual Help was founded in 1902. It includes 20 out-stations served by only two priests and 20 catechists for a Catholic population of 24,000 people in 5,600 families.  Fr. Richard Ssebugwawo is the Pastor. It is good for the people of St Susanna to twin with the people of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. We share many similarities:
• We both have a strong faith
• We both have a strong worship style
• We both have a mutual desire for a twinning relationship

How did St. Susanna become involved with OLPH?

Parishioners at St. Susanna learned that the parishioners at Our Lady of Perpetual Help were struggling with food insecurity. St. Susanna parishioners supported this need and raised enough money to send enough corn flour and beans to serve over 2,000 families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What are the plans for the future engagement?

• Sharing faith journey between members of the two parishes
• Planning Mission trips for both young people and adults to share life experiences with other cultures
• Support the catechist as they support the spiritual needs of their community and the needs of their own families
• Provision of clean water where possible
• Education fund (tuition assistance from individuals & families here)
• Provision of educational materials
• Other projects that may be identified in the local community

Twinning Prayer

Gracious God,

We give You thanks for the universal Church and we rejoice in the diversity of Your people.  Unite us, the people of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Susanna, in the mission to draw us all closer to You.  May we engage with each other physically and spiritually on this journey, as we grow and learn about each other. 

We humbly ask the Holy Spirit to empower us with the Spirit of Your love and enlighten us in this joint endeavor.  Grant us strength and courage as we serve each other and You.

We ask this in the name of Jesus and through the intercession of Mary, our Mother.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us.
St. Susanna, pray for us.

Amen