The powerful and inspirational autobiography of the Right Revd and Right Hon. Dr John Sentamu, the boy from a Ugandan village who became the first Black archbishop in the Church of England.
Written with the verve and panache that characterized his ministry, this moving and compelling memoir, Sentamu, tells the story of the Right Revd Dr John Sentamu’s journey from his childhood in rural Uganda to his elevation to the British House of Lords in 2021.
Born in 1949, John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu became Archbishop of York in 2005 – the first Black Archbishop in the Church of England. Before that, he was Bishop of Birmingham (2002–2005), and Bishop of Stepney (1996–2002), when he served on the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Team and chaired the Damilola Taylor Murder Investigation Review.
Throughout his long and eventful ministry, Archbishop Sentamu has campaigned on a range of important issues – including the family, gay relationships, multiculturalism, poverty, race, slavery, the welfare of young people, and conflict and injustice abroad.
Sentamu’s decision to flee his native country in 1974 followed a turbulent time when, as an advocate of the High Court of Uganda, he was imprisoned for speaking out against the oppressive rule of Idi Amin. Since then, his stated priorities have been ‘to seek God's rule of justice, peace and love’ and ‘to be part of God's movement of change, standing at the intersection where human need and God's love meet.’
Sentamu’s inspiring autobiography demonstrates the life-transforming power of God’s love and one man’s incredible journey to be part of God’s movement of change.
Muu info
The powerful and inspirational autobiography of the Right Revd and Right Hon. Dr John Sentamu, the boy from a Ugandan village who became the first Black archbishop in the Church of England.
Provisional contents
Part I: Uganda (1949-1974)
1 'This boy will not see sunrise'
2 The son of a man from the Buffalo Clan
3 A new tribe
4 Miracles on my doorstep (And I beheld His glory)
5 Independence
6 'A heart stirred and a mind illumined'
7 Darkness rising
8 'Just Sentamu'
9 'Your God cant help you now'
10 You must leave the country
Part II: England (1974-1996)
11 Love in a colder climate
12 This is England?
13 'You kill my friend; I take his place'
14 Ordination
15 Set the prisoners free
16 'We are very fortunate that we don't have black people here'
17 The writing on the wall
18 'Why doesn't God heal me?'
19 Race matters
20 The lawnmower and the juggernaut
Part III: Bishop (1996-2005)
21 Bishop's Call
22 'The world is my parish'
23 Race Matters
24 'A Christian, a man, black'
25 Tragedy and Transformation
26 No, Prime Minister
27 'He went about'
28 E-ba-gum!
Part IV: York (2005-2019)
29 'Here I Am'
30 Full Immersion
31 Prayer Tent
32 Money Matters
33 Trouble in Africa
34 'Get on the road!'
35 Wake up, England!
36 'Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord'
37 The Power and The Glory
38 'Re-tyrement'
Epilogue (2020-25)
The sixth of thirteen children, born and educated in Uganda, John Sentamu practised Law both at the Bar and at the Bench before he came to the UK in 1974. He was ordained priest in 1979, he was appointed Bishop for Stepney in 1996, Bishop for Birmingham in 2002 and Archbishop of York in 2005. He is Primate of England and Metropolitan, a member of the House of Lords and a Privy Councillor.
