The Anglican Communion rebukes American, Canadian and Scottish churches that stray from its party line against same-sex marriage, but remains silent as conservative African churches ignore the Communion’s call for an end to homophobic prejudice, violence and criminal laws targeting LGBT people. LGBTI equality activist the Rev. Colin Coward challenged those positions in a talk … Continue reading
As a queer priest reflects on his 40-year journey toward gay liberation, he expresses amazement at how anti-religious the Western LGBT movement has become, excluding and devaluing the contributions of faithful allies. Continue reading
LGBTI Africans in the United Kingdom cheered yesterday’s rejection of a bishops’ report on same-sex marriage that they consider discriminatory and exclusionary. Continue reading
A year ago something remarkable happened in the Global Anglican Communion (GAC), but most persons missed it, even senior Anglican clergy. This miraculous event occurred on Jan. 15, 2016, when the Primates representing all the Provinces in the 80 million+ denomination agreed, for the first time, that criminalizing same-gender intimacy is wrong. Continue reading
FORWARD-THINKING FAITH LEADERS Homophobia is a severe problem in many African churches, but not all Christian leaders are infected by it, as Kuchu Times points out. At that Ugandan publication, human rights activist Barigye Ambrose recently profiled several religious leaders who preach a gospel of acceptance and love. These are some excerpts: Continue reading
It’s high time for Anglican bishops, priests and lay people in Jamaica to pluck up enough courage and compassion to support the decriminalisation of gay Jamaicans, says the Rev. Colin Coward, founder of the Anglican LGBTI advocacy group Changing Attitude. After attending Montego Bay Pride in Jamaica last month, Coward reflected on the shared history … Continue reading
Dancing and serious discussions. Playfulness, encouragement and LGBTI rights advocacy. Those were some of the highlights of the second annual Montego Bay Pride, organized by Jamaican LGBTI rights activist Maurice Tomlinson. Dozens of Jamaicans attended, along with international visitors who support full recognition of LGBTI Christians in the church. Continue reading
As a lawyer working for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBT) people in my homeland of Jamaica, I am sadly accustomed to receiving death threats. However, when a particularly vulgar and graphic email promised to immediately end my life if I didn’t cease speaking out against homophobic abuse, I was … Continue reading
Will the worldwide Anglican Communion stop supporting the homophobic Anglican Churches of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, since those churches endorse their countries’ anti-gay laws? That’s what would happen if the world’s various Anglican churches — all of them originally descended from the Church of England — take Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, their spiritual leader, … Continue reading
Cracks are showing in the formerly united front of anti-gay Anglicans who oppose steps toward acceptance of LGBTI people within the Anglican Communion of churches descended from the Church of England. Kenyan members of a high-level Anglican Communion council have reportedly rejected an appeal to boycott a council meeting in Zambia on the grounds that … Continue reading
