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By Kurt Spitzer, Captain of St. Peter’s International Missions Core
St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral in Tallahassee, Florida and the Diocese of South Rwenzori in Uganda have had a long-standing relationship which is characterized by mutual respect, support and shared mission efforts, for the past 20 years.
Shared History
St. Peter’s is the seat of the Bishop of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). It was built in 2012–14 to provide a home for the young parish of St. Peter’s Anglican Church, and was made the cathedral of the Diocese at Synod in 2017. Its history goes back much further, however. Nearly 200 years ago a small group of people in Tallahassee, FL, were gathered as a mission of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, eventually becoming St. John’s parish. Tallahassee flourished, and so did St. John’s. But by the early 2000’s many orthodox churches within The Episcopal Church had become disenchanted with the theological direction that the Church was taking, believing that it had departed from the historic faith and teachings of Jesus Christ. Many of the orthodox Episcopal parishes looked to dioceses in the Global South to oversee their congregations.
In September of 2005, Bishop Stephen Jecko, who had retired as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida in 2004, contacted Henry Orombi, Archbishop of Uganda, and Jackson Nzerebende, Bishop of the Diocese of South Rwenzori, to see if the faithful Anglicans of St. John’s could come under the jurisdiction of that Diocese. After receiving a positive response, key leaders of the parish enacted plans that had been developed to part ways with the denomination and form a new parish under orthodox oversight. The following month, St. Peter’s Anglican Church launched under the authority of the Diocese of South Rwenzori, and the partnership between the Diocese and St. Peter’s Anglican Church began!
When the ACNA was later formed, St. Peters left Uganda and came under the jurisdiction of its Gulf Atlantic Diocese. But the historical connection between St. Peter’s and the Diocese of South Rwenzori has fostered a lasting and deep sense of connection and mutual support, as evidenced by many projects and programs, some of which are highlighted below:
Health
St. Peter’s supports the training of midwives through the annual payment of fees to four student midwives until they have been able to complete their courses. After competition of their course work, the trained midwives are then posted in the diocesan health facilities to offer services to mothers through prenatal care clinics.
St. Peter’s periodically sends a team of nurses and physicians who offer health screening and treatment of different diseases to the people in the city of Kasese through the various health facilities as identified by the diocesan health directorate.
Education
St. Peter’s supports the diocesan educational efforts through the purchase of computers for students and the payment of fees in primary and secondary schools for over 145 students identified as Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) and an additional 20+ OVC students who are identified as being especially vulnerable, most of whom are orphans living with guardians who are unable to support them.
St. Peter’s supports various construction and renovation projects at diocesan school facilities, including the construction of student hostels (dormitories) at the St. Paul’s Vocational Secondary school so that students may remain on campus, focused on their studies in a safe, Christian environment, and assisting with the construction or renovation of classroom buildings at diocesan school facilities. One of the recently initiated construction projects was made possible through joint funding by the Anglican Relief and Development Fund and St. Peter’s.
Mission and Evangelism
St. Peter’s has been instrumental in support of mission efforts in the lowlands and in other hard-to-reach areas of the Diocese. “Roads” as we think of them in the U.S. are mostly non-existent in Uganda, which challenges the ability of the Diocese to complete mission work and to evangelize those in the remote areas. In many of the mountainous areas, it is not possible for cars or truck to travel. To address this challenge, St. Peter’s has supported the purchase of bicycles for licensed lay readers and motorcycles for priests, to facilitate transportation needs of missions and evangelism in these areas.
Skills Training
South Rwenzori is an area plagued by high unemployment and devastating poverty. St. Peter’s has funded the purchase of commercial soap-making equipment and sewing machines to help people become more self-sufficient, and provided training for widows and young mothers in vocational skills.
Our Cathedral and the Diocese of South Rwenzori share a common vision, which is serving God through Mission and Evangelism. 2025 marks the twentieth anniversary of the strong and growing bond between the Cathedral and the Diocese.