Begin Your Advent with Joyous Good News!

The Rev. Ben Tumuheirwe will preach at St. John's Episcopal Church in Harpers Ferry

Saving lives, spiritually and physically, is the passion of the Rev. Ben Tumuheirwe. He is the founder of Juna Amagara Ministries in Kampala, Uganda. Ben Tumuheirwe first came to Harpers Ferry when five young American men rode their bicycles from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. last July to raise funds for Juna Amagara ("Saving Lives"). They spent the night in Harpers Ferry, spoke to an assembly at St. John's Episcopal Church, and Rev. Ben preached. He proved to be a dynamic, inspiring, and joyous messenger, in whom the words of Jesus Christ dwell richly.

He told the group that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is destroying families and entire cultures throughout Africa, but in Uganda, there is hope. The East African Republic has built a coalition of government, churches and schools that has worked to dramatically slow the spread of HIV/AIDS and offer relief to infected victims. More than a million people have died in Uganda since the disease began, leaving over 1.5 million children without parents. Though Ugandans have taken in more than 700,000 orphans as their own children, some 800,000 are left to care for themselves. Juna Amagara Ministries was founded in 2004 to help these children grow in Christ to become healthy, productive members of society.

St. John's Episcopal Church and Camp Hill-Wesley United Methodist Church, also of Harpers Ferry, invited Rev. Ben back to spend some time with them in November. He preached on November 23 at Engle Methodist Church and at Camp Hill-Wesley. On November 30, he will preach at St. John's Episcopal Church, 900 Washington Street in Harpers Ferry, on the theme, "Dressed for Thankfully Serving with Christ," based on the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians, reminding them to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and, most of all, love.

The people of St. John's, Harpers Ferry, invite Christians from all over Jefferson County to hear the Rev. Ben Tumuheirwe preach a vital message of Thanksgiving that will live in hearts throughout the Advent Season. For more information, call 304-535-2009.