¨We should not allow the world to think that the Archbishop of Canterbury speaks for the Communion as a whole...

...God only knows what he has said to the Pope!¨

Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury, ¨First among Equals¨ at The Anglican Communion

¨...We can quibble about when the Communion began its transformation from an instrument of mutual mission to the quarrelsome, meddlesome, dysfunctional leviathan it is fast becoming...

Bishop V.G. Robinson, Diocese of New Hampshire, TEC

...Certainly, the transformation accelerated in 2003 when Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams agreed to calling an emergency meeting of the primates in the wake of the consent to consecrate Gene Robinson...

The Very Reverend Dr.Jeffrey John, Dean of St. Albans

...Earlier in the year, the newly enthroned archbishop had proved that he could be intimidated when the protests of English Evangelicals led him to demand that Jeffrey John decline his appointment as Bishop of Reading...

Bob Duncan, deposed Bishop of Pittsburgh, TEC

...When the 2003 General Convention voted to allow the New Hampshire consecration to go forward, Bishop Robert Duncan and his band of conservative malcontents knew how to pull Rowan’s chain...

Archbishop Drexel Gomez, The Province of the West Indies (later, chairperson of The Anglican Communion Covenant group)

...The October 2003 meeting of the primates set in motion what has become known as The Windsor Process, a malevolent movement with zombie-like staying power pushing the Communion inexorably toward a more authoritarian polity...¨

The Archbishop of Canterbury

...That the Archbishop of Canterbury is a member of all the “Instruments of Unity” gives him unique opportunities to influence discussion and events within the Anglican Communion. There is no good reason—neither tradition nor history provide adequate rationale—that an English bishop should be so privileged.

That special position of the Archbishop of Canterbury allows him, whether legitimately or not, to speak on behalf of the Anglican Communion. Nothing constrains what he says, and almost never does he actually speak for the Communion in a formally authorized voice. Surely Rowan has been known to make some strange pronouncements...

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Pope

...God only knows what he has said to the Pope! We should not allow the world to think that the Archbishop of Canterbury speaks for the Communion as a whole. I leave it to others to decide if he even does a good job of speaking for the Church of England. Since he has made it clear that he does not always speak his own deeply held opinions, it is difficult to know for whom Rowan does speak. In his defense, the role (or roles) is inherently problematic. In any case, I don’t want Rowan or any other archbishop to be seen as speaking for The Episcopal Church.

Even if we want to do so, how do we dethrone the Archbishop of Canterbury? We can start by rejecting the proposed Anglican covenant. The covenant institutionalizes the “Instruments of Unity” as never before and centralizes power within the Communion. The fight to separate the Archbishop of Canterbury from his special privileges will be long and difficult, however. I hope that our own Presiding Bishop, in her travels to other Anglican churches, is beginning to build a coalition to oppose those who would transform the Communion into a worldwide church on the Roman model. More churches have to learn to just say no. HERE

· Thanks to Lionel Deimel
· Thanks to Lionel Deimel’s Web Log, sidebar
· Thanks to Random quick takes by Lionel Deimel
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

NO ANGLICAN COVENANT.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST BIGOTRY, IGNORANCE and OUTCASTING/SOCIAL ISOLATION and THE ABUSERS of FELLOW ANGLICANS/others at The Anglican Communion:

The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org

Lionel Deimel, Anglican HERO, click HERE,¨No Anglican Covenant¨

A WAKEUP CALL to believers who sit by while unimaginable evils occur in the name of Jesus...

...and say nothing other besides defensively whining that "all Christians aren't like that," or that the person reacting in grief and outrage is simply "persecuting Christians" because he's a "nonbeliever"(whether he's a nonbeliever or not.)

Michelangelos ¨Pieta¨ Vatican, Rome

"Love" is a quantifiable commodity, much as "faith" is. Neither, if they're true to their nature, can tolerate darkness. Both will eventually surge, gasping, towards the light.


Still, it is possible to murder faith.

You murder faith same way you murder love: one bruise at a time, with small, daily cuts, with grinding contempt, with neglect. You murder faith by exposing it to bullets inscribed with Bible verses that kill Afghan and Iraqi children. You murder it by separating an elderly lesbian couple in a hospital because their union is considered "unnatural." You murder it by linking it to greed, to the "God wants you to be rich" movement which marinates in loathing for the poor and needy, in defiance of Christ's commission to care for them, then call it "good for America." You murder it by exposing it to any number of atrocities wrapped up in an inviolate nationalism that claims divine authority as its basis, with no room for dissent, and no mercy for dissenters. You murder it with self-righteous, violent militarism, with intolerance, with lack of compassion, with lack of humility and, most importantly, with lack of humanity.


It dies a little bit more every time a gay or lesbian teenager commits suicide because they've been taught to hate themselves because God "loves" them but hates what they are...¨ read it all at the Huffington Post, by Michael Rowe HERE

UPDATE:

Anne Rice wrote the following on her Facebook page: ¨...I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ...Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.¨

ANNE RICE AND HER RENOUNCING OF "CHRISTIANITY"

¨...Now, any two-bit hater can call him/herself a "Christian," and even get away with it by attending buildings called "churches" that house people who engage in incestuous socialization, convincing themselves and, unfortunately, many others that when they are homophobic and exclusionary they are fulfilling the will of Christ and speaking in the name of God...¨read it all, by The Reverend Jerry Maneker HERE

· Thanks to The Huffington Post, sidebar
· Thanks to Michael Rowe
· Thanks to Anne Rice
· Thanks to Dr. Jerry Maneker
· Thanks to Christian LBGT Rights, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing

WAR ON HOMOSEXUALITY: ¨When Anglican Bishops Distort Scripture with Hate¨

Even taken literally, the Bible does not support Nigerian Archbishop Okoh's pronouncements...African Activist:


In a press release from the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) HERE, Bishop Okoh states that Nigeria is at risk from an "invading army of homosexuality, lesbianism and bisexual lifestyle." He uses the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to bolster the claim that he stands for the authority of scripture over life. Today South Africa's Mail & Guardian provides an astute theological critique of Okoh's "biblical" position, Bishop Okoh's war on homosexuality HERE.

The point has often been made that scripture should be read in context, and interpretation may not be literal. Yet, even taken literally, the Bible does not support Okoh's pronouncements.

"The sin of homosexuality, it must be reemphasised, destroyed the communities of Sodom and Gomorrah", he declared. Yet the sin of Sodom in Genesis 19 is inhospitality -- contrasted with the hospitality and compassion of Abraham in Genesis 18 -- and Jesus refers to this in the Gospels.

Archbishop Okoh, Primate of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)

Editing Bible passages so that the meaning is lost is another Okoh speciality. In a sermon he stated that "As son of man [son of God] Jesus is lord of the Sabbath. He has control over the holy day of God's people (Mk 2: 28f)." But in Mark 2, "the son of man is lord even of the Sabbath" is a rebuke to those who care more about religiosity than human need: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath".

One Old Testament commandment repeatedly endorsed in the New Testament -- not bearing false witness against one's neighbour -- does not seem to appear in Okoh's version of the Bible. At the press conference he alleged that "The church in the West had vowed to use their money to spread the homosexual lifestyle in African societies and churches; after all Africa is poor. They are pursuing this agenda vigorously and what is more, they now have the support of the United Nations." While the UN opposes jailing gay people, as do many churches, that is rather different!

Okoh is by no means the first to distort the meaning of the story of Sodom to encourage, rather than warn against, victimising the vulnerable and rejecting the unfamiliar. Admittedly, many Christians occasionally misinterpret our faith because of our preconceptions and prejudices...

The Rt. Reverend James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool

...However he is unusual in his self-belief and fierce hostility to those who disagree with him. For instance James Jones, Bishop of Liverpool, an evangelical who strongly opposed inclusiveness towards partnered gays and lesbians, softened his stance partly because of careful reading of scripture, and suggested that Christians with different views could stay in fellowship. Okoh denounced Jones for establishing "two authorities in the church, the scriptures and 'the canon' of deviant sub-culture. It is intended to destroy the Judeo-Christian understanding of morality as revealed in the Bible". The Bible does not support Okoh HERE.

· Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
· Thanks to Bishop James Jones, Liverpool, U.K.
· Thanks to South Africa's Mail & Guardian
· Thanks to Savitri Hensman
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
· Thanks to Amplifying Africa's LGBTI Voices

NO ANGLICAN COVENANT.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST BIGOTRY, IGNORANCE and OUTCASTING/SOCIAL ISOLATION and THE ABUSERS of FELLOW ANGLICANS/others at The Anglican Communion:

The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org

Lionel Deimel, Anglican HERO, click HERE,¨No Anglican Covenant¨

¨No matter what spiritual beliefs you may hold; giving, and its inseparable partner receiving, were the first acts of creation in of our world¨

By Dr. James E. Walton, Ph.D.


¨When we are feeling angry with our partner, the fastest way to release that anger and regain a loving attitude towards them is to do a simple act of giving. Just by doing something nice for them, we focus our attention off of the obsessive quality of our anger and refocus into the loving feelings we have for them. The act itself is a release that allows us to feel a greater sense of purpose in our chosen relationship.

Giving in general, such as simply opening a door for someone, allows us to regain a sense of missing personal empowerment. We may not be able to completely control our environment, and we certainly cannot control another’s actions, but we can control whether or not we do something nice for another person. And in doing so, we reconnect with that sense of personal power that has been eluding us.

No matter what spiritual beliefs you may hold; giving, and its inseparable partner receiving, were the first acts of creation in of our world. It was the original experience. And for a moment, it was the only experience. From that simple act, all of life sprang forth. Whether you believe it was God or some other cosmic force, we were the receivers of the gift of life. As a result, it is the most basic and purist experience that reflects back upon our very beginning of existence. Through it, we can honor and expand its meaning and presence in our lives. It’s quite a powerful little tool we carry in our psychological back pocket.


Depression - When individuals are depressed, they are focused inward on themselves. They can become lost focusing internally on themselves. Sometimes, we aren’t able to see alternative solutions because we have limited ourselves to running over and over an internal and unchanging landscape that offers no way out. There is nothing in there to offer a different perspective. It becomes self-reinforcing and we spiral further and further into our sense of despair and loneliness.

Giving to another, then, becomes an effective and powerful way of bringing ourselves out of depression’s grasp. In depression, we are fooled into thinking that we are alone. The simple act of giving breaks us out of that framework and challenges the misguided perception that we are alone. In the very act of giving, we are challenged to acknowledge that we are not alone. That in and of itself gets us out of the way we had been thinking. We start looking outside of ourselves. Giving challenges us to acknowledge we are not alone. That realization becomes the first step in the recovery and healing of depression.


Simply volunteering somewhere will allow you to tap into the power of giving. And as you do, do not neglect your very important role as the receiver. This kind of healing requires both giving and receiving. Allow yourself to accept and fully enjoy the good feelings that come from giving & receiving. For, if one only gives without receiving, it can be a way of feeling control over another or a way of defending the self from the good feelings that are generated from the other’s act of giving.

Sacrifice - It is the ultimate form of giving. It literally means to make sacred. That for which we sacrifice is made sacred. Sacrifice, through out time, has been our way of interaction with the spiritual. read it all HERE

· Thanks to L.A. Therapist, sidebar
· Thanks to Dr. James E. Walton
· Thanks to Inspiration
· Thanks to The World Around Me

Persecuted? Marginalized? Hated in Africa and beyond Africa? XENOPHOBES are showing their true colors of hypocrisy and prejudice!

¨Are you hated? Are you marginalized or persecuted for something which you cannot help being, or for something that is as natural to you as breathing? Congratulations - that makes you another equal victim of xenophobia!


While racism indeed still remains a nasty aspect to modern life, homophobia is just as much a part of modern society, and just as nasty and every bit as unjust, cruel and inexcusable. In fact, those who now decry racism and xenophobia as their new war cries, while pooh-poohing the dangers faced by people they themselves are intolerant of under the terms homophobia and transphobia - by doing so only show their true colors all too easily. which colors you may ask? The colors of hypocrisy and prejudice.

The dictionary definition of the term "xenophobia" is:

"xenophobia [(zen-uh- foh -bee-uh, zee-nuh- foh -bee-uh)] An unreasonable fear, distrust, or hatred of strangers, foreigners, or anything perceived as foreign or different. – noun an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange. xen·o·phobe (zěn'ə-fōb', zē'nə-) n. A person unduly fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples."


It doesn't take a genius I.Q. to realize that racism and homophobia - and any other "ism" or "phobia" that targets people for inherent differences and diversity, tries to separate people on the basis of their diversity, or persecute them for their differences - form a vital and integral part of xenophobia.

And quite honestly, anyone who indulges in xenophobia, whether it be racist or homophobic - obviously has no clue what it is like to be persecuted, objectified, hated or ostracized for something so basic as their race, ethnicity, gender or sexuality. If they did, they would do the decent thing and live and let live. If they did, and still persecuted others - well, let's just politely say they are quite probably not very nice people...¨


Anyone who is curious enough to want to know how it feels to be hated should go onto the internet and look for a website belonging to a group that makes a business of hating some particular group. The best way to realize what it feels like to be hated is to go and look for a group or site that targets people like you for hate. That will be an eye-opener, I guarantee you.


If you're black, then maybe you should pop in at a skinhead or neo-nazi website to check out their policies page, where they will tell how "dirty" people like you are, and how dangerous it is to let you and your relatives live next door to them in peace because of how you spoil everything for them - or if you're gay perhaps you should drop in at a homophobic Christian group website, where they will explain to you ad nausea um how evil you are for "choosing a dangerous lifestyle" and "threatening" civilization, "the family" and their religion....¨ HERE

Dr. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, ¨First Among Equals?¨ at The Anglican Communion

· Thanks to World Without Fear, Christina Aengela
· Thanks to Sour Grapes, The Fruit of Ignorance, sidebar
· Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
· Thanks to Reuters, Photo
· Thanks to Red Pepper, Photo, Uganda

¨For people to imagine for a moment that there never were gay or trans people walking among them is nothing less than wishful thinking¨

¨We tend to think that things are better today than they were long ago. After all, we have mobile phones, HDTV, Satellite communication and the internet, among many other things. Of course, not too long ago, we still used to have a more relaxed pace of life, lower stress levels and cleaner air and water - and also a certain level of respect for each other as people.

When we read about the DADT policy of discrimination which has many variants in military forces around the world, I think we are reminded that things were not always this way. Fifty years ago, being different was not always viewed as critically and with such a high level of paranoia and fear as some people see it today. From this we can infer that even today, despite DADT being in force, there are still many gay, lesbian and trans people in military service - even while closeted - they have always been there, and probably even more so.

It would seem to me that diversity is strength, and by having diverse people in your armed forces, we would have made your armies that much stronger. But oh well, your loss.

For people to imagine for a moment that there never were gay or trans people walking among them is nothing less than wishful thinking or driving with blinkers on. I know they may wish it was so, or that they even contemplate that all of a sudden, because of the "collapse of Western morality, blah, blah, fish-paste" we started "turning gay" and "weakening the moral fiber" of society. To their limited, shallow understanding - because they didn't know we existed, and were invisible to them - which in their minds means that we "never existed" before.

Of course, this is nothing less than pure unadulterated bullshit...read it all, by Christina Engela¨ HERE

About the author:


Christina Engela is a South African transgender woman and a volunteer human‑rights activist. She is a member of the board of the South African Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation(SA GLAAD), and president of the Eastern Cape Gay & Lesbian Association (ECGLA). She is also active in local politics.

· Thanks to Sour Grapes, The Fruit of Ignorance, sidebar
· Thanks to Christina Engela, South Africa
· Thanks to S.A. Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
· Thanks To Eastern Cape Gay and Lesbian Association

PLEASE MEET: Juan Carlos Castillo, his family, his friends and enthusiastic supporters for ¨Mr. La Union English School¨ Antigua, Guatemala

As many of you know, Juan Carlos Castillo Fuentes is a great friend to many of us, a industrious coworker for some, a generous and warm hearted person, an enthusiastic ENGLISH STUDENT and a lover of animals (dogs, gatos, birds, fish, turtles and conejos). Juan Carlos is also ¨big brother¨ to a delightful youngster, Gerardo, at the Safe Passages/Camino Seguro Learning Center as well as being a great addition to all of our everyday lives.

Please get to know Juan Carlos Castillo Fuentes by scrolling/reading down and meeting many of his friends and family and later, at the bottom of the page, VOTE, free of charge, for Juan Carlos for ¨Mr. La Union English School¨ candidate.

Doña Josephina Fuentes de Castillo with her Son (one of five children) and lovely Grandaughter (one of thirteen grandkids)

Juan Carlos´ Mother, Doña Josephina and two of his thirteen nephews and neices

Juan Carlos on the move at Finca Isobel

los señores Shillington and Castillo enjoy a party in San Miguel Dueñas, Sacatapequez

Juan Carlos´ friend Judy of Ft. Lauderdale and Antigua (who is founder of Antigua Network) HERE

Kites ¨Flying High¨ on All Souls Day

Juan Carlos ¨Sky High¨

Juan Carlos and Beverly of Hawaii and Antigua (Beverly is everyones favorite ¨Mom¨ from Hawaii)

Juan Carlos amongst the ruins of San Francisco el Grande, Antigua, Guatemala

Lisa and Friends enjoying a special ¨play day¨ afternoon in Guatemala City, Photo by Juan Carlos (who also enjoyed the fun)

More good friends, Suzanne and Elizabeth, at dinner party in Sacatapequez. Photo by Juan Carlos Castillo

Juan Carlos, Jennifer and John, A Fiesta/Fundraising event honoring Open Windows Foundation HERE

Irene, Tom, Ellen, Len and Paul, Photo of ¨Good Friends¨ by Juan Carlos, Christmas 2009, at the home of Lisa in Antigua, Guatemala

Juan Carlos Castillo Fuentes, Christmas 2009, shown with one of Lisa´s ¨best friends¨



Por Favor, click on La Union English School Facebook Homepage link (below) and vote: As you can see, Juan Carlos Castillo Fuentes is a great friend to many of us, a good ENGLISH STUDENT, a hardworking coworker, a generous hearted person, a ¨good son,¨ a lover of animals whom we admire and hope you will VOTE for...Juan Carlos is also ¨big brother¨ to a delightful youngster, Gerardo, at the, check it out, Safe Passages/Camino Seguro learning center in Guatemala City HERE...pass the joy, fun, good-will and inspiration along.

PLEASE LOGIN TO YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT THEN CLICK HERE and it will take you to the VOTING PAGE for La Union English School. At the top of the page a box, under WALL, ought appear requesting ¨Write Something¨...please join us in writing in the name Juan Carlos Castillo Fuentes for La Union English School contest that suggests you ¨Vote for your favorite candidate NOW!!! Start today, and only write comments in English. Vote for your favorite candidate and elect the coolest and most fun guy and girl at La Union English School.¨

Thanks to YOU from the Friends and Family of Juan Carlos Castillo Fuentes

NEWEST AFRICAN ACTIVIST: Peter Okomesi, member of the National Commission for Civic Education, GHANA

WELCOME TO PETER OKOMESI TO THE AFRICA TEAM

The Africa Team is a team of pro- lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) activists with African citizenship, living in Africa. The Africa Team will have access to post on African Activist and will eventually rewrite and reshape the draft of the African LGBTI Manifesto. HERE

About Peter Okomesi

Peter Okomesi, a Ghanaian citizen, was born on 29th of May 1987 at Bekwai Ashanti. He attended Bekwai SDA Senior High School. Currently he attends the University of Ghana and is studing Political Science and Theatre Art.
Peter is a club member of the National Commission for Civic Education. The club educates students and the public about human rights, equality and freedom. We speak against injustice and educate the local people about the constitution of Ghana. He also works with the Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights (CEPEHRG).

You can send Peter a Friend Request on Facebook. HERE

Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights, Ghana

Welcome to CEPEHRG!

The mission of CEPEHRG is to build a democratic and accountable organization and to strive for the attainment of equal and removal of all forms of discrimination in all aspect of the life for Ghana's marginalized groups, including young people, gay men, lesbians and bisexuals, transgender people, and to inform, counsel, educate and support people in matters relating to law and health and well-being. CEPEHRG believes that "sexual rights are human right".http://sites.google.com/site/cepehrg/

· Thanks to Centre for Popular Education and Human Rights, Ghana
· Thanks to CEPEHRG, Ghana, sidebar
· Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
· Thanks to Amplifying Africa's LGBTI Voices
· Thanks to National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana

Schismatic Bishop MARTYN MINNS ¨assumes that his ecclesiastical opponents are as devoid of decency and morality as he is¨

CANA/Nigeria Bishop Martyn Minns (kneeling)

DELUSIONAL?

¨Delusional thinking is a difficult position to work from in trying to lead a community of churches. HERE CANA is what it is, and good and caring Christians belong to CANA. Fine. CANA got there by less than transparent means but then that can be said for most churches. But when its lead bishop feels it is necessary to repeat the dump again and again - that all is due to pollution by people who are ignorant, disregarding and disobedient (read the leadership of The Episcopal Church) - we might well begin to wonder. Perhaps he protests too much.

Maybe the decision was that he apparently could not get elected in a regular diocese of The Episcopal Church...¨ HERE

Nominees for Bishop of The Episcopal Church HERE

Martyn Minns

1999: Connecticut. not elected
2001: West Tennessee. not elected
2002: Western Louisiana. not elected
2005: Rio Grande. not elected
2006: Left The Episcopal Church, CANA/Nigeria Bishop

PROJECTING?

PROJECTION: "the operation of expelling feelings or wishes the individual finds wholly unacceptable . . .by attributing them to another.

¨Martyn Minns has fallen prey to an assumption common to many far right extremists. He assumes that his ecclesiastical opponents are as devoid of decency and morality as he is.

The schismatic bishop has recently accused the Episcopal Church of using Episcopal World Relief and other international mission funding to bribe African Anglicans "to embrace the TEC viewpoint."

Now, as a rule, I refuse to link to extremist websites, so instead I'll link you to Canon Mark Harris's Preludium blog, where he provides the entire delusional Minns quote, along with some helpful hermeneutic.

The thing is, I don't think Minns is actually lying. Technically, a liar must know that what s/he is saying is untrue. But I think the delusional Dr. Minns actually believes that the Episcopal Church would bribe African church leaders. After all, his gang have already done so.

Jim Naughton, formerly on staff with the Diocese of Washington, has fully documented the way that far right activists in the United States have used financial clout in precisely this sort of dishonest way as part of their campaign to marginalize the Episcopal Church. HERE

It's classical projection, of course. Minns and his fellow travellers are prepared to buy the support of African bishops like Peter Akinola and Henry "all that money" Orombi. Minns has some residual moral understanding that bribery (if not simony) is wrong. Therefore, instead of being accountable for the misconduct of his far right allies, he projects his guilt at the object of his hatred, the Episcopal Church.

Because the Episcopal Church, through Episcopal World Relief and other mission and partnership programs, provides financial aid to assorted African dioceses, Minns delusionally claims that any TEC dollars destined for Africa are part of a scheme to bribe people. Rather like the philanderer who suspects his chaste wife of infidelity, really.

The Episcopal Church is the single wealthiest Province of the Anglican Communion, so it isn't surprising that TEC provides resources to any and all other Provinces who are prepared to accept it. (In actions which vaguely resemble integrity, both Nigeria and Uganda refuse to accept money from the American Church.) Despite Minns ravings, there is no evidence at all to suggest that TEC has ever made a single dollar of their financial aid dependent on the recipients "embracing the TEC viewpoint." But then, Minns has never let truth get in the way of his race-baiting, gay-baiting propaganda campaign.

In the delusional mind of Martyn Minns, if the Episcopal Church sends any support to other parts of the Communion, it amounts to bribery...¨ HERE

Martyn Minns of Nigerias CANA Division with +Peter Akinola/Nigeria

PARANOID?

PARANOIA: The fuel of the Culture War

¨I have harboured the idea contained in the title for a while now and subjectively it has been proven correct time after time. It is uncanny when one has a grasp on the raison d’être of a social phenomenon and impertinently watch from the sidelines. There is a certain magical realism to it. One is both connected and unconnected, both objective observer and subjective participant. It might sound mutually exclusive but alas it is not.

Intent: the one word which makes the world’s difference. Intent is questioned ad nauseam by a great variety of demagogues, religious and other social conservatives, extremists of every hue, even some moderates and the Pink community sometimes – in a self-reflective way I guess.

After intent has been questioned, more than often being misinterpreted as offensive, contrary to family values, and/or against nature, some will inevitably conjure up outlandish conjecture and delusive interpretations. Those who feign a sense of credibility and scientific aptitude often distort, contort and miscontextualise valid scientific thought to create the illusion that there is factual basis for their conjecture and misrepresentations.

The Culture War thus became a war of words, a battleground of propaganda and counterpropaganda, limitless in its scope of malice and wanton abuse of rhetoric, concept and the lives of the real people caught in the crossfire... HERE

· Thanks to Mark Harris, Preludium, sidebar
· Thanks to Simple Massing Priest, sidebar
· Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
· Thanks to Cobus Fourie
· Thanks to Jim Naughton, Following the Money

QUIET PLEASE! The ¨Listening Process¨ amongst Christians, Muslims and African Traditional RELIGIONS is underway in KENYA.

MAY WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION ARCHBISHOPS ROWAN of CANTERBURY, JOHN of YORK, OROMBI of UGANDA, GOMEZ of JAMAICA and ALL BISHOPS THROUGHOUT THE GLOBAL SOUTH/GAFCON OF THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION...you are paying attention aren´t you?


¨Other Sheep Kenya held a seminar on LGBTI issues, human rights, HIV/AIDS and religion in Kisumu on July 19, 2010. There were 45 participants drawn from diverse religious faith such as Christian, Muslim and African traditional religion and civil society. The purpose of the seminar was to address homophobia, reduce stigma, discrimination, and enhance tolerance towards the LGBTI community in Kenya.¨


Rev. John Makokha said that religious institutions and civil society movements should develop safe spaces for LGBTI community since gay rights are human rights. “Homosexuality is not a sin but heterosexism is a serious sin since it violates justice, truth and love. Discrimination breaks the heart of God”,he said.

“As a Christian leader, I felt I need to apologize to the LGBT community for the treatment they have received at the hands of Christians down the years in Africa due to ”, he said.

He said that celibacy is an option to all people, and those who seek to force homosexual persons into heterosexual behavior are guilty of sexual violence and violation of human rights. Celibacy is a vocation to which one is called, not a way of life to which one is condemned. Sexual energy is not to be repressed in either heterosexuals or homosexual people unless the persons choose freely to live in that manner.


He said that research in Africa has shown that there is a deep problem to homosexuality since it is considered a spiritual disease and a curse. Conservative Christian fundamentalists and moralists in Kenya have expressed the desire to reach out to the homosexuals but to recognize that homosexuals are not part of God’s family. We have to stop both physical and spiritual violence against our brothers and sisters who are LGBT since they did not choose to be what they are.


He said that the Bible calls us beyond human barriers and prejudices and there are stories of groups of people who were once excluded from the fullness of the church’s life. These are gentiles, Samaritans, lepers, ritually unclean persons, women, left-handed people, racial minorities and people who committed suicide. The church’s rejection of homosexual people is just one more prejudice. “I am fully persuaded that God has never been homophobic at any one time”, he said.

He said that there are those who regard homosexuality as a western perversion. There are difficulties in ascertaining this claim owing to different cultural perceptions of sexuality in Africa. However, all African communities have a descriptive vocabulary relating to what westerners would define as homosexual practice. Anthropologists and historians remind us of women in Akamba, Luo, Kalenjin and Abagusii communities in Kenya who cohabited to found a family...¨ HERE

· Thanks to African Activist
· Thanks to Other Sheep, Kenya
· Thanks to The Reverend John Makokha
· Thanks to Mrs. Anne Baraza
· Thanks to Riruta United Women Empowerment Programme

NO ANGLICAN COVENANT.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST BIGOTRY, IGNORANCE and OUTCASTING/SOCIAL ISOLATION and THE ABUSERS of FELLOW ANGLICANS/others at The Anglican Communion:

The ANGLICAN UN, United Nations, HUMAN RIGHTS Observer, Mrs Hellen Grace Wangusa from Uganda, has an office and staff provided by the Episcopal Church (USA) at the Church Center 815 Second Avenue, New York, 10017. The direct office line is (001) 212-716- 6263 and the email address unoffice@episcopalchurch.org

Lionel Deimel, Anglican HERO, click HERE,¨No Anglican Covenant¨