I AM a Ugandan priest, living in Redditch. Through my period of staying here I have noted that as a community, the Redditch Town Centre Covenant Churches and those in the surrounding areas live amidst culture that defines itself as materialist.

They are happy to show that as a people they can still hold firmly to their faith.

They have held services together and we have plans to expand our acts of witness to the people of Redditch.

I joined in the last act of joint worship, on the Pentecost Sunday, when we held a joint service at the Arrow Valley Lake.

This was a prayerful event that was led in song by St Leonard's Church in Beoley.

It was encouraging to see how we consider convincingly that the Holy Spirit works creatively in us.

As a visitor to Redditch myself, and one of the participants in the event, I was impressed by the choice of hymns, the commitment of the musicians and the burning flame which everyone held in their hand to serve the four-fold theme which was Fire, Power, Purity and Glory.

Sometimes we may not know how far our acts of witness may go.

It is wisely said that acts speak louder than words.

The joint acts of worship have spoken to me through the four years that I have lived in Redditch.

I hope to return to Uganda in autumn 2002, after completing the courses that I am doing at the University of Warwick. The impact to my life of the Mount Carmel Catholic community and the Covenant Churches in Redditch is one powerful legacy I will carry with me when I return to my homeland.

A lesson from this experience is that what the Churches are doing is relevant.

To an extent I consider myself part of this, but I am only a visitor here.

I will carry many stories about what I have seen and heard and the positive acts of witness by the joint Churches will be part of the story I will tell people at my home.

Aloysius Bukenya