Fr. John's Sabbatical
Dear School families,
Greetings to all of you. This is a very unique year because we have many transitions taking place in our parish community. Fortunately they are all leading us to growth in a positive direction. I would like to share with you about my sabbatical coming up.
In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, any archdiocesan priest who has
served in a full-time active assignment for seven continuous years is
eligible to apply for a four months sabbatical. A sabbatical for a priest is
an extended period of time away from his normal duties for the purpose of
renewing and enriching himself both as a person and minister.
After serving for 26 years in full time ministry, I will be taking my
first sabbatical from July 1st to October 31st 2024, and return to STA to
continue my ministry.
Fr. Victor Zavala, a missionary of the Guadalupe Missioners community,
and who currently assists with the Cantonese Mass on Sundays, has
agreed to take my place for Masses and sacraments during my
absence. You will see Fr. Victor at the English and Spanish Masses, and on the weekly Thursday School Masses.
What will I be doing on my Sabbatical?
I will focus my energy on the following things.
1. In the past five years, I have been doing a private study about the
Bavuma tribe of Buvuma Islands, my birthplace in Lake Victoria, Uganda.
I have been putting emphasis on a brief history of Buvuma Island people
from 1973 to present. This research is about the history of a small tribe of
about 20,000 people whose oral history is slowly experiencing
the sunset of life as the elders die, and the young get immersed into
various cultures and traditions. In the past thirty years due to social and
cultural changes, the culture and catholic faith of these island natives are
becoming almost extinct through the decline in church influence,
attendance and an increase in inter-tribal marriages and interactions with
other religious and tribal groups. I will continue writing and doing more research on this topic.
2. Part of this sabbatical will include installation of a clean water
well in one village community that currently lives far from the water
source on Buvuma island in Lake Victoria.
3. In addition I will spend time with my mother who is now in her
mid 90s, and work on the family farmland with animals and
crops, plus assist with Mass and sacraments in the parish church
which covers several nearby islands.
Please keep me in my prayers as you are in mine always. I look forward to seeing you on the first Sunday in November 2024.
Sincerely
Fr. John Kyebasuuta.
