Orombi to meet Archbishop of Canterbury over homosexuality

Orombi to meet Archbishop of Canterbury over homosexuality


By Stephen Otage

The Archbishop of the Church Uganda is to hold discussions with Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his stand on homosexuality and gay Bishops serving in the church.
Dr Williams is expected for the All African Bishops Conference which opens tomorrow in Entebbe. The conference will run until August 29.
While opening a three-day 20th Provincial Assembly of the Church of the Province of Uganda last week in Mukono, Dr Henry Luke Orombi, castigated the divided understanding of the Anglican faith.
While giving the bishops an update on the state of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Orombi said the issues in the Church are much deeper than just homosexuality.
Broken church
He said the issues include the radically different understanding of the authority of scripture, the understanding of sin, need for repentance and how Jesus saves.
“In 2003 the Episcopal church in America consecrated as bishop a divorced man living in a homosexual relationship. The prelates of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion met prior to that consecration and urged the American Church not to do it, saying if the consecration went ahead, it would tear the fabric of our communion at its deepest level,” Bishop Orombi said.
“Seven years later, what I can tell you is that the Anglican Communion is very broken. It has been torn at its deepest level and is a very dysfunctional family of provincial churches.”
Faithful living
When asked by the bishops about the implication to the church of inviting Bishop Williams to the conference, Bsihop Orombi supported the idea, saying it would be helpful to the church. “It is easier to sit with the Archbishop and confront him face to face than through letters,” he said.
“We know that walking in the light brings you relief and healing. We the prelates, the concerned steering committee want to sit and talk to him. I want him to hear my heart as I look at his face not through a piece of paper.”
He urged the bishops to remain faithful to the faith they inherited and not be swayed by issues that are coming from outside, saying as a church they should know what to choose that is helpful to them and leave out what they do not need.

Anglican Bishop in Uganda Vow to Confront Bishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury

In a move to reaffirm their opposition to gay rights and gay acceptance in the Anglican church of Uganda, Bishops from all over the country sitting at Mukono vowed to confront the arch-bishop of Canterbury over his stand on homosexuality and gay Bishops serving in the church.
They promised to let him know where they stand with him and also make it clear that they will never agree with him on the issue of homosexuals in the church.
During the meeting, the arch-Bishop of the church of Uganda said they would not break away from Canterbury but would not cooperate with it until after arch-Bishop Rowan Williams has changed his stance on homosexuality in the church or left the position of arch-Bishop.
About 400 Bishops from different parts of the world are expected to attend the All African Bishops Conference (AABC) scheduled from August 23- 29, 2010 in Kampala, Uganda. They will come from Burundi, Central Africa, DR Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Mauritius) Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Tanzania, Egypt and Uganda will attend.
Additionally, other paticipants will include representatives from Anglican Communion Office, Lambeth Palace, Representatives from Other Anglican Provinces, Heads of other Churches, Representatives of Africa Union, UN Bodies and Regional Blocs such as EAC, SADAC, ECOWAS, Representatives of Diplomatic Missions, Partners in Development and Media Representatives among others.
At the same meeting, Uganda’s principal Judge Ogoola called for love and tolerance to diversity. He said when love met justice in Israel, the nation blossomed.

First Openly Gay Bar Opens in Kampala

I still get excited thinking about it. Sappho Islands. Yes, the great lesbian Greek poet has come to town. I last took a beer during the October of 2008. This is probably when I last went out to a bar to drink. Most of my friends are socialites and I respect that. Being a Born-Again Christian has made me look at my life differently but I am not the kind of conservative Christian who thinks what I do not do automatically becomes evil if other people are doing it. This is why I still hung out at bars with my friends if I have to. My reason for quitting beer was basically because I have never liked drinking. I don?t like the taste and I have never had a genuine reason to take alcohol.

The opening of Sappho Islands is to me a political statement. Looking how far we have come, I cannot ignore the fact that the Stonewall revolution in the U.S.A sparked off from a bar. When I first heard about Sappho Islands, I saw progress. I celebrated change.

Sappho was a Greek poet whose poems talked about emotions and love between women. She lived on an Island called Lesbos and it is said this is where the word Lesbian came from. Multitudes of lesbians visit Lesbos Island every year in celebration of their identity. Sappho Islands, the bar, may not attract hundreds of lesbians from all over the world but the decision to name it after Sappho gives us a reason to celebrate our identity.

I have lived among LGBT communities for the past eight years and I know how much having a social life means to LGBT folks. I have learned from listening to people?s stories that sometimes anti-gay laws are not what LGBT persons are most concerned with. They are concerned about being able to meet people like themselves, laughing and forgetting their daily struggles even for a single time. I have been to LGBT social evenings and seen how folks do not want to go back home after the party is over. They value the only time they can be happy and have a good time.

It is a beautiful way to end 2010. Three cheers to Sappho Islands.


Posted by Val Kalende at 12:55 PM
Visit VK's blog on http://valkalende.blogspot.com