Apolo Kivebulaya of Uganda 		May 30
Priest and Missionary
Apolo Kivebulaya was born in the Buganda region of Uganda in 1864. Apolo, whose original name was Waswa, survived the turmoil that engulfed the country in the 1880s, in which a number of Christians died (see June 3). When Captain Lugard arrived in 1890 to restore order, Apolo was involved in an expedition to subdue the Toro district to the west. Despite the civil war raging, which had overtones of religious conflict between Protestant, Catholic and Moslem, Christian teaching was spreading rapidly, and there was a great spiritual revival in 1893. 
When Apolo returned from Toro, he had become associated with Protestant missionaries. On 27 January 1895 he was baptised, taking the name Apolo (Apollos). His father had chosen a bride for him, but she died, and Apolo never married. He volunteered to return as a teacher to Toro. It was about this time that he became known as Kivebulaya (“the thing from Britain”) because of the red military jacket he loved wearing.
He worked very hard in the Toro district and then across the Rift Valley at Mboga. He encountered considerable opposition, including a false accusation of murder. About this time Apolo had a powerful spiritual experience, in which he heard Christ say, “I am Jesus Christ. Preach to my people. Do not be afraid.” From this point on Apolo was convinced of his call and developed a profound joy in the gospel that others found infectious. 
Apolo became a powerful missionary presence. He was ordained deacon in 1900 and priest in 1903. For 15 years he was the real pastor to the Christians in Toro, which he traversed endlessly on foot, till he bought a bicycle in 1913. He was forever encouraging the church, especially the flood of nominal converts, who needed careful nurturing. To this Apolo gave single-minded devotion and energy, and a meticulous care over worship, which he conducted with great attention to its beauty.
In the meantime Mboga had declined, and in 1915 Apolo asked to be sent there. He rebuilt the church and established the mission work to the Pygmy tribes to the west, to which he was to devote much of the rest of his life. Apolo heard God’s call, “Go and preach in the forest, because I am with you.” He was fearless in the face of danger and won the trust of the Pygmy people. He undertook the translation of Mark’s Gospel into one of the Pygmy languages.
In 1922 Apolo was made a canon in the Church of Uganda. In appointing him, Bishop Willis wrote:
I have chosen you on account of your great patience and perseverance in Toro and the Congo all these years, and your patience in suffering and persecution for the name of Our Lord, and for taking that name to the heathen. 
In 1927 he became vice-president of the CMS in Uganda. He had seen the church there grow from one congregation of 200 in 1877 to 185,000 in 2,000 congregations 50 years later. Apolo never slackened his pace till illness overtook him early in 1933. He died on 30 May that year at Mboga. He is honoured as the outstanding figure of the first half-century of the Ugandan church. The first collect is based on one of his own prayers.
For further reading:
A. Luck, African Saint: The Story of Apolo Kivebulaya, London, SCM, 1963.
For Liturgical Use
Canon Apolo Kivebulaya was the outstanding Ugandan Christian of the first half-century of the church in that land. He was born in 1864 and became a church teacher in the western district of Toro. From his base there he reached out with the gospel of Christ to many people, including the Pygmies of the Congo. He was ordained deacon in 1900, priest in 1903, and was made a canon in 1922. He translated St Mark’s Gospel into the Pygmy language and was deeply respected for his devotion to Christ, his humility and love, and his dedication to evangelism. He died on 30 May 1933.
Sentence
Hear my voice, O Lord, when I call: of you my heart has said, “Seek God’s face”; your face Lord I will seek.		Psalm 27:7,8
Collects
Faithful and everloving God,
you richly blessed your servant Apolo Kivebulaya,
as you led him through the forests,
through the lakes and mountains,
to do your work among your people;
grant us so to proclaim your gospel,
that, being loved by you,
we may also be loved by your people;
for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Jesus, friend of aliens and outsiders,
we thank you for Apolo
who came to baptise the Bambuti Pygmy people
and stayed to eat with them;
keep us humble and humane
for you are known to us in the breaking of bread.
Psalms	121	138
Readings
Isaiah 40:9-11		The mighty shepherd
Acts 18:24-28		The ministry of Apollos
Luke 9:1-6		The twelve sent to evangelise
Post Communion Sentence
Some seed fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.	Luke 8:8