AMERICAN WOMAN PRIEST LANDS TOP POST IN PROVINCE OF UGANDA

Exclusive Report

By David Virtue

LONG BEACH, CA — A biblically orthodox American woman priest from the Diocese of Kansas has been appointed to a senior diplomatic and mission leadership role in the second-largest province of the Anglican Communion, marking what many see as a significant step forward in East–West Anglican relations.

The Rev. Canon Dr. Allison L. Barfoot, 44, of Christ Church in Overland Park, Kansas, will serve as Assistant to the Archbishop of Uganda for International Relations, a position created specifically for her by the newly elected Primate, Archbishop Henry Orombi.

Her appointment comes during a period of strained relations between the Episcopal Church in the United States and the eight-million-member Province of Uganda. Archbishop Orombi has declared broken communion with the Episcopal Church’s leadership after the consecration of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire.

Barfoot holds theological degrees from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where she earned a Doctor of Ministry in mission studies.

In an interview this week, Barfoot described her long-standing relationship with Archbishop Orombi, which began in the mid-1990s during Anglican Communion mission conferences. Over the years, she developed close ties with the Diocese of Nebbi through mission partnerships, clergy exchanges, medical work, and leadership training.

Christ Church, with more than 2,000 members, became deeply involved in Ugandan mission work, regularly sending teams to assist with schools, medical outreach, and discipleship initiatives.

Last year, shortly after Orombi’s election as archbishop, he invited Barfoot to take on the new role. She accepted immediately and raised her own financial support through her church and vestry.

Based in Kampala, Barfoot will assist the archbishop in international relations, help develop outreach initiatives, and build bridges with expatriate and diplomatic communities. She will also support efforts to mobilize Ugandans for cross-cultural mission work.

She will serve under the auspices of Global Teams and participate in regional leadership and mission conferences across East Africa.

Barfoot called the move a “profoundly historic event” and expressed enthusiasm about strengthening ties between African and Western Anglicans.

“I start on my 45th birthday,” she said. “It feels like a gift from the Lord.”

She emphasized Uganda’s deep spiritual heritage, forged through persecution and revival movements dating back to the Ugandan Martyrs and the East African Revival.

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