Merrily, We Go Along...Death in Uganda

And so, as the debate heats up over whether the Archbishop of Canterbury is or is not actually supporting the nomination of Dr. Jeffrey John to be among those considered for Bishop of Southwark... another disturbing story emerges out of the troubled African nation of Uganda.

A gay man, who went missing on June 3rd aka Ugandan Martyrs Day, has turned up dead. Pasikali Kashusbe, a farm worker and youth leader for Integrity Uganda, was beheaded and his genitals were also cut off. His head was discovered in latrine on the farm where he worked. The torso was found elsewhere a few days earlier. In addition to the horror of this crime, the discovery of Kashusbe's mutilated remains came as there is an on-going search for a pro-gay Anglican priest named Henry Kayizzi Nsubuga who has been missing for two-and-a-half weeks. Rev. Nsubuga bravely delivered a speech in support of homosexuality at St. Paul's Church in Kanyanya. He is nowhere to be found. All of these events highlight the true dangers that exist for LGBT people, their friends, their lovers and their allies. And it again shines a bright light on the need for those in positions of leadership, especially in the Anglican Communion, to speak out and demand an end to the holocaust in that nation. It is a cruel irony that Kashusbe went missing on Ugandan Martyrs Day, a day in that country that commemorates the tipping point that led to the rise of the Anglican Church when several Catholic and Anglican missionaries including bishops were executed for refusing to reject Christianity for the customs of Bugandan King Mwanga II (there are claims he made homosexual advances on the Christian martyrs).

Perhaps a new tipping point is in order. And I continue asking, "What is it going to take to get the Anglican leaders to see that their continued marginalization of the LGBT community contributes to this madness??"

More on the Bishop of Southwark

There is a blog post from "Changing Attitudes" that I think is worth reading on this development with the Bishop of Southwark and Dr. Jeffrey John. You can get to it HERE. Really, I think it's best that you read what Colin Coward is saying rather than have me attempt to pontificate on something that is happening so far away, and yet is so important.

From that post, the speculation that Dr. John may have the approval necessary to ascend to the office of Bishop:

"... it would help to usher in God’s new paradigm for church and creation, in which old, dualistic ideas are being overturned by (to quote James Alison) “God who is brilliantly alive, totally without violence, in no way circumscribed by death, who has revealed himself as loving humanity by giving himself to us to allow us to live outside, and beyond the culture of death.”

Go read the blog post.

Pitiful in Kentucky

This very amateur video shot by Greg Skilling of the Louisville Independent Examiner shows what happens when you mix nationalism, theocracy and a healthy dose of fear: a T-shirt proclaiming, "Yup, I'm a racist."

The creators of this slogan are among the angry mob that makes up those rallies with the tea bags. They resent being called "racist", yet if you look at what they stand for... is it really wrong to call them what they are? We do have freedom of speech in America. That's how I can have a bumper sticker that was a mock-up of Dubya's "W"... with a "Whoops" instead of "W '04". But I can not imagine wanting to wear a shirt that says, "Yup, I'm a racist"... even if it means to counter the argument that wanting to carry a concealed weapon, close the borders, support the tea partiers, carry on about freedom of speech and declare that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior would lead one to the conclusion that you are--well--a racist.

But then, I don't live in their reality.

Thoughts for Independence Day

Last Friday, Fr. Lee Graham read the Collect for Independence Day at the noon service:

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this
country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the
torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant that we and
all the people of this land may have grace to maintain our
liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The italicized line is the one that made the greatest impression on me as he read it. If we accept that we are free, and can live as free people in our own individual lives, then we must also extend such freedom to others around us. That includes those within our borders and abroad.

Perhaps an even better collect for our times is the one on page 258 in the Book of Common Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the
earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace:
Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the
strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in
accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.

It serves us well to remember as we celebrate our journey of independence from the Crown that we are a free nation... but that freedom is not one to be used for our own advantage and do whatever we want but for the good of all people in accordance to God's will. Remember: "God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven." As the "works-in-progress" that we are... let's remember that portion of the Lord's Prayer and recommit ourselves to move our country in the direction of true justice, freedom and peace for ALL people.

An Openly Gay Bishop in the Church of England?

I was intrigued to see this headline on the "Thinking Anglicans" blog:

"Southwark episcopal election makes news."

OK, what kind of news.... let's see here... a story in the London papers that there is an OPENLY GAY cleric nominated to be the Bishop of Southwark?? You can read the story in the Sunday Telegraph HERE.

And, adding to the "Oh, My, God" nature of this announcement... the openly-gay cleric is none other than Dr. Jeffrey John... the same openly-gay cleric who had to stand down for consideration in 2003 as the Bishop of Reading. ++Rowan Williams was involved in that decision. Now, seven years later, here's Pope Rowan giving his approval for Dr. John's nomination for the Bishop of Southwark.

Let me be clear: I am thrilled about this development, and am quite aware of the stir this is going to cause in the Church of England... and the Anglican Communion, as communal as it is at this time. If memory serves me, Dr. John's withdrawal came at or about the same time that New Hampshire gave the thumbs up to Gene Robinson. In fact, that was part of the "issue" the Archbishop was having about +Gene ("Well, I told my gay man he couldn't be a bishop for the good of the Anglican Communion. Where do you get off approving this man and not showing 'gracious restraint'?") Conservatives rallied to get Dr. John's name scratched off the list and the Archbishop relented. Now, as liberals in the CoE rejoice, I'm sure conservatives will be turning their eyes toward Africa for help. Sound familiar?

This news about Southwark raises a number of questions for me.

• When did ++Rowan Williams decide to travel along the road to Damascus and have this conversion experience... if that's even what happened? Seriously, he has been such a bully and jerk toward the Episcopal Church in the States about our ethic of inclusion, I have to wonder what happened?


• Is ++Rowan going to rethink the decision to put the Episcopal Church in "time out" on all the standing committees?


• Is this a signal that ++Rowan has resigned himself to the understanding that the schismatics will not back down on their anti-Christian behavior?


• Did ++Rowan need the Episcopal Church to lead him to this promised land? I mean, why else would Dr. Jeffrey John now become an acceptable candidate for the episcopate?

Perhaps there is something to the "new Pentecost" the Archbishop talked about this spring. Perhaps this is the workings of the Holy Spirit finally blowing some sense into the brain of the fuzzy-faced Welsh man. I have to believe that God is at work here because I really can not make heads nor tails of what has changed in the worldview of the Archbishop. I have all kinds of suspicions: the continued resignations of the more conservative voices on the standing committees, even with the punitive actions toward the Episcopal Church, might be a factor. Or maybe it's that they've waited the Biblically perfect number--seven years--before bringing Dr. John's name back into the mix. Or maybe the Archbishop began seeing the err of his recent ways and how much needless hurt he has caused with his words and inactions.

Whatever has happened... or happens in the early part of this coming week... we all here on this side of the pond should rejoice and be glad in this news. And I will hold the Archbishop and the Church of England in my prayers because they're gonna need it!

God is working his purpose out as year succeeds to year....

A Song for Your Saturday

Besides hymns, I find sometimes that some of my favorite songs of rock and roll also contain hidden messages to me about God. This one by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young is a prime example. Close your eyes and listen to the Love.

Lost in Translation

I subscribe to a number of different listserves, but admit I don't always read all the ones that come in to my various email accounts. Some days, I just don't have the energy to keep up with all that is happening in the world. And since I'm not a journalist (or at least a paid one) any more, hey--I don't have to follow every bloody news item!! Thanks be to God!

But today I did check out the Institute for Welcoming Resources exchange over a post called, "Nation of God; Is Uganda Better Now?" You had to wade through the long description of how Ugandan President Museveni called for a day of prayer and repentance. OK... we have the National Day of Prayer, so this is nothing new... except, with the impending legislation to severely punish or kill LGBT people... this part of the email message was alarming:

Wanton stealing of public resources, bribery, illicit enrichment, poor time management, witchcraft, human sacrificing, prostitution, adultery, idolatry, pornography, homosexuality plus a coterie of other vices have conspired together and invaded Uganda in a mighty way.


Really? This is when I started wondering, "What's wrong with this picture? Isn't this a pro-gay 'welcoming' religious list?"

A few hours later... an apology from one of the list administrators. She hadn't read the post closely enough as things were coming in fast and furious into her ebox. The post has been removed from the archives. This was followed by a note from the original poster, Kirumiga M. Mpagi, saying that the intent of the post was to highlight the dangerous hold theocracy is having in Uganda; hence the subject line asking, "Is Uganda Better Now?"

I smiled, and realized that the problem must have been that there was no set up. If you don't issue the disclaimer in very plain, simple terms, most of us Americans will assume that what we're reading is, in fact, the opinion of the person posting the message, and not a "Hey; can you believe this is happening??".

So, in answer to that question about, "Is Uganda Better Now?", if they are having a national call of prayer to God... and (as mentioned in the email posting) likening this call to similar massive calls for repentance as outlined in 2 Chronicles and such... well, no... I think Uganda is getting worse. It believes itself to be living in a time before Christ... or as it is now called "Before the Common Era".

The anti-gay bill, which had tacit help from Christian evangelicals in the United States, remains in play. The fact that the Ugandan President is holding ceremonies to pray for God's deliverance from the scourge of "witchcraft" and "homosexuality" is worrisome, and an indicator of what the post to IWR was trying to get out there. Namely, that this African nation is tilting more and more toward a theocracy and that is scary for anyone deemed "unfit for the kingdom" by those who are in power. Have we established amnesty for LGBT Ugandans yet?

Next Thursday, our PFLAG-Tallahassee chapter will air the 30-minute documentary "Voices of Witness: Africa" at 6pm at St. John's Episcopal Church. It's my hope that by sharing the story of LGBT Africans, we here in the States will be aware that our struggle for freedom is global as well as local.

Hold the people of African nations such as Uganda in your prayers. They need them.