House Of Rainbow MCC Lagos Nigeria

The Dialogue: My Father, My Faith and My Sexuality.

2009-11-10T05:11:00.000-08:00

The Dialogue: My Father, My Faith and My Sexuality.

This short note is to embrace my journey of hope as an African child, a devout Christian, a leader, who also happens to be gay. For many years whilst I struggle to find a place to reconcile my dignity in faith and sexuality, the first dialogue on sexuality and spirituality ignites hope for many in Stellenbosch South Africa, November 2009. This note finally serves as a beacon of hope for the future and I invite you to share this hope with me and many on this journey.

It was the 31st October and yet another trip to South Africa, this time visiting and attending a conference in Stellenbosch. My excitement was multi-fold, first attending a conference on an anticipated dialogue about Christianity and Sexual Orientation with many African people, amongst my joy is also meeting my father whom I was forced to leave behind in Nigeria in September 2008, aftermath of my experience with the Nigerian media’s unethical reporting of our church, House Of Rainbow Nigeria, a mission I lead that welcomes and affirm sexual minorities.

I arrived in Cape Town on the 1st November after a long but interesting overnight direct flight from London Heathrow, the weariness of the flight was less of a concern as all my thoughts and energy focussed on meeting my father. I was met at the airport by John and Telwin both very courteous host of the conference.

I had time after I checked in to my hotel in Stellenbosch to make the 1 hour 10 minutes train journey to Cape Town to join my friends, brothers and sisters for worship at Good Hope MCC Cape Town, listening the Rev Greg Andrews a visiting minister, I was reminded of the joy of being part of an inclusive ministry, a mission we take for granted in many parts of the West but extremely essential in Africa, sharing blessings at Communion was a joy. A ministry that challenges us not just to celebrate the Open and inclusive Holy Communion and love of Christ but to also take that love to the end of the earth, come to the table and be filled with love and take that love to the people out there, echoed Revd Andrews. I took time after the service to reflect on my time in prayers. I was delighted to be amongst friends. Revd Pressley drove me back to my hotel accompanied with three others. What a joy in my soul.

After breakfast on the 2nd November, I left a message at reception to call me as soon as possible once my father arrived, my excitement was much as I embraced my father, we spoke unending over a few cups of Rooibos tea, and decaffeinated coffee, retracting our experiences and later had lunch, the conference registration was set about 4pm. Whilst my father arrived with his luggage missing, it wasn’t long before I offered him clothes from my wardrobe and it was just like happy times again, my shirt fitted him like my twin, I unpacked my bags with gifts I had got him from the UK.

I was anxious about the conference as it is about the focus of religion and sexuality, many people arrived from other nations in Africa, I was getting filled with anxiety on the outcome of the conference, I have prayed for this day and I believed firmly that God will guide us, will aid us and provide us with the knowledge to gain and break out of every chain. I am persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God and the relevance of our participation will be guided by the Holy Spirit.

As the deer panted for the water, so my soul longs after God. This song was in my spirit and I begun to look at the situation for which dialogue was important, the discussion for the liberation of the Holy Scripture, the rescuing the word of God from wordmongers, to share insights from personal experiences and the lack of compassion. At the end of the 2nd November, I was so excited, I have met many people, all fine, all strange, all beautiful, all intellectual, all spiritual, there were some strangeness which exhume my own outlandish approach to life. I felt that since we are here we are determined to take the road and veer on the side that seek to be part of the solution and stop being part of the problem, my views were later shared by many.

I became attached to my father and we spent quality time together, he has always been my greatest mentor, a sole motivator of my thinking. A joy to call him father, brother and friend. We spoke about the past in order to look into the future and appreciated the present time. After dinner we said our good nights and I went to join a few people for an extended social time.

On the 3rd November, it was the day of the first step into the conference on dialogue, Devotion with praise, worship and prayer opened the day, the peculiarity of fear came upon me, as we received guidance on how best to approach dialogue, assuredly it was the first time I felt that I would not need to debate, argue, dispute, disagree, be confrontational, there was an overwhelming willingness to listen, hold, touch, watch, speak honestly, the dialogue between professional biblical scholars and the simplicity of sexual minority people, we dined together, we laughed, we comforted each other soothing away as much pain as we can. I sensed the Holy Spirit was there, I knew certainly in my mind that Jesus looked with favour and I heard him say “Thank you to all participants, for you are doing this to me”

Three speakers spoke from the heart, about the challenges of Faith, Culture and Human Rights, each settled amicably without judgement, all the people listened. After the first session of the dialogue, which required that we identify the stumbling blocks to dialogue, the six colourful groups had time to interact, the barriers are coming down, we are on the journey to breaking down walls, and building up hope. Without any harshness, people’s mind are reconciling, one lesbian woman spoke of her joy that her father was here, her father responded; I too echoed with a joyful heart for the presence of my father at the dialogue, the support and love of these parents were immeasurable.

After dinner, myself and my father had a wonderful time reflecting on the day.

4th November, so many things came into my mind today, first it was my 44th birthday, and last year, it was the American Presidential election date, which elected Obama. Whilst the American experience brought change for the Americans, I am experiencing so much personal changes in my life, change which includes love from my own heart, the beauty of God’s holiness, accepting the burden of a pioneer for change, the passion for the inclusive love of Christ gospel, my congregation, my own self created families, at home in Nigeria and abroad. The joy of knowing that God stands with me and will lift me up in times of trouble and protect me through fires and burning rage, my entire being loving God, was part of that change.

I look forward to this day more in the tranquillity of Jesus increasing love and also clarity of my visions, missions and goals, thanks you Jesus. I know that when we lean on God with faith, mountains will move, valleys will be exalted, and Praises will fill the heaven and the earth.

My friends, brothers and sisters in Stellenbosch have begun the celebration and it was my joy to be woken up and be greeted on this joyous day. Thank you God. Just before breakfast on the 4th November, I went to my dad’s room where we prayed intensely for the love and blessing of God, I felt it, I received it and I claimed it. The day started at the conference with greetings for my birthday, many lovely notes and greetings followed, the day was joyful, as the evening approached, and we got ready for the short trip to Moyo Restaurant, a typified South African joint, its style of the dishes were robust, from vegetables to bush meat, eat till you drop, the kitchen was huge and the serving area was buffet style, there were musicians and dancers everywhere to keep you entertained, we opened several bottles of wine and dance till it was time to return to the hotel, at the hotel the party continued with scores of drinks bought at the bar by friends and well wishers, I was contained with jubilation and love. The night was over and it was time to hit the sack.

On the 5th November I was invited to say a prayer at the closing Devotion which was led by Bishop David Russell, this honour to serve with a retired Anglican Bishop was not only invigorating but enlivening to the glory of God. I reproduce the text of my prayer below;

“Holy One, Precious God, Our Father, Dearest Mother, God of inclusive love, we thank you, for we know that, this first African Dialogue on Sexuality and Spirituality is about winning souls, this first African Dialogue on Sexuality and Spirituality is about the healing of broken vessels, this first African Dialogue on Sexuality and Spirituality is about gathering of the lost sheep.

We thank you Jesus, we thank you for your wasteful generosity of patience, we thank you for your wasteful generosity of boldness, we thank you for your wasteful generosity of compassion, and we thank you for your wasteful generosity of faith, hope and love.

We pray that our faith will move mountains, the way forward shall be filled with hope, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, no, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loved us. For we are convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ our Lord.

Go in the peace and love of God and everyone present would say Amen, Amen.”

Shortly after the morning devotion, I was invited to take part in a pre press conference meeting to finalise the text of the final draft of the press statement. At 2pm after lunch we were ready for the South African Media. I shared the panel with the Director of IAM, Rev Pieter and the Director of TRP Madelene, Bishop Christopher from Uganda. The experience was extremely positive and a further in-depth interview ensued.

Our brief time was soon at end and departing was more painful, big hugs and kisses of good bye was challenging, but we departed at Cape Town Terminals knowing that God had full and total control of the future, which is filled with hope for all lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex Christians.

BLACK GAY AND INVISIBLE BY Topher Campbell

2009-11-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

BLACK GAY AND INVISIBLE.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/08/black-gay-invisible

Black people need to stop treating homosexuality as if it's a white man's disease. We need to embrace the vibrant presence of gays and lesbians in our community and stop siding with bigots and racists.

Over the past few weeks the homophobic murder of Ian Baynham in Trafalgar Square and the assault on PC James Parkes in Liverpool have shocked the gay community. Every anti-gay opinion adds strength to their attackers and supports other gay bashers.

Whenever the subject of homosexuality is raised in the black community there is hysteria and denial. We who are black and lesbian or gay are considered at best a joke and at worst just plain wrong, weird or dirty. Many think we are somehow infected with a western decadent ifestyle and are undermining our race.

This thinking is fuelled by a combination of ignorance, fear, hatred, Christian and Islamic-based homophobic religious beliefs, and perversely racial pride. This deadly combination of prejudice forces us to be invisible in our own communities. Being black and lesbian or gay makes it harder for many of us to come out. The fear of losing our families in a racist society, and therefore our connection with our culture, is very real. Also having to negotiate through a white gay scene makes it doubly difficult to forge an identity or gain support from our peers.

The knee-jerk reaction of many African or African Caribbean parents is to either throw their lesbian and gay children out of the house at 16 or 17 or disown them. The wider community is hostile, too. I know of one teenager who was chased out of his school in East London by a group of 40 armed youths with dogs.

An alternative to coming out for many young people and even adults is to live invisible lives. Through disguise and deceit many black lesbians and gay men establish friendships, networks and lovers and never tell their families. The stress on themselves and their relationships can be unbearable.

The underlying problem we are faced with is to choose between our sexual identity and our race. The reality is that we cannot choose because both are intrinsic to us. One cannot be hidden while the other cannot be denied. Sadly, in today's world, for black people who are "flamboyant" whether gay or straight or just more bookish or more sensitive or even academic (or for girls more sporty) we cannot escape the "accusation" that we are gay.

Homosexuality is as natural as eyesight. It is not a choice. It cannot be denied or made subject to one's race no more than you can change your place of birth.
Over the past 10 years the confidence and presence of black lesbians and gay men has been growing steadily. There have been a number of long-running clubs (Queer Nation, Caribana, Bootylicious), publications (MOC) and websites that have struggled against the odds to exist and reflect our lives. Also there have been two Black Pride events (UK Black Pride and Outburst) every year for the past three years.

Meanwhile, organisations like my own – rukus! Federation – are attempting to raise the visibility of black lesbians and gays in the UK through archives. However, the mainstream press and black press have largely ignored this and in the case of the black press actively derided it.
On the Friday that Ian Baynham's vigil took place, OutburstUK hosted the only black gay event in Black History Month – attended by more than 200 black lesbians and gays. It would benefit all of us if more such events happened next year because visibility is the key to overturning ignorance.

In many ways black people are the last people to celebrate prejudice against homosexuality and for this we should be ashamed. We are systematically harming our own. If you are black and reading this you probably assume there is no lesbian, gay or bisexual person in your family. Has it occurred to you that your mother, father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, son or daughter might be "one of them"?

If we don't look out for our own we cannot complain when others lecture us about our prejudices. I do not agree with Peter Tatchell telling the black communities what to do as he did in the Guardian recently, but our own silence around sexuality only allows others to fill the vacuum and to lead the debate in our absence.

It's time to wake up. The wider black communities should beware. There are too many black people in prison or under mental health supervision. Meanwhile black boys are killing each other wantonly. We should not be adding to disadvantage by persecuting or ostracising even more black people because of who they are compelled to love.

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Topher Campbell is a theatre director, writer and filmmaker. He is co-founder or rukus!Federation a BLGBT arts company and artistic director of The Red Room Film and Theatre Company. He is currently creating Oikos and The Mangina Monologues for the stage

Reverend Jide Macaulay Clocks 44

2009-11-09T07:38:00.000-08:00

44th Birthday Celebration

Open Invitation to all my friends, to join a celebration of 44 years of grace, at Mahogany Restaurant Music by Juwon, Location 356-358 Lea Bridge Road London E10, Date: Friday 13th November 2009, 8.30pm to mindnight.

Be Inclusive, Be Courageous and Be Opened

2009-11-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

Sermon by Rev Father Steven Saxby – 6th September 2009 St Barnabas, Walthamstow,

This morning I invite you to explore with me three phases that arise from our three lectionary readings. The phrases are “be inclusive”, “be courageous” and “be opened!” I shall say some words about each of these phrases as they arise from our readings as I also encourage us to apply these phrases to our mission and ministry here at St Barnabas. The first arises from our reading from the letter of St James. We do not find the exact words “Be inclusive” in the text but that it what James is talking about. Those here last week will remember that I preached on this glorious little letter of St James and how valuable it is for us today. I hope some of you will have heeded my advice to read it during the week and if you didn’t please do try to make the time to do so this week. One of the reasons it is so valuable is that it is committed to there being no distinctions within the life of the church.

Today’s section of the letter talks about the distinctions that were being made in the church between the richer and the poorer members. James is crystal clear that it is impossible within the life of the church for such distinctions to exist. He says, “do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ our glorified Lord, with the making of distinctions between classes of people”. James’ message is that all should be included within the life of the church, regardless of their economic status. How do we apply this text and its message of inclusivity to the life of our church? Well, we might say this is a text that need not apply to us. After all, this is not a church attended by the rich, so there is no question of them lording it over the poorer members, parading their fancy clothes and taking the best seats.

On the contrary, I have to say that one of things that attracted me to coming here to St Barnabas was that this is a very inclusive congregation – it includes people of all ages, of various backgrounds, of different ethnicities – and through all of this a vision has been formed of a diverse congregation serving an equally diverse neighbourhood. The phrase “be inclusive” seems ingrained into the life of this congregation and yet being inclusive is always a challenge and requires us always to assess and re-assess our practice as we ask whether we are really providing access, welcome and opportunities for participation to all people. It is fabulous that we are open this and next weekend for the art trail.

That is an opportunity to put our inclusivity to the test as we welcome people from the whole community. And our challenge in being inclusive is to be on the lookout, as St James was, for those who are excluded within the context of wider society. Who are the people oppressed, excluded, marginalised, mocked today? What can we do to ensure they have a place within the life of our church? The great strength of being a diverse church already is that we know there can be room for many kinds of different people here, but we must always be alert to whether we are really following the phrase that arises from the letter of St James, “be inclusive”.
The second phrase for us to explore comes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and it is “be courageous”!

In our text today we have the exhortation “courage”, meaning “be courageous”, sometimes translated as “be strong”. I mentioned last week that James, like Jesus, was soaked in the tradition of the great Old Testament prophets, including Isaiah, and so, like them, had a great concern for the oppressed, the excluded and the suffering. We find that concern in this passage from Isaiah. It is one of those passages where Isaiah gives hope to the people of Israel. Even though he has told them that they will suffer for their sins, that they will lose their land and life as captives (as indeed happened when the Israelites were dragged off into captivity by the Babylonians); Isaiah also reminds the Israelites that there suffering will not last forever and that God will restore Israel to its land and its former glory.

And what are among the chief things that God will do when he restores Israel? He will first of all attend to those who are suffering and excluded from society. He will open the eyes of the blind, unseal the ears of the deaf; elsewhere we learn of God’s care and concern for the widows, for orphans, and others who are excluded from and marginalised within wider society. In the context of their suffering and captivity the Israelites are given this promise of things to come, they are to be courageous in the midst of their struggles, knowing that the Lord will deliver them from their oppression and that he will take particular care to restore the marginalised, the oppressed and others who suffer.

“Be courageous”: how do these words apply to us today? Well, it isn’t easy being a Christian community here in Walthamstow in the year 2009. We live in an increasingly secular culture. More and more people have grown up with little or no contact with the church. Many in society are hostile towards Christianity. So it does take courage to be a Christian in today’s world and courage for a congregation to reach out into the community, not least, as in our case, when so many in the community belong to other faith communities.

Then of course there is turmoil and debate within the wider church, not least within the Church of England and the Anglican Communion. Much of this has focused on the topic of sexuality and we find ourselves now in a situation where the Church of England, which has for many years been a place of welcome and inclusion for gay and lesbian people – including here at St Barnabas, is now increasingly seen as a church which is intolerant of gay sexuality because of the way the debate is conducted within the wider church. If we are to be an inclusive church, then our welcome surely extends to all, our fellowship wants to embrace all, regardless of their sexuality. Jesus went out of his way to mix with those who were marginalised in his society, including those excluded by others. He mixed with the despised tax-collectors, with women regarded as unrespectable, even with prostitutes, with political extremists.

Do we not think that if people had been marginalised then because of their sexuality that Jesus would not have gone out of his way to mix with them, to show that they were to be included as part of his radical message of love? I am so pleased that we have Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay with us this morning. Rowland has been a good friend of our family for many years. And he truly is a man of courage, not least as the person who founded the first church providing an open welcome to gay and lesbian people in Nigeria! I am so pleased he is here, not least because a year ago he had to flee Nigeria after he received death threats related to his leadership of his church, House of Rainbow Ministries. Rowland is currently living just around the corner and this week has been celebrating the 3rd year of House of Rainbow but has had to do so not in Nigeria but here is exile in Walthamstow. His is a wonderful story of courage in the Lord and I pray that we may all learn something from him as he worships here with us at St Barnabas. “Be inclusive”, “be courageous” and, finally, “be opened”.

We find these words “be opened” in our gospel reading today. Jesus heals a man who is deaf and has speech problems. He puts his fingers in his ears and puts spittle on his tongue – thankfully there were no swine flu health restrictions at the time – anyway, he does this and then looks to heaven and says, in Aramaic, “Ephphatha” which means “be opened” and the man was healed. In one sense this is a simple story of Jesus healing a man, as he does countless times in the gospel stories but there are deeper levels to this story as well. On another level it is one of those stories where we see Jesus fulfilling the expectations of a messiah. Isaiah promised that the Lord would unseal the ears of the deaf and here is Jesus doing exactly that. Although Jesus instructs the man to tell know one, he can’t help himself.

Like Isaiah predicted, “the tongues of the dumb sing for joy”. Personally, I love that action of the healed man. He cannot contain himself; he wants to tell everyone this exciting news about what has happened to him and to tell everyone about this wonderful Jesus who has healed him. And I wonder when Jesus says “be opened” whether he was only speaking to his tongue and ears and whether he was not also speaking to his heart. So many times in the gospels, it is the faith that people put in Jesus that leads to their healing; the opening of their hearts to Jesus leads to the restoration of their bodies; they are released from their physical suffering by their openness to Jesus as the Son of God. I hardly need to spell out the relevance of those words “be opened” for our situation here at St Barnabas. Our faith in Jesus, our openness to him and what he can do in our lives is the foundation of all we do as Christians. There is no point in us being here if our life together does not flow from our love for Him. If we know his saving power in our lives, we too will want to sing for joy, sing for joy of his love for us, and tell others what work Jesus can do in their lives if they will be open to him. That is why it is natural that as we welcome others in to our church, we will want to draw them into the faith that inspires us.

Our evangelism may be a gentle welcome, a leaflet through the door, a friendly conversation, at times it can be more forthright but it never need be confrontational and above all we must realise that it is by the opening of another person’s heart to Jesus that they will know for themselves what we have come to know and then want to themselves to share it with others. It is easy to lose that first enthusiasm for the Lord, the joy we knew when we were first open to Jesus transforming our lives but that is always the challenge and why we come here every Sunday, to be refreshed, to receive him again in the bread and the wine, to renew our enthusiasm and commitment to share our love of him with others. It is a challenge, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit may we evermore rise to the challenge here at St Barnabas of responding to those three phrases, “be inclusive”, “be courageous” and “be opened”!

Our Friends in Uganda - NO FEAR IN LOVE - 1 JOHN 4:18

2009-10-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

NO FEAR IN LOVE - 1 JOHN4:18

Dear Friends in Uganda,

THE UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL, NO 18, 2009.

I am Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay, Pastor of House Of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) Lagos Nigeria.

I write these comments in my capacity as a religious leader with the MCC and also human rights activist in association with my position as executive member of the Pan Africa International Lesbian And Gay Association.

I am extremely horrified by the attempts of your government in Uganda to outlaw homosexuality, this is tantamount to the killing of homosexuals in the concentrate camp during the Nazi German days. The real criminals in my mind are the collaborators and sponsors of this bill.

Whilst homosexuality has been denied and objectified as an abomination against culture and religion in Africa, we are left with little thoughts as to the criminality of the minds of those who are considering death penalty for homosexuals.

Legal restrictions of homosexual people and or practices do not stop homosexuality, they just make homosexual peoples’ lives more dangerous and vulnerable to other abuses.

In my country Nigeria, twice anti-Homosexual bills were introduced whilst they are injurious and in breach of every international human rights treaty. At home and in international arenas, Nigeria has continued its campaign, openly calling for killing people who engage in homosexual conduct. At the UN Human Rights council in September 2006, Nigeria ridiculed “the notion that an execution for offences such as homosexuality and lesbianism is excessive” the Nigerian diplomat said it “may be seen by others as appropriate and just punishment”. This analogy shows extend at which our legislators will go to alienate homosexuals using every legal means available. What they have done is to disregard a proportion of their population who need protection against criminality.

These attempts make me more defiant and determined to support the cause of LGBT people in the continent.

I write to give you my support and know that we shall continue to make all the necessary representations at all levels and continue to stand up and speak out against these extreme brains.

In my attempt to comprehend any reasoning behind these bills or interpretation or understanding of the Ugandan Anti Homosexual Bill, I am sure that this is the evil we need to fight.

I ask that fellow religious people and organizations/movements that are inclusive, welcoming and affirming to LGBT people, should not only pray but understand that we need to “Put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against powers of dark world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” Ephesians 6:11-12.

Please note my comments below;

CLAUSE (1.1) BROAD PRINCIPLE of the bill seeks to provide; ‘Legal protection of the traditional heterosexual family based on collective cultural, religious and traditional values of Uganda by prohibiting same sex relations”

Homosexuality has always been part of the human culture, homophobia and hatred as we know it today is the violator. Prohibiting same sex loving relationship will only spell more danger and further push underground the government’s responsibilities to take care of LGBT people.

This attempt of passing this bill is criminal in itself and I feel that the Ugandan people should stand up against this outrageous bill. Equally, there should be laws protecting vulnerable homosexual people from sexual predators, these people according to the provisions of the bill as considered victims, they are likely to be consenting adults, who under interrogation might make a plea in order to be classified victims.

Homosexuality historically has been part of the human culture and often celebrated in religion, then it must be part of the traditional values, we must continue to look at the changes effected in the global south, such as Nepal and India to embody the changes for African nations.

To deny the existence of homosexuals on the basis of religion is inaccurate and due to the difference of views and biblical interpretation in Africa, the government has not taken time to listen to all parties before the irrational introduction of the bill.

The government of Uganda felt that there is a need to fill gaps, these are attempts to re introduce tyranny, which Uganda has experienced in her history owing to civil wars and ill ruler ship of the Idi-Amin regime. The gaps in the penal code have been strongly criticized by the Human Rights Watch Report, “This Alien Legacy – The Origins of “Sodomy” Laws in British Colonialism”, which calls for the repealing of the British penal code which Uganda continues to rely upon as legitimate.

In my view, there are no gaps in the Penal Code of Uganda on homosexuality, the Human rights position is to repeal the offending code which came to the shores of Africa with imperialism during colonialism, the world have always existed and so has homosexual practices, historians need to be kind to homosexuals and good people need to stand up, speak out for the well being of marginalized people.

I also call on the religious communities throughout the world to speak out against this bill. It is our duty to do what is good, what the Lord requires of us, to do justice, love mercy/kindness and walk humbly with God.

We have examples in the global world of politics where such bills are used against opponents in the bid that they would be silenced in politics, because of stigmatization and shame, however, this bill if passed to law will only punish the poor, divide families, cripple businesses and those unable to defend themselves. It will further empower the privileged such home/land owners, and employers, it will provide unconstitutional powers to law enforcement agencies and increase the lack of protection to LGBT people against crimes in Uganda.

The government cannot think without the democratic process, the question is has the government held a public debate for the rationale of this bill? How much consultation was done with those affected or likely to be burdened, how much liaison has taken place with human rights defenders and practitioners in Uganda and elsewhere?

“A need to put a law in place” this is likened in attitude of many African government it is okay to criminalize homosexuality, when was the last time that a bill is rush to protect the public treasury from being looted by the same government that speaks of such hatred?

CLAUSE (2): THE OFFENCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY

1. A homosexuality offence is:
Penetration of anus, mouth or stimulation of sexual organs of another person of the same sex by a penis, object or any sexual contraption 2(1)(a)(b)(c).

If homosexuality is an offence and it is based on religion, then we need to look at the radical development of laws against other groups, “Adulterers, Drunkards, Swindlers, Slanderers, Prostitutes etc”. This shows the weakness of this bill, it seem that no offence would have been committed if this happened between a man and woman, how do we deal with the complication of gender reassignment. This will further complicate the lives of transgender people. The bill in my opinion is centered on Patriarchy. Does the law against Adultery stipulate life imprisonment or death? What would Jesus do? Would Jesus discriminate against homosexuals?

I strongly believe in the laws of God, “the Greatest Commandment”. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it; ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” Matthew 22:34-40

In the bill, penalties for committing aggravated homosexuality is stated as “Death sentence” and further requirement to undergo HIV test to ascertain one’s HIV status once charged with aggravated homosexuality 3(2)

The penalty against homosexual convicts would range from life imprisonment to death, the bill, in my estimation has failed in its analysis of providing evidence. What will family members do about their homosexual children and family members? Is Uganda preparing an onslaught of about 10% of its population?

If you have been previously charged with homosexuality according to this bill, you will be in prison for life, so reoffending is going to be difficult, because the homosexual convict is likely to have been executed. This bill does not describe the issues of homosexuality as we understand it, it can only be described as sentimental. Homosexuality for many is about companionship, love and relationship. Is it possible to test this bill with any of the parliamentarians’ family member who may be a homosexual person?

This bill described victims; the real victims here are the people trying to live their lives in a hostile nation and also have to contend with this new bill. The homosexual people are law abiding citizens and tax payers, contributors to the African nations and can be found in representation in all works of life, there is no doubt those this bill intend to criminalize also work in the Ugandan parliament.

Clauses 4 to 14, is extremely discriminatory and it will affect the poor and defenseless people the most. It also provides unjust powers for the detention of any persons on suspicious of homosexuality which can fuel acrimonious and malicious abuse of authority.

The sentence of life imprisonment and or death overrides the punishments listed in these clauses and there is a danger that this bill will be more detrimental to the lives of the rest of society that it intend to protect.

Clause (15) On the issue of JURISDICTION, places where offenders can be charged, Courts in Uganda, it is my hope that the Jurisdiction of the courts in Uganda in the absence of malice and corruption are prepared to implement the rule of law and make radical decisions not based on political agenda, it is my hope that any case tested and decided would be based on its integrity with evidence, this would be an attention-grabbing standard to set if this bill becomes law.

CLAUSE (16): Extra-territorial jurisdiction (provision to penalize offenders outside of Uganda), I am not sure how many countries in the world will co operate with the Ugandan government on the provision of this bill as they would immediately be collaborators of criminality and perhaps be in breach of their own human rights laws and commitment to International treaties.

CLAUSE (17): Further to the clause of Extradition, the bill claim that,
outside of Uganda (people who commit this offence will be brought back to Uganda for trial) Uganda government have not worked out the process of this implementation and this provides a shortsightedness of the extradition process in international laws. The Uganda government in my opinion is meddling with international laws, how they plan to force international governments to extradite Ugandans who have fled for the same reason of which these laws seek to criminalize. In the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada where there are laws to protect homosexuals and to a large extend has provision of Civil Partnership/Gay Marriage, it would be incomprehensible to conclude that these countries will release citizens who have taken advantage of these progressive laws only to be extradited for prosecution and possible execution.

Finally, the bill states that; Any international law that contradicts the spirit of the Bill will be considered null and void in Uganda. This is clearly in contravention of the spirit of the democratic international community, Uganda has risen to the scale of an inhumane nation, if they will go to this extent to punish homosexuals, and goodness knows who is next on the line.

The Uganda Homosexual bill is outrageous and it would not hold firm, I believe that those with the problem are the legislators and those who considered drafting such an outrageous and draconian bill. The bill shows the height of dictatorship, patriarchy and authoritarianism

I have never seen anything so outrageous in my entire life, I believe this bill is anticipated to drum up political power and support from ignorant people, this is almost the return of tyranny.

I want to encourage all LGBT leaders of Uganda, allies, human right defenders and others. LGBT people, friends, families need to march out to parliament and demand their rights. This is the time that we need to work with the LGBT people, their families, allies and other marginalized groups or communities to ensure that the government understands the lives of LGBT people as up to 10% of the entire population are homosexuals and or sexual minorities.

Also I ask that all LGBT human rights groups, organizations and movements around the world participate in calling for a cancellation of this bill with immediate effect.

In Solidarity

Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Threatened with Death

2009-10-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Phil.1:21

When I took on the task of teaching and preaching the “inclusive gospel of Jesus Christ” little did I comprehend the violence towards me, let alone my community, friends and family. I continue to hold on to my faith in Christ and knowing that the principle of God’s love for all people is still the same.

Matthew 5:43- 45a “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy’ But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of God in heaven”

I was faced in Nigeria within two years the harrowing task of protecting myself and others from violence simply for the fact that we wanted the freedom to be, freedom to worship God as God’s legitimate Children who just happen to be sexual minorities amongst other things.

Jesus and his disciples had a dialogue in Matthew 19 concerning divorce, adultery and other issues, in verse 10, “The disciples said to Jesus, if this is the situation between husband and wife, it is better not to marry” recognising the difficulties and challenges of the world at the time and yet to come in verses 11 and 12 “Jesus replied, Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs (gay) because they were born that way, others were made that way by men, and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

What people in our society, especially in Africa and particularly in Nigeria is asking us to accept is the normative standard of heterosexual lifestyle. This cannot be compatible with the illustration of Jesus as many do not wish to understand the differences we embody in Christ.

My home was vandalised early September 2008 followed by abusive notes and comments on our video blog, www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow I have listed below the notes sent to me recently.

One thing I know and I will say is that I am not ashamed of the inclusive gospel of Christ that includes everyone and I will continue to work until everyone is present around the communion table of Christ. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” Rom 1:16.

There are many more threats, intimidation, oppression, cruelty which does not fit in the agenda of God, In John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. 19If you belonged to the world,* the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I said to you, “Servants* are not greater than their master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you”

Please feel free to view our video blog. www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow

More love more power

Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Subject: Comment posted on "Nigerian Homosexual Pastor Introduced" From: chykxx Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:55:45 -0700
"My Dear... Personaly i am coming after you and I will KILL You.... You will die and not live.. ANTICHRIST in Nigeria, God forbid.. I will seek you and Kill you Satan"

From: Martins .Andrew Oshen Subject: You are are warnedDate: Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 4:23 PM

I pray to God that your place in hell be permanently constructed for you jide and your fellowers.

We do not need you in Nigeria, Nigeria is a God own Nation and her people, God's, i represent the Political Youths of Nigeria and soon, we will judge you on earth...

If you know what is good for you, close that pit of hell and leave Nigeria, i will not warn you again and when next i had ro sound a warning, it will be directed to your parents and siblings...

From: Martins .Andrew Oshen Subject: We have not started yet with you...Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 9:26 AM

For and foremust, i do not know to address you.

Regarding Jide's stand on homosexuality and his courage to fixe up that gay hotel called church in lagos, he has insulted us as a nation, why did he not open his church in london where he claimed to have grown and schooled?.

For your information, i work for the Federal Republic as a youth leader on appointment and in no distance time, if the House of Rainbow is not closed down, i assure you that we will not only close it ourselves, we will burn it down and God willing, if we lay hands on Jide Macaulay, he will be at the left hand side of God and if we don't, i repeat, if we dont, then there will be no other option than to seek redress within his immediate family.

Tell him that there is no place to run to ot hide in Nigeria, i have personally obtained his residential address and those of his parents and siblings up to his home town, the best thing to do is close that evil house of a church and return back to the UK where our other members will be willing to recieve him...

For three years, we have watched him from a distance hoping he will get to understand the Nigerian religious society but he didn't and now, we have decided to do it our way, not even his local, state or even the Federal Government will be able to help him way when we come looking for him.

Be warmed...

Christianity and SEX

2009-10-16T04:53:00.000-07:00

Christianity and Sex by Revd Karl Hand

In my few years of experience as a pastor, I have been surprised to find that I get asked more questions about sexuality than any other topic. It’s a surprise to me because for a long time, I assumed people would ask pastors about God, salvation and other spiritual topics, and also because I don’t think of myself as much of an expert on the subject. Why would people come to a pastor with these questions? What I am beginning to realise is that finding sexual integrity is the burning question that confronts people who want a relationship with God today. People are struggling and searching for answers, and that the answers aren’t easy to find.

People who look for a sexual ethic from their faith, rather than in pop-psychology, or what they first heard in the ‘school-yard’ are looking in the right place – but I wonder how well equipped the churches are to give advice on the subject. Christianity’s two great legacies of the twentieth century have been predatory abuses of power, and the exclusion and repression of people who are ‘different.’ We have not earned the trusted place we hold. We have to grow up, and become people who do deserve that trust. As Natasha Holmes, our worship leader at CRAVE MCC sings, ‘if not us, who?’

The standard Christian response in the area of sexuality has been to look to the Bible for answers about sexuality. ‘God created sex, so surely God’s word has the answers!’ ‘It’s like operating a car; you have to follow the instruction manual!’ But when people turn to the Bible (instead of believing what they are told it says), they find it’s a lot more complicated than a how-to guide or a road map. They find creation stories explaining the origin of male and female, erotic poetry, tales of ancient people’s sexual lives to match anything they would find on Jerry Springer, and a few commandments forbidding everything from incest (Leviticus 18) to inter-racial marriage (Deuteronomy 7:1-3) and many other strange laws including the need to pay a “bride price” for a wife (Exodus 22:16-17), and even to sleep with the wife of a dead sibling (Deuteronomy 5:5-10). An honest reader would have to admit this isn’t much help in the twenty-first century as an instruction manual for sexuality.

For thousands of years, the answer of Christianity on sexual ethics was to choose between celibacy or marriage, and to ‘save yourself’ for marriage. There is nothing in the Bible to recommend this ethic, and for many people, those options don’t work. A century or more ago, the thin fabric of this moral facade was unravelled when Freud showed that sexual repression was the cause of sometimes very severe mental illness. People began to realise that the Christian ideal wasn’t working for many people. Then the ‘sexual revolution’ came, and ‘free love’ was the answer of Western Culture – ‘if it feels good, do it.’ But to be blunt, most people find that way of living is shallow, deeply unsatisfying, and that it has an emotional cost that’s just not okay. A generation on from ‘hippie culture’, what I constantly experience is that many people have reached a place that is like despair. Marriage hasn’t worked for them (or they don’t want marriage, or they are legally denied marriage because they are not heterosexual), but ‘free love’ has no integrity for them. There has to be a better choice than this!

I use the title “Good Sex” with a deliberate double meaning. I’m talking about moral goodness, and also about sex that is good because it’s hot! Sex that has integrity is fulfilling and exciting. Sex with no integrity will never stimulate more than your body – and will probably leave your deeper, true self feeling cold. Conservative Christianity is right when it claims that it is God who makes us sexual beings – so the desires we have are really a clue to God’s purposes for our lives! If we desire things like a fulfilling sex-life, intimacy and integrity it’s because we’re on the right path. God is reaching out to us through those desires.

Like many Christians, I believe that the Bible is the right place to look for guidance. But if we are going to have anything worthwhile to say to a generation who desperately need the truth of the gospel to be spoken to them in a way that engages their sexual being, we must give up the search for easy answers. What we find might be very different to what is pushed as ‘family values’ by the religious right.

"Cashman denounces new President of the United Nations' 'unacceptable' views on homosexuality"

2009-09-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

"Cashman denounces new President of the United Nations' 'unacceptable' views on homosexuality"

Taking his post at the opening of the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations, on 15 September 2009, Libyan Ali Abdussalam Treki suggested that homosexuality was unacceptable.

The newly-elected President was asked during his press conference about the UN Resolution calling for the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality. "That matter is very sensitive, very touchy. As a Muslim, I am not in favour of it...it is not accepted by the majority of the countries. My opinion is not in favour of this matter at all, I think it is not really acceptable by our religion, our tradition", he said.

Reacting to his words, Michael Cashman, President of the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT rights called on the President to "think again" and reminded him that "he is there to defend the principles of the United Nations and that includes the Universal Declaration Human Rights Act 1948 and all following amendments and covenants of rights, including LGBT Human Rights".

"Such statements are totally inappropriate and unacceptable. He must now speak on behalf of those who do not have a voice and forget his religious beliefs which must remain private. He must realise that the implications of his words could legitimise violence towards LGBT people", said the Member of the European Parliament.

The Resolution in favour of the decriminalisation of homosexuality was signed by 66 countries and passed last December. It was met with strong resistance from a group of Leaders who challenged it, but failed, with a counter-statement condemning homosexuality.

ENDS

UPR Comoros at UN Geneva Sept 2009

2009-09-25T03:29:00.001-07:00

UPR Comoros at UN Geneva September 2009

S.E.M. Mohammed Jaffar Abbas – Comores Secretaire General du Ministere de la Fonction Publique, des Reformes administrative et institutionnelles et des droits de l’homme.

Statement addressed very briefly the working group recommendation. Minister Abbas took time to respond to the NGO statement below by saying; I have said before that there are no prosecution of consenting adult of homosexuals yet. However Penal Code 318 to be reformed, we have to realise that there is a need to make changes. Its difficult to make provision on behalf of the people of Comoros towards Lesbians and gays. The State of Comoros welcome what has been said, we have enjoyed 30 years of independence and we wish to make Human rights for all a reality.

United Nations Human Right Council 12th Session
Geneva, September 2009.
UPR Comoros
International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region)

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay – House Of Rainbow Nigeria

Thank you Mr. President.

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of ILGA and Pan Africa ILGA.

We wish to address recommendation 4 in paragraph 66 of the Working Group report on Comoros.

This recommendation urges Comoros to “review provisions of the criminal law penalizing consensual same-sex-activity between adults and organise awareness-raising campaigns promoting tolerance in this regard”.

Same-sex activity between consenting adults is criminalised by article 318 of the Penal Code of Comoros. The UN Human Rights Committee has repeatedly confirmed that such laws violate the rights to both privacy and non-discrimination, contrary to articles 17(1) and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee further considered that these laws “run counter to the implementation of effective education programmes in respect of HIV/AIDS prevention” by driving marginalised communities underground.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Pillay, has recently called on States to decriminalise sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex, in accordance with international human rights law.

During the Working Group discussion, the delegation of Comoros responded that homosexuality is not prosecuted and the law not enforced. If this is the case, then we trust that the government should be willing to accept the recommendation and repealing the offending law. Even when not enforced, such laws undermine the human dignity of those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

We therefore urge Comoros to bring its Penal Code into conformity with its international human rights obligations by repealing those provisions which criminalise same-sex activity between consenting adults and to accept the recommendation to organize awareness-raising campaigns promoting tolerance in this regard.

Thank you Mr President.

UPR Congo Republic at UN Geneva Sept 2009

2009-09-23T07:56:00.000-07:00

UPR Congo Republic at UN Geneva September 2009.

Madame Rosaline Kama Niamayoua, Ministre L’enseignement Primaire et Secondaire, charge de I’Alphabetisation de la Republique du Congo. In her address responding to the universal review, that Congo plan to ratify many international convention including laws to protect migrant workers, children, protection of persons against disappearances, alienating sexual exploitation, arbitrary detention (following the regular inspection of prison and transparency in this effort), also implement laws for the punishment of genocide and human trafficking offenders. Congo also plans to include education on Human Rights in schools and teaching institute.

On the issues that we have presented the Minister failed initially to address concern with regards to LGBT people on matters of sexual orientation and gender identity. See our response below.

Madame Niamayaoua responded to our statement by saying “It would not be right for the government to make decision against the culture and custom (these are matters of public concerns and opinion).

We take into account your concerns, it is not easy to implement such an action at this present time. Congo will do her best to review and see how these issues can and/or be addressed and discussed, we hope it can be discussed in the future. (This is the first positive voice from a government official from the Congo on Sexual Orientation and gender identity)

United Nations Human Right Council 12th Session
Geneva, September 2009.

UPR Congo
International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region)

Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay – House Of Rainbow.

Mr President

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of ILGA and Pan Africa ILGA.

We wish to address the recommendations contained in paragraphs 23, 27 and 59 in the Working Group report on Congo, which urge the government to repeal article 331 of the Penal Code to decriminalize same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults, with a view to more effective HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment.

While we appreciate the government’s position on the difficulties regarding cultural problems and sociological implications and that no-one is currently in detention because of their homosexuality, the current penal code of Congo continues to threaten the existence of sexual minorities, and this law also violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Congo is a party.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Committee's 1994 ruling in the case Toonen v. Australia, laws criminalizing homosexual conduct violate the international rights to privacy and non-discrimination, and impede measures to address HIV and AIDS by driving marginalised communities underground, a position also affirmed by UNAIDS and the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In Congo all men who have sex with men, do not necessarily identify as homosexuals. The lack of legislation to protect Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual and Transgender people continues to have a negative impact on important HIV prevention work for the gay and lesbian community, and this we believe is a threat to public health.

We therefore urge the government to implement the recommendations of member states and take further action:

· To repeal the penal code provision which criminalizes homosexual activity between consenting adults, and review other national legislation which results in the discrimination, prosecution and punishment of people solely for their sexual orientation or gender identity and bring this into line with the provisions of the ICCPR, particularly articles 2 and 26.
· We also ask the government to adopt measures to promote tolerance in this regard, which would also facilitate more effective educational programmes for prevention of HIV/AIDS; and
· to provide law enforcement and judicial officials with specific training regarding the protection of human rights of sexual minorities.

Thank you very much Mr President.

UPR Central Africa Republic at UN Geneva Sept 2009

2009-09-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

His Excellency Mr Leopold Ismael Samba – Ambassador Permanent Representative of the Central Africa Republic to the UN at Geneva, addressed the assembly on the outstanding matters for review including death penalty legislations, ethnic minority, summary execution laws, gender base discrimination. He expressed that sex discrimination against women is a difficult problem alluded to cultural difficulties, problem with traditional practices, the abolition of polygamy is extremely difficult as it is seen as part of the culture, and the country is careful and reluctant to introduce and sign laws that prohibit these practices, however he welcomed the recommendations of prison wardens and the justice system, increase of awareness program has been launch by the President.

There is however no mention of the issues affecting LGBT people on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

United Nations Human Right Council 12th Session Geneva, September 2009.UPR Central African RepublicInternational Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region)
Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay - House Of Rainbow

Mr President,

I have the honour to present a statement on behalf of ILGA and Pan Africa ILGA.
We commend Central African Republic for its leadership, noted in the Working Group report, in supporting the joint statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity delivered at the UN General Assembly last December, on behalf of 67 States from all 5 UN regions.

Amongst other things, this statement urges States to take all the necessary measures “to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties”.

In furtherance of this commitment, we are keen to find out what is the government’s response to recommendation 16 in paragraph 75, which recommends a full review of all national legislation relating to the principles of non-discrimination, particularly as it applies to women and sexual minorities.

In this regard, we respectfully urge the Central African Republic to:
a) To review its criminal legislation, particularly art. 195 of the Penal Code, to ensure that it does not discriminate on the ground of sexual orientation; b) To review all legislation to ensure no discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity;c) To take measures to recognise the sexual health and protect the rights of sexual minorities in accordance with international instruments.

We also welcome the support of the Central African Republic for recommendation 16 of para. 74 to ensure comprehensive training and education for all security forces and prison staff in human rights and international humanitarian law, and would encourage the government to include education about sexual orientation and gender identity issues within such training.

Finally, we appreciate the delegation’s constructive engagement in the UPR process, and thank you again for your leadership on these important human rights issues.

Thank you very much Mr President.

Rev Jide Macaulay Spoke at the UN Geneva

2009-09-23T00:42:00.000-07:00

Rev Jide Macaulay Spoke at the UN Geneva

At the NGO event organised by the International Commission of Jurist, co sponsored by Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Service for Human Rights; Subject - The Role of the International Human rights law protecting people of diverse sexual orientation and gender identities.

Speakers Include;
Lawrence Mute, Signatory to the Yogyakarta Principles, Commissioner with the Kenya National Commission on Human RightsArvind Narrain, co founder Alterrnative Law Forum IndiaVitit Muntarbhorn, co chair of the Yogyakarta experts' meeting ICJ commissioner, former chair of the coordination committee of the Special ProceduresModerator: Aliison Jernow, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project, ICJ

Separation of State and Religion
Delivered by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay @ the UN Geneva, 22nd September 2009.

Good afternoon, my name is Rowland Jide Macaulay, I am the founder and Director of a registered NGO in Nigeria called House Of Rainbow working for the inclusion of LGBT people of all faith founded in September 2006.

State sponsored homophobia or hate crimes disguised under the banner of religious exclusion and cultural alienation is affecting the lives of many LGBT people. UPR is a good process to highlight these issues

Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Principle 21, THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION Says; Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. These rights may not be invoked by the State to justify laws, policies or practices which deny equal protection of the law, or discriminate, on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Nigerian government have twice between 2006 and 2009 proposed bills seeking to criminalise same sex relationship and restrict the assembly and freedom of the same, in addition to extremely harsh penalties including death under Sharia law.

[Many religious communities and leaders chose not just to alienate us from their mosques and churches, but many have incited and supported our government in the implementation and introduction of discriminatory laws.
Religious and State Homophobia is on the rampage, there is an increase in “Hate” Campaign against LGBT people. ]

It will be useful to merge the understanding of these tools with existing human rights tools at all level, including the African Charter on human and peoples rights

Since August 2007, 18 gay men have been waiting to be tried in the Northern Islamic State of Bauchi for offences under the vagrancy Act with a link to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Our project which provides services and other support for LGBT people was forced to close its operations 12 months ago due to excessive media intrusion, religious and state sponsored homophobia. We seek the effort of the commissioners and state members for the separation of State and Religion.

Thank You.

Another Extremist Voice of Hatred

2009-09-22T03:36:00.000-07:00

Another Extremist Voice of Hatred

In our continuous effort to build and continue our work at House Of Rainbow, we set up a youtube video blog where messages are posted, this is a public forum and anyone anywhere can view the videos, whilst we have not restricted who post comments, I have received so many condemming messages of outright ignorance, threats and abuses. I am sending the below message to give you an example of the kind of abuse from extremist. Whilst I am aware of the openness to criticism facilitated by my open messages, I feel that these abuse should not be tolerated. It is difficult to know who posted this message, but I have indicated to Youtube that this is a spam and wait to see what happens. Your thoughts will be appreciated.

More grace more power
Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay;Director/Founder, House Of Rainbow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Subject: Comment posted on "Nigerian Homosexual Pastor Introduced"From: service@youtube.comTo: ramacaulay@hotmail.comDate: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:55:45 -0700
help center e-mail options report spam chykxx has made a comment on Nigerian Homosexual Pastor Introduced:

"My Dear... Personaly i am coming after you and I will KILL You.... You will die and not live.. ANTICHRIST in Nigeria, God forbid.. I will seek you and Kill you Satan"
You can reply to this comment by visiting the comments page.

Rev. Robert Griffin On HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean: A deadly cycle of stigma and secrecy‏

2009-09-19T05:06:00.000-07:00

Rev. Robert Griffin On HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean: A deadly cycle of stigma and secrecy‏

16 September 2009 -

Early this summer, Rev. Robert Griffin was invited by Micah Fink of PBS to take part in a taping of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean specifically focusing on homophobia and religion in Jamaica through the outreach of Sunshine Cathedral in Jamaica.

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting in association with the M·A·C AIDS Fund and the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism made this project possible as they focused on stigma and discrimination that prevents people around the world from accessing HIV prevention, care and treatment services they need. This is particularly true in areas of the Caribbean, such as Jamaica, where anti-sodomy laws and concerns about violence put vulnerable populations at extreme risk.

The first of the five part series will begin airing on the PBS series World Focus on Tuesday, September 22, please check local listing for timing. Also, web videos of all five pieces are also going to go live on the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting website early next week as well. The videos will, we believe, be available internationally at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102711461950&s=2375&e=001ryLqr7CjVV1sO6-H_lsM9JFr_Oabx9U2KHwvGMJQli4Cl4Z2Z2rYSg3JU9fpYvFemtnnVmhloySAsryi0yqGhAdvMwWBCp1lJqt7T0oWUfkEOC45cr3WfAbJB4hWOs5xBg0ruJTC2f7Xm1MB0sMjPw==.

For our associates in the New York area the series will kick off on Tuesday with two events, a viewing of the series at the Columbia University's School of Journalism at 4:00 PM followed by a reception/panel discussion at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. Seating is limited so if you plan to attend please RSVP to RSVP@pulitzercenter.org
We are uncertain as to how much of Sunshine Cathedral will be presented in this special; however we invite you to watch the series..

About Rev. Robert Griffin

Director of Religious Education & Christian Social Action: As Director of Religious Education & Christian Social Action, the Reverend Robert Griffin serves as the Academic Dean of Light University (the Sunshine Cathedral's adult Religious Education program). Robert has also been a special assistant to the Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches and a program specialist for the MCC Office of Clergy Development. After spending a decade in the U.S. Navy as a Religious Program Specialist (Chaplain's Assistant), Robert founded a Metropolitan Community Church in Hagerstown, MD, and served as its pastor for eight years. During much of that time he was also a Conference Coordinator for MCC's Mid-Atlantic District. Robert was a licentiate minister in the Baptist tradition before being ordained in Metropolitan Community Churches. Robert joined the Sunshine Cathedral staff in 2006 and he holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, MA, where he is a member of the Alumni Executive Committee. Rev. Griffin is currently a Doctor of Ministry candidate at Florida Center for Theological Studies...

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102711461950&s=2375&e=001ryLqr7CjVV0BTvLETReOG2mmRX2tDchiichfAPZXnIqyk8PUd-mNg6071RIq9aLtcZw2KTZBWE_TlGH_vdm3cNWN7vBIV0EaQbbe6htHj5kWPEoZNV_JIg==http://www.mccpad.org/

About Micah Fink
Micah Fink, Micah is an Emmy-nominated producer specializing in international affairs, public health, national security and environmental issues. Micah's work has appeared on Wide Angle, Frontline, National Geographic Television and ABC News. He has written for print, magazines and the web. His recent work, Glass Closet, explores the intersections among homophobia, violence, stigma, religion and the disease in Jamaica. A collaboration between the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and WNET's WorldFocus program, the five-part series begins airing the week of September 22nd. The Pulitzer Center's complementary website launches simultaneously and features the video documentaries, related print material, and an interactive space for the public to share their own stories about stigma and HIV in their communities.

A Church For All People - House Of Rainbow

2009-09-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

DEVELOPING A CHURCH FOR ALL PEOPLE
· Are You Black of African or Caribbean Descent?
· Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Intersex?
· Conscious Of Your Spiritual Life?
· Suffered Religious Homophobia?
· Seeking To Reconcile Sexuality And Spirituality?
· Looking For A Welcoming And Affirming Church?
· Interested In Nurturing All These Facet Of Your Identity?

We can help, House of Rainbow MCC is the place for you. You are welcomed to send your prayer request to us at Houseofrainbow@hotmail.com or join our online forum at http://spiritualityandsexuality.ning.com/ Wherever we assemble, you can attend our FREE monthly “Prayer and Praise” sessions, refreshments will be served. For more info and details, please contact Revd Macaulay - United Kingdom: 447903767972, Nigeria: +2348052567170, USA: +13472550726

House Of Rainbow MCC Nigeria To Mark Three Years of Inclusive Mission.

2009-08-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

House Of Rainbow MCC Nigeria To Mark Three Years of Inclusive Mission.

August/September 2009

An Exclusive Interview with Openly Gay Nigerian Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay.

Introduction
House of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church Lagos Nigeria is a church that welcomes Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender people, an inclusive ministry that welcomes all people. This church opened its door to all persons on the 2nd September 2006 and has reached thousands of queer people both in Nigeria, in other African nations and also giving hope to people in other developing nations across the globe. This church is no stranger to controversy and never the less they are growing from strength to strength and with the age of Internet and new media Reverend Macaulay shows no sign of slowing down.

Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay the founding pastor speaks of his convictions as the servant of God in due season bringing hope to the queer people in Nigeria and elsewhere.

What do you plan to do this year in Nigeria?
We are continually obedient to the voice of God and the Holy Spirit. We plan to reach people where they are, as we know that the nation and many of the people seem to be ignorant of the existence of queer people.

This year we are asking people to pray with us, and if you are online and have access to the internet you can join Rev Jide in a circle of prayers from the 1st to 6th September 2009, many communities all over the world will be holding prayer service for the anniversary of House Of Rainbow that is being rolled out to ask God for favour and protection for queer people in Nigeria and other places where there is hostility towards them.

How about the physical presence of the people?
LGBT people in Nigeria and especially our members will be celebrating in the country, however this year we have decided to be completely tight lipped about any information that the people or the media can use against us to harm us. We learned from last year. But we believe that as we develop away from the media intrusion we are preparing a massive launch of our mission in the future. This is a time we identify as “exilic times”, we are travailing in the presence of God with our petitions and supplications, and when we get to the post exilic times we would celebrate.

What are we to expect for the 2009 celebration?
As we mark House Of Rainbow MCC, 3rd Anniversary in 2009, unlike last year, when we rolled out the red carpet and had a huge celebration under the scrutiny of the Nigeria media, this year House Of Rainbow has decided on a much more discreet celebration across the nation and the rest of the world. Our events will begin on the 1st to 6th September 2009 and we are tight lipped about the details of the event.

What are your thoughts on the intrusive events last year?
As the founding Pastor of the movement in Nigeria, we are delighted and continue to thank God almighty for the extra ordinary events last year, which no doubt placed our church in the centre of the struggle for equality for gays and lesbians and other marginalised groups of people in Nigeria and indeed any other place where legal hostilities are conducted against these communities.

It is sad that in the 21st century we are unable to celebrate openly a worship and praise to God for the marvellous creations of gays and lesbians, our families, relatives and allies.

People have said that you are law breakers.
We are law abiding and contributors to the world economy, have you not heard of the “Pink Currency” we are creative in our thinking and doing, we are a blessing according to events in the recorded ancient biblical writings. Our historical presence links us with Kings, Queens and their Kingdoms, we enjoy the favour of God in the service of royalty. However today we have to fight tooth and nail to even get a place to express our humanity let alone freely worship God.

What gives you so much strength and how do you cope with the criticism?
We as a community and personally as the leader of this great community of people, believe that God is in control and it is not over until God have spoken, we believe just like the community of the Jewish people under the leadership of Nehemiah, who God called to rebuild Jerusalem in the midst of hostility, he received exemplary criticism for his vision of the new Jerusalem. The Prophet becomes a model of servant leadership for the queer Christian community and for the queer community. Nehemiah rebuilt a community wounded from exile. That is what I believe my call is for the new age queer Christian community in Nigeria and the rest of the world, to be healed from their wounds. Let me explain this with a simple analogy, House Of Rainbow MCC Lagos Nigeria embodies a vision of hope, healing and reconciliation for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender community, what we do as a ministry is work in the spirit realm collecting discarded vessels from the rubbish bins of other religious communities and bringing them home, to a safe place where they can be ministered to and nourished to good health, if you can imagine mending a broken vessel, it will also appear broken on the outside, however the ministry of House Of Rainbow is to rebuild the vessels so that they are reusable, though they appear broken we believe that the inclusive love of Jesus and the grace of God will sustain us.

Many Churches will not accept homosexual behaviour, why are you different?
Many queer Christians have been excluded from their churches or have been forced into exile from their denominations because of their sexual orientation and primarily due to “Bad Theology”. House of Rainbow is a welcoming church to the unchurched and exiled queer Christians. As a modern day Nehemiah, I believe that my ministry is to embark on the inclusive work of the mission for the reconciliation of Sexuality, Spirituality and faith.

With this in mind we celebrate our third year anniversary, giving glory to God and we can count our blessings and achievements in the past 12 months.

Why did you close the church in Nigeria?
Last year we closed the physical presence of our church and developed a small group of people across the nations, our friends all over the world in different religious communities continue to hold us in prayers and communion. We did because the violence was extreme and our properties were attacked, vandalised, looted and a few of our security guards were wounded.

What is the latest development for the church?
Whilst my ministry takes me to many places all over the world, my core focus was centred on the development of the people in Nigeria and we have grown in numbers in our local meetings, local leaderships and also on our virtual mission in order to reach more people, we posted nearly 50 videos of inclusive messages, and activities, with nearly 30,000 hits, to encourage LGBT people in Nigeria and other developing nations. We have an online forum subscribed by nearly 500 members. So we ask people to pray with us, sign on to the internet and join our inclusive mission online.

Why do you think House Of Rainbow was being attacked?
In the story of Nehemiah and the Jewish people, and their desperation in Jerusalem, it was clear that they are in a very delicate situation as their city has no fortified walls to protect them and without walls around the city it was vulnerable to all types of marauders. It was constantly being attacked, impoverished and diminished. Like LGBT people in Nigeria and other hostile nations, people lived in fear daily and the city of Jerusalem was in disrepair and the people were disheartened, discouraged and afraid. The constant attacks of the Jews can be likened to the irrational attacks on House Of Rainbow people and LGBT people in general, these attacks poisoned and tore us from the inside.

Unfortunately the condition of Jerusalem and its people serves as an all too accurate analogy of what has happened spiritually to the lesbian and gay community. Too often we have had our place taken from us and we have been left vulnerable to the repeated attacks of radical fundamentalists.

How do you see the relevance of your call for the queer community?
We strongly claim God’s grace includes gays and lesbians, however the assaults from religious communities, Politicians and Civil society have a toxic effect on our souls. It is these terrible conditions of injustice that informs my call to ministry in the queer community, I sense the call of God to do something about it and in the third year of the mission I am clear that the call of God is profound and beyond a shadow of doubt a liberating mission to save lives and win souls. Like Nehemiah, I am not a Politician or Soldier, but I believe in the spiritual leadership of the queer people amongst us.

Who are those who inspire and encourage you?
Despite what may have been published in the media, My father, Professor Augustus Kunle Macaulay is not just my father, he is my friend, confidant, a mentor and more, his inspiration and love cannot be matched. Dorothy AkenOva of INCRESE is a champion and leader amongst leader, a sister and a friend. There are many people of God that inspire me, we have been blessed with prayers and support from the founder of MCC Rev Elder Troy D. Perry and the leaderships, we also have been blessed by the openly gay Bishop of New Hampshire, Archbishop Gene Robinson in the USA, Rev Pressley Sutherland, a great friend and brother the Senior Pastor of GoodHope MCC Cape Town South Africa. Friends and members of House Of Rainbow, including people we have reached out to inspire me, William Rashidi, of Queer Alliance, Joseph Akoro, of The Independent Project for Equal Rights, Stephen Chukwumah, of Youth Together Network just to mention a few, there many more people that gives me strength and encouragement.

Web links
YahooID: revjide@yahoo.com
http://revrowlandjidemacaulay.blogspot.com/
http://spiritualityandsexuality.ning.com/
http://www.houseofrainbowmcc.blogspot.com/
http://www.youtube.com/HouseOfRainbow
http://www.mccchurch.org/

Michael Jackson for Nobel Peace Prize Award

2009-08-24T07:04:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson for Nobel Peace Prize Award.

There are amazing article on "michael-jacksons-good-deeds-vs-media...." which I found so great that I spread it on Twitter, on my blog etc.
A friend of mine who said he is nott a typical teenage MJ-fan, a 51-year-old German teacher who has been following his admirable charity work for decades. I don't know if you follow the news about that extraordinary man and if you have read that there are two petitions in favour of Michael Jackson: 1) http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/mjnobelpeaceprize and 2) http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/mjchangenobelrule/ our request to change one of the rules so that a dead person is allowed to be nominated. Petra Wullf did the German translation for this petition. As you may know, according to Michael Jackson's last will 20% of his estate (his existent and his future estate!) go to charity organizations. It is not only that he deserves the prize - the money involved will be given to people who need it! We don't need people who buy anything - we just need people who sign these two petitions! So please, if you see a way to find supporters within your communities or your organizations, we would be very, very thankful! Thank you for reading my e-mail and thank you in advance for your help! Best wishes and much love to all of you, Petra Wulff and Jide Macaulay <http://revrowlandjidemacaulay.blogspot.com/2009/07/michael-jacksons-good-deeds-vs-media.html>

UPDATE NIGERIA "The Bauchi Case"

2009-08-24T03:53:00.000-07:00

Update on the Bauchi Case:
18 men are still awaiting trial for various charges relating to homosexuality in the Northern Bauchi State in Nigeria, Bauchi State is one of 13 States strictly under Sharia Islamic laws, the men continue to receive the support of a local church which considers its mission to be radically inclusive, affirming and welcoming to gay people, the case which began following their arrest on 5th August 2007, was again adjourned on the 28th July 2009 to the 8th October 2009, to avoid any seating during the Ramadan season. The court have failed to seat for many adjournments over the past two years, on the last occasion 17 out of the 18 men attended the hearing, however there was a riot in the city of Bauchi, not related to the trial but unfortunately the 18th person lost his uncle in the fight and was unable to attend court.

Nigeria: Homosexualization of the World

2009-08-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

Nigeria: Homosexualization of the World by Sonnie Ekwowusi

http://allafrica.com/stories/200908190659.html

Lagos — The new British foreign office Minister, Chris Bryant, a publicly-professed gay, has decided to use opportunities offered him by his new office to promote gay rights and gay marriage across the Commonwealth countries Nigeria inclusive. To this effect, Bryant has been writing personal letters of congratulations to British diplomats who support gay rights.

At the Gay Pride March in London last month, Bryant was busy applauding British ambassadors for practicing homosexuality and spreading it across the world. Bryant is also tasking British Commissioners to promote gay and lesbian rights in Commonwealth countries including Nigeria even though the laws of those countries explicitly prohibit those so-called rights. At the Commonwealth Summit in Trinidad in November this year which the Queen and Prime Minster Gordon Brown are billed to attend, the homosexualization of commonwealth countries will top the agenda for discussion.

Bryant's homosexual campaigns in the British diplomatic circles and in commonwealth countries, no doubt, are part and parcel of the well-orchestrated campaigns to change nature and make the world a safe haven for homosexuals. Already the United Nations, founded on October 24, 1945 essentially to promote world peace and security, has become gay. Its language is now the language of gay people. Whereas the UN finds it difficult to promote peace in the world, it finds no difficulty in promoting homosexuality and abortion in the world.

Somehow the UN has been able to box 66 UN member States including the entire European Union, Japan, Australia into pledging their support for gay rights and gay marriage. In sporadic reversal of the policy of Bush's administration, the Obama administration on March 18, 2009 said that the United States was totally endorsing the United Nation's support for decimalization of homosexuality in the whole world. According to the Obama government: " The United States supports the UN statement on 'Human Rights, Sexual orientation, Gender Identity', and is pleased to join the other 66 UN member States who have declared their support of the statement that condemns human rights violations based on sexual orientation, gender identity ".

With the staunch support of the United Nations and the Obama administration, the world association of lesbian, homosexual, Bisexual, Transgender, Beastgender, Transsexual, Beastsexual, animalsexual is now pushing vigorously in different countries for the legalization of what they perceived are their rights to misbehave even in public. Last March in Nigeria some Nigerian homosexuals stormed the National Assembly in protest against the executive bill seeking to outlaw gay marriage and gay associations in Nigeria.

It is obvious that the British foreign office, United Nations, Obama administration and all those drumming support for lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Beastgender, Transsexual, Beastsexual rights, all in the name of human rights, do not fully understand the real meaning of human or are just deliberately distorting its meaning to suit their fancy. A couple of months ago, the Californian Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Proposition 8-a voter-approved measure banning same-sex marriage in California.

You will recall that in November last year majority of the Californians voted against homosexuality, culminating in the passage of Proposition 8 slamming a ban on homosexual behaviour in California. Aggrieved by the Proposition 8, many gay and lesbian activists in California not only protested but eventually took their case to the Californian Supreme Court. At the Californian Supreme Court they argued, through their lawyer, that homosexual behaviour was their fundamental right and therefore the State of California had no right to violate what they conceived was their fundamental human right.

In their brief of argument, the State of California argued persuasively that homosexuality was a complete deviant, unnatural and abnormal behaviour which was manifestly against public policy and public interest as was demonstrated in the voter-approved Proposition 8. In its ruling, the Californian Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Ronald George, upheld the constitutionality of the said Proposition 8 and banned homosexuality in California. By implication, the Supreme Court acknowleleged the right of voters to define marriage in Californian Constitition.

The banning of homosexuality in California and in other places has shown that many people are opposed to homosexuality. It has further shown that in appropriate circumstances the people can stand up and affirm their faith in long-standing moral tradition. Coming on the heels of the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the American Supreme Court and at a time when the gay insurgency and coalition of debonair nihilism in America had reached their summit, the said Californian Supreme Court judgment should be hailed as one of the best things that has come out of the United States in recent times.

In the beginning the gay right movement was never accorded legal recognition. Under the common law, marriage was, and is still recognized as a contract between a man and a woman. At the dawn of American Revolution this common law concept was adopted and became part of American laws. Suffice it to say that several States in the United States later passed laws prohibiting sodomy in the United States. Penalty for indulging in sodomy included long sentence and long fines.

At the dawn of the 19th century and even early 20th century, several States in the United States imposed law against sexual deviant behaviour like homosexuality. For example, in 1970 the Connecticut authority denied driver's licence to one man who professed to be homosexual. But the first organized homosexual rights movement in the United States emerged in the 50s.
It sought to change the criminal law in United States in favour of homosexuals. But it was the sexual revolution of the 60s that eventually propelled thee American gay right movement to attain take its present position. Spurred by the campaigns of the American Law Institute Penal Code in 196os, some homosexual started advocating for what they perceived as their right to privacy and to practice their homosexual acts.

The first Supreme Court decision to recognize the so-called right to privacy was Grisworld V Connecticut (1965). Later in Lawrence V Texas (2003), the Supreme Court (with Justice Antonini Scalia, Chief Justice William H. Relinquish and Justice Clarence Thomas heavily dissenting) overruled Bowers V Hardwick and held that consensual sexual conduct which including right to homosexuality was part of the liberty protected by substantial due process under the fourth amendment of the American Constitition. But subsequent Federal Laws and State laws have differed from Lawrence's case (supra) and endorsed the traditional marriage between a man and a woman.

A couple of months ago Nigeria's foreign affairs Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, was quoted as saying that there were no homosexuals in Nigeria. If the Minister was quoted correctly, then he was wrong. Homosexuality has gained grounds in some parts of Nigeria. During the military rule it was commonly practiced among some top military officers. It is also very common among some members of Northern elite. The National Theater, Orile Iganmu, Lagos has become the most popular meeting joint of Lagos homosexuals. Every Sunday evening young homosexuals are seen at the National Theatre open field holding hands and misbehaving.

But the average Nigerian in the street regards homosexuals as a taboo or abomination. In any case, homosexuality is illegal under the Nigerian law. Sodomy under the Criminal Code is completely outlawed. The anti-homosexual executive bill is still pending at the National assembly. If passed as law, it would go beyond the sodomy laws under the Criminal Code and would have the effect of specifically banning gay couples from adoption of children. It would prohibit registration of Gay Clubs, Societies and organizations; prohibition of Gay publicity, procession and public shows of same amorous relationship through the electronic media or print media etc.

Every society has its own values and should grow with those values. Let Britain, UN and the rest of the world be running riot with gay. But we must stick to our own values and tradition. Laws are made in consonant with the values of the people.

What Must I Do?

2009-08-18T02:27:00.000-07:00

What Must I Do?
By Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay,
Pastor House Of Rainbow MCC Lagos Nigeria @ MCC East London 16th August 2009

Greetings to all the members and leaders of MCC East London from the congregation of House Of Rainbow MCC in Nigeria who continually send their love, also greetings from my friend Donald in Australia and Gift in Malawi. I seize this very special opportunity to welcome everyone worshipping here for the first time at Metropolitan Community Church East London, you are welcomed and if you already do not have a home church, you are welcomed to make this church your home. If your feel comfortable, please shake hands, or give someone next to you a warm hug and say to them welcome, welcome home. Let us Pray.

Also I invite us to hold Revd Caroline Redfearn in our prayers for speedy recovery to good health and also we pray for our Pastor Revd Margarita and her partner Frieda for a save journey as they enjoy their time away.

Yesterday like many other pride events in the UK and all over the world, it was the UK Black Pride, this events reminds me of the experiences and freedom to love that we take for granted in a few parts of the world and we become complacent, as I did a number of walkabout I was reminded on a giant map of many more parts of the world where celebrating Pride or sexuality is not just a challenge but considered a crime, a crime so harsh that in some of these nations people can be killed for being a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender person, the ability to express any form of same gender love is frowned upon.

Today we set aside this day to thank God for the events yesterday to offer a sacrifice of praise to God, to Jesus our saviour and redeemer, it is my hope and prayers that many will be fulfilled in their journey to reconcile their faith and sexuality with God, wherever we may find ourselves, in nations where LGBT people can have peace or where the laws are still harsh and discriminatory.

As a people we have so much expectation of people in certain professions or qualifications to lead us, to defend us, to guide us, such as lawmakers to make laws to protect us, lawyers to adequately mitigate and defend our cases, Activists to stand up and speak out, Pastors, Priests, Levites to pray, assist us on matters of spirituality and that is why we are here, in Metropolitan Community Churches and other inclusive ministries, our job is not done until we have worked with people that are marginalised and exhausted by the powers of wrongful interpretation of their lives and made weary by the tiredness of their thoughts.

The reading in Luke 10:25-37 was about a Lawyer who stood up to test Jesus, “Teacher, he said what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Many of us are being tested today, in our thinking, in our understanding of the love of God, many of us are going to stand against or before people like this lawyer and be interrogated, if we already have not had this experiences, what must we do? For same gender loving people, for people that identify as Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, heterosexual, Men who love men, and Women who love women, the same question I ask you today, What Must we do to Inherit eternal life? What must I do?

Jesus response to the lawyer was simple but not easy? Jesus asked, what was written in the law?

Can you imagine a lawyer came to test Jesus, this is someone who is no doubt familiar with the law, but yet showed a high level of ignorance, there are people in religion today who also exhibit a high level of ignorance on the matters of inclusion for LGBT people in the love of God, they have ignore the importance of the laws of God, and that is what Jesus has come to remind us through this story.

Jesus asked what is written in the law? The lawyer responded; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbour as yourself. Just like the lawyer there are greater debates today on who is our neighbour, whether or not LGBT people, or people of other faith traditions, can be our neighbour, this lawyer was so righteous, the bible said he wanted to Justify himself so he asked Jesus, And Who is my neighbour?

Jesus illustrated with the story of the Good Samaritan, which involved a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

It truly does not matter how many people encountered the wounded man or what professional affinity they have, it didn’t matter whether they where Priests, lawyers, Politicians, an ordinary person, who passed by and did nothing, what was important in this story is the compassion that we give to anyone regardless of their race, ethnicity, tribe, culture, language, sexual orientation or gender identity. As Christians and in our humanity we are called in to the liberty to love our neighbour as ourselves.

The level of response to love our neighbour is part of our determination to share with others what God has given to us, the freedom to love, the freedom so desperately needed in other parts of the world, for the freedom of LGBT people, who are unable to assemble to Praise and worship God, a freedom to pledge their cases of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, the freedom to come to God Just as we are, the freedom to celebrate our love and Stop living in fear daily, the freedom to reconcile sexuality and spirituality.

According to the bible reading The good Samaritan, 1) went out of his way, 2) He came near the wounded man when he saw him 3) He was moved with pity 4) He went to him and bandaged his wounds, 5) poured oil and wine on his wound, 6) He placed the wounded man on his animal 7) brought him to an inn and took care of him 8) The next day he took out two denarii gave them to the innkeeper, he paid for all the cost of caring for the wounded person.

Are you the Good Samaritan? What Must I do, Jesus asked the lawyer, Which of these people, do you think, who had an opportunity to be a good neighbour, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? I ask all of us brothers and sisters, how many of us are good neighbours to the people around us, at our place of work, people including LGBT people in distant countries, have we considered them neighbours? The question is what must we do? According to Mark 12:29-31, “Jesus answered, The first commandment is, Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength, the second is this, you shall love your neighbour as yourself, there is no other commandment greater than these” Like The good Samaritan, 1) let us go out of our way to reach out to others in need, 2) Let us come near those that are wounded by religion or faith or culture 3) let us be moved with pity for people living under discriminatory laws 4) Let us go to them, so they know that we care, 5) poured oil and wine on their wound, 6) Lets make provision to protect and support them 7) distance is no excuse to show we care 8) Let us work together to pay and contribute to changes we take for granted.

This is what we must do. God bless you, God bless our universe. Amen.

What Must I Do?

2009-08-18T02:21:00.000-07:00

Don’t Give Up Just Yet

2009-08-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Don’t Give Up Just Yet
Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay @ MCC East London 9th August 2009

In the bible reading, 1 Kings 19, Elijah was at a place in his call to ministry that he was about to give up, he was administered food and water by the angel of God that made him strong enough to walk forty more days. Often we are afraid when we challenge the leaders of our society, our government or even other religious leaders, so we find ourselves running, just like Elijah from Ahab and Jezebel.

I say to you brothers and sisters Don’t give up just Yet. It is time that we lay claim to things around our sexuality and spirituality, we have left things for too long. Up till now we have just been surviving. Ephesians 4:31-32 says 31Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Churches need to learn, that it is why I said don’t give up just yet, the best is yet to come.

Heterosexual people have not had to deal with as much as we have, they have not lived totally in fear every day, they have not argued in parliament for their rights based on Sexual orientation and gender identity. We have learnt a lot along the way just to survive. In more than 80 countries in the world homosexuality is still severely punished and five will execute gay people, including Nigeria where we have a church

Many people inspire me so much, I want to mention a few (I apologise as this list consist of just men); Jesus Christ, because he is our saviour and redeemer, for his incomparable and undefined love. My father in Nigeria, an epitome of love I have recently encountered whilst scaling through troubled waters. Rev Elder Troy Perry, the founder of MCC, I adore and love so much, an obedient servant of God for the millennia
Bishop Gene Robinson, a fighter and saint amongst people. I mention these people because they thought me never to give up.

Don’t give up yet because we can now look into the communities of faith who identify with our issues and we can align with them, if they get it, lets us support them, don’t give up just yet.

We also have an opportunity to reach out to people at the Pride events, family circles, in our neighbourhoods, at the bars and clubs, if these places can have so many people so can our churches, tell them this is the place to party with Jesus, tell them we celebrate the inclusive love of God, when you go around this week, this month, the rest of the year, carry some information about the church, tell someone about the source of the living water. Ephesians 5:1-2 1Do as God does. After all, you are his dear children. 2Let love be your guide. Christ loved us [a] and offered his life for us as a sacrifice that pleases God.

Mission is a place where God is already at work and we can see that in the desperation of people seeking God, in our drag queens, leather men, lip stick lesbians and the beauty we appreciate when we go to events in our community, we often say why do people hate us so much, I am saying to you brothers, sisters and friends don’t give up on the accounts of the negativity we face the more we persevere the more results we get. Not only do we grow in favour and mercy but also in spirit and in numbers.

The LGBT community are doing God’s work, imagine providing a safe place for gay and lesbian teenagers, support for our elderly queer people, the health service and care for people living with HIV and AIDS, now let us do more with our spiritual service, tell people of the love of God and counsel them in the richness of the Holy Spirit.

Though we are largely a mission with a primary call to LGBT people, we know that all are welcome and we now need to include that language in our vocabulary and take the steps to dance to the tunes of all music, narrow and broad, gay and straight people can be found in all areas, we love the same things, country music, rock, classical, reggae, rnb, pop, hip pop, soul, blues, jazz, Mozart etc

Don’t give up yet, lets meet with those who are against us and begin a dialogue, let’s ask again and again, just as the Israelite asked Pharaoh to let them go, let’s say to them give us the chance to dialogue, and I believe when they begin to listen they will be moved to undo the harm that has been caused toward LGBT people.

We are never to give up our humanity nor allow the world to dictate for us, we are the Bride of Jesus, Jesus is the Bridegroom and always will be. We need to continue our great tradition of love towards one another and never to give up, the bible tells us what good is it to love those who love you, love your enemies, whilst I know this is very hard and a difficult thing to do, it is what the lord asks of us.

The hatred towards us has more to do with misogyny than anything else, gay men are seen as men and not women, the patriarch world don’t wish to see men in women’s role nor see men that are effeminate. The constant hatred for women lies at the root of this problem and I am not surprise even in my new quest to read the bible in 90 days found that most of the early chapters of the Old Testament spoke little about women. In Numbers 27:1-8, I recognised the voice of women and their power, perhaps we can learn something from this story. “Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph, a member of the Manassite clans. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said, 3‘Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons. 4Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.’ 5 Moses brought their case before the Lord. 6And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 7The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying; you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father’s brothers and pass the inheritance of their father on to them. 8You shall also say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter.” This for me is like our community today, we need to speak up and stand up for what belongs to us.

There was a time when black people are not welcomed in the church, there was a time when people with physical challenges cannot serve at the altar, and there was a time when women are not visible. Now is the time to make sure that LGBTTTTIQQQ people are visible and their voices heard in the churches and religious communities.

Even though we are specialised in the LGBT piece, we also need to include other areas too, other cultural communities, all race, indigenes and migrants, social class and status, working class and the unemployed, we need to be the church alive and inclusive. We need to reach families, teens and the elderly, we want a church that will live up to its dreams and visions for all people. (Pause)

I am about to close my sermon, What we say about each other matters, what we say about women matters, we cannot fight for inclusion when we give up to be inclusive, it is time we welcome and respect women, it is time that we welcome transgender people, it is time that we welcome effeminate men and masculine women. It is time that we become totally inclusive. It is time that we all speak out against racism, injustice and discrimination, we don’t have to wait until it happens to us, we just need to use our privileges as a people, however when we fail to use our privileges to speak out against racism and work towards dismantling any system that promotes hatred or discrimination, we silently collude. Our voices and actions matters.

Don’t give up just yet, because the inclusive church, the metropolitan community church, the LGBT Queer movement, you and I that believe in the wasteful generosity of God’s love for all people, is about the end of patriarchy, the end of discrimination, the end of injustice, the end of hatred, the end of misogyny, the breaking down of the closet doors and the expanding of the communion table, the end to the reign of the dominating powers of ruthless and lawless people. Elijah almost gave up, but God sent an angel, the Lord will send an angel to feed us. I say one more time, Dont Give up, never give up, God Bless you, God bless our universe.

Hate mail received, with Nearly 25,000 hits House Of Rainbow You tube video grows

2009-08-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hate mail received, with Nearly 25,000 hits House Of Rainbow You tube video grows

There has been an incredible response to the video blog at Houseofrainbow on youtube and there are no shortage of voices that pronounce so much hatred towards LGBT people and more so towards me, I stand my grounds and stay focus on the love of God for all people.

I responded to a few short messages to the this blogger (goldenismonica), however there was a need to send a longer reply. I now want to share more of what I had to say to this person. Here is a link to the origninal video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQNVn2Ssiks

The fact remains that you call yourself a Christian and not much of your comments signpost the credibility of your faith, did you speak for God or you echo Jesus or you speak on your on integrity? I would be disappointed if I were your parents, I am sure they didn’t bring you up to abuse other people or curse them, you have no place to take out your anger on anyone, I have responded with respect each time.

Many research have shown that closeted homosexuals are likely to be abusive towards gays and that is the information I base my response on, if you are not so angry with yourself as a gay person, why are you so obsessed with our work and gay lives, except that you recognise yourself but choose to be in denial. You have spent more time viewing our video blog and posting comments.

I must say that I reveal in my freedom (emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually) and so do many of the gay people you so much hate, at least for once, speak the language of love associated with God and Christ our redeemer.If there are gay people in your family, e.g. your father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter or any other relative, will you kill them, will you speak in such an unkind way towards them?

Homosexuality in NOT a sin, homophobia is a sin, same as slavery and hatred of women, why should anyone repent because they are gay, black or of African descent, we cannot repent for who we are, we can only repent of our evil ways, I will recommend that you repent of your unloving attitude, your unchristian focus, the hatred you abhor, the anger in your soul, the bible says love your neighbour as you are, if given a gun to shoot homosexuals you will not refrain from pulling the trigger in the name of God. This is the evil of the mind that requires repentance. Even Jesus knew of people like you when he said what good is it to love those who love you, love your enemies. Which part of these instructions do you not understand?

I am not a disgrace to Nigerians, I am a blessing to humanity, and one of the favorite child of Nigeria. The bible tells me “not to repay evil for evil, abuse for abuse but rather repay with a blessing for this is why I am called” and to the glory of God that we are able to bring visibility to the matters of homosexuality, means that we lend our voice to the voiceless and face for the faceless, we stand up in defiance and speak out in the face of injustice. Your ignorance and lack of knowledge is a disgrace to the entire human race, your callous attitude and selfishness creates the unimaginable blindness Jesus called Spiritual blindness in John9:35-41.

I speak for many and will continue to share the inclusive gospel of the Lord Jesus, reaching out to gay and lesbian people that need the living spring water for their thirst to know God in a most safe and loving place. I also hope you will drink of the water to cure your lack of knowledge. In all, please ask yourself loathed obnoxious Christian self, would Jesus Discriminate?

The community may only kill the flesh but the truth of God will remain forever and I feel sad that you are far from neither the truth nor the knowledge of God’s wasteful generosity of mercy and grace. You have just given me enough evidence of how illiterate you are, you have no idea of the arguments you raise yet you seek to defend your position. Be blessed and loved by your God, and in the day of judgement we must allow the true loving God to make the final decision on our fate. I leave you with 1 John 4:7-21.

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. 15God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. 16So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgement, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19We love* because he first loved us. 20Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters,* are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters* also.

Post your response on any of the videos at http://www.youtube.com/HouseOfRainbow

Coming out early: the fight to help LGBT youth

2009-08-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

Coming out early: the fight to help LGBT youth

Dr. Robert Reid-Pharr was in New York City walking his dog one morning when he was approached by a young black teenager. He appeared to be 15- or 16-years-old with slightly feminine mannerisms, Reid-Pharr said later. He propositioned the professor: sex in exchange for food. Like so many other homeless gay youth in New York City, the young man in front of Reid-Pharr has resorted to prostitution in order to survive.Reid-Pharr, a critical essayist and professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, turned him down.“I asked him what he was doing and he said his mom was addicted to crack. He had been out all night because there were people doing drugs at his home and he couldn’t stay there,” Reid-Pharr recalled. “He said, ‘usually when guys take me home they give me food first.’”

Like the young man who Reid-Pharr encountered, gay youth take to the streets for a variety of reasons, some resorting to hustling to survive. Whether they are kicked out by their families for being gay or are forced to leave to escape abuse, staying at home may not be an option for many gay youth.According to a 2007 study done by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 20 to 40 percent of homeless youth in the United States identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual. The same study also found that there are between 15,000 and 20,000 homeless youth in New York City, of whom 3,000 to 8,000 are LGBT.Even when they are able to live at home, a gay kid’s life may not be easy. Bullying and a lack of support are pervasive problems in schools.

A 1997 Massachusetts Department of Education Survey found that gay students hear anti-gay slurs as often as 26 times each day. Faculty intervention occurs in only about 3 percent of those cases.Yet national attention for gay youth seems to be limited to only the most extreme stories, like the 2008 murder of Lawrence King, an openly gay 15-year-old student who was shot and killed by a fellow classmate.When gay children are being murdered by their classmates, why are the issues of gay youth not more widely covered?Carl Siciliano, the executive director of the Ali Forney Center, a housing center in New York City for homeless gay youth, explained why he believes gay youth are sometimes ignored or overlooked in the wide spectrum of gay rights.

Siciliano believes that a new generation of gay youth has risen up, different from past generations of gay men and women who were accustomed to coming out later in life.Kids are coming out earlier than in previous generations, Siciliano said, and gay organizations are only now paying attention.Older generations were accustomed to coming out later in life when they were out of their parent’s homes and able to support themselves. Today, kids who come out as young as 12 and are kicked out of their homes need the help of these gay organizations to survive.“Just the concept of a gay organization protecting gay youth is new,” said Siciliano. “We need to set standards because some of the [programs for gay youth] that have come around are lacking and grossly substandard.”

IGLHRC Job Opportunity: Program Director

2009-08-05T23:41:00.000-07:00

IGLHRC Job Opportunity: Program Director

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is an international NGO dedicated to promoting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people through strategic partnerships with advocacy NGOs around the world. IGLHRC is headquartered in New York City, has offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Cape Town, South Africa, and project staff in the Philippines and Paraguay. Its current annual operating budget is $2.3 million.

The Program Director reports to the Executive Director, is based in New York, and is responsible for the overall management of the Program Department, which includes the development, implementation, and evaluation of the organization’s programmatic activities and budgets, management of the program human resources, and coordination with the development, communications, and administration departments. The Program Director manages the staff and activities in all four geographic regions of IGLHRC’s work (1) Asia (2) Latin America and the Caribbean (3) the Middle East and North Africa and (4) Sub-Saharan Africa. The Program Director also coordinates and implements IGLHRC’s ongoing work to promote LGBT rights at the United Nations.

The ideal candidate has solid management experience, excellent judgment, clear communication style, excellent writing skills, experience working or living in international contexts, and proven dedication to, and knowledge and experience in international human rights advocacy.Areas of supervision and responsibility include but are not limited to:

Management, organization, and planning:
Coordinates the development of the annual program plan and evaluation; assists regional coordinators in development of regional plans, ensuring consistency and compliance with organizational strategic plan
Facilitates inter-regional communication and projects (such as those related to the United Nations)
Coordinates the program planning of IGLHRC’s Felipa de Souza award
Manages program aspects of the staff retreats and other organization-wide program meetings
Facilitates program staff meetings
Assists the executive director in the development of program-related policies
Responsible for new program development

Budgeting:
Coordinates the development of a centralized annual program budget
Works with program staff to ensure that program activities can be accomplished within budget agreed fiscal parameters
Manages the General Program budget

Human Resources:
Manages regional coordinators for Africa, Asia, Middle East/North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and assists them in the management of their staff, interns, and volunteers
Coordinates the internship program, including budget, the identification of needs to be filled by interns in NY and the selection, training, and management of program interns
Assists regional coordinators with internship planning in other offices
Assists the executive director in the communication with IGLHRC’s International Advisors

Board relations:
Assists the executive director in the work with the Board Program Committee
Attends board meetings as requested by the Executive Director
Writes program reports for board meetings

Media:
In the executive director’s absence, responds to media requests in consultation with the communications director

Qualifications:
Minimum of seven years relevant management experience, including program, human resources, and finance
Experience in an advocacy, human rights organization required; knowledge and experience in advocating with the United Nations preferred
Minimum of a Masters Degree or equivalent in a relevant field
Proven experience with organizational planning, program management, and performance measurement
Established written, oral, and interpersonal skills
Proficiency with Mac OSX and Microsoft Office
Fluency in written and oral English and one other major international language required
Candidates with experience in grassroots organizations in the Global East or South are preferred.

Applications:
To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, short relevant writing sample, and list of three recent professional references by e-mail to jobs@iglhrc.org. Please put “Program Director Position” in the subject line of the email. Applications should be submitted before August 20, but will continue to be accepted until the position is filled. Consult our website for information on whether the position has been filled.Only applicants being considered will be contacted. This position offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits. IGLHRC is an equal opportunity employer committed to a diverse, multicultural work environment. People of color, women, people with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply.