Thursday, December 23, 2010

2011 @ House Of Rainbow Fellowship


2011 @ House Of Rainbow Fellowship

Friday 4th February 2011, 6.30pm London
(and then on the first Friday of the month)

House Of Rainbow Fellowship presents a monthly Prayer and Praise evening in London on the first Fridays of the month, with an inclusive gospel of Jesus, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are, to an inclusive space to pray and safe space to praise.

• House Of Rainbow Fellowship also meets on Wednesday 9th February 2011 in Manchester (further dates and activities to be confirmed)

About House Of Rainbow Fellowship


House Of Rainbow Fellowship is an inclusive and affirming religious community open and welcome to all people including Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex people, a monthly gathering of “People of Faith” for “Prayer and Praise”, which focuses on the person’s journey towards reconciliation of sexuality and spirituality.

House Of Rainbow Fellowship aim to provide an inclusive Christian theological focus and interpretation of Scriptures.

The vision of the House Of Rainbow Fellowship was birthed by Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay, an openly gay African theologian. The style of the House Of Rainbow Fellowship is Pentecostal with “High Praise”, Prayers and Christian fellowship.

All are welcomed including;
• Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex people (LGBTI)
• Parents and Friends of LGBTI people

Other important tools and resources:

Websites:
www.houseofrainbow.org
www.rjmm.co.uk
www.wouldjesusdiscriminate.org
www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow

Recommended Books:
Holy Bible
Pocket Devotional for LGBT Christians by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay
The Children Are Free by Revd Jeff Miner & John Connolly
The Queer Bible Commentary Edited by Guest, Goss, West & Bohache
The Queer God by Marcella Althaus-Reid
Indecent Theology by Marcella Althaus-Reid
Take Back The Word Edited by Goss & West
Biblical Ethics & Homosexuality Edited by Robert L. Brawley
In the Eye of the Storm by Gene Robinson

Contact Us:
House Of Rainbow Fellowship &
Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay Ministries

Email: church@houseofrainbow.org
Phone: +442085583485; +44 (0) 7507 510 357
Find House Of Rainbow on Facebook/Twitter/Youtube
Skype & Yahoo ID; revjide

Information About Local Leaders

Information About Local Leaders

Volunteer Local Leaders Needed.

Are you Called to be a Local Leader? House Of Rainbow needs you.

Are you a devout Christian?
Do you believe in the inclusive Gospel of Jesus for All people?
Are you able to manage a small group of people?
Are you passionate about helping people?
Can you provide pastoral care?
Are you aged 18 and over?

If you say YES to all the above questions, then contact us for more information at Church@houseofrainbow.org



INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

Please read these notes carefully before you complete the application form.

• Thank you for expressing interest in a post within House Of Rainbow Fellowship.
• These notes are intended to help you understand the role of Local Leaders. Please read them carefully before you complete and sign the form.
• See below details of the role and responsibilities of Local Leaders. These describe your role and what your position will involve and what we need from the person who is appointed.
• We are inviting you to give us information that will allow us to assess how closely you meet the requirements of Local Leadership. You may draw on all aspects of your life: education, employment, voluntary work, church, interests, and home life, for example.
• There is no education and training, experience, special knowledge and skills, or special qualities and attributes requirements except that we ask for the applicant to be passionate and willing to submit to the authority of the leadership of House Of Rainbow Fellowship Council.
• Please answer all the questions in each section.
• Our policy on references is that we cannot accept references from relatives or members of the family. At least one referee must be from a reputable organisation or member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) community.
• Only electronic applications are acceptable. Please scan your signatures for the form.
• We look forward to receiving your application. There are no deadlines for application.


For more Information BY EMAIL ONLY to:

House Of Rainbow Fellowship
e-mail: church@houseofrainbow.org
Telephone: +442085583485
Mobile: +447507510357


HOUSE OF RAINBOW FELLOWSHIP POLICY ON THE RECRUITMENT AND APPOINTMENT OF VOLUNTARY LOCAL LEADERS.

Background
House Of Rainbow Fellowship Local Leader is a voluntary role without any stipend.

The development of Local Leaders is one of the objectives of House Of Rainbow Fellowship, this way we are able to meet the needs of marginalise Christians and or people of faith seeking an alternative safe space to join in corporate prayers, praise, devotion, discussions and bible study.

House Of Rainbow Fellowship Local Leaders initiative is about building a people of power and raising a people of praise

About House Of Rainbow Fellowship
House Of Rainbow Fellowship is an inclusive and affirming religious community open and welcome to all people including Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex people, a monthly gathering of “People of Faith” for “Prayer and Praise”, which focuses on the person’s journey towards reconciliation of sexuality and spirituality.

House Of Rainbow Fellowship aim to provide an inclusive Christian theological focus and interpretation of Scriptures.

The vision of the House Of Rainbow Fellowship was birthed by Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay, an openly gay African theologian. The style of the House Of Rainbow Fellowship is Pentecostal with “High Praise”, Prayers and Christian fellowship.

House of Rainbow Fellowship is not exclusively for LGBTI people, all are welcome, we are not afraid to say that we are reaching out with a primary mission to the marginalised communities within the faith communities.

All are welcomed including;
• Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex people (LGBTI)
• Parents and Friends of LGBTI people

Vision of House Of Rainbow Fellowship
House Of Rainbow Fellowship vision is to transform the Christian theology towards inclusion, Biblical teaching, interpretation and understanding that alienates and or discriminates, create a safe space and place for LGBTI people to meet and be celebrated by employing and engaging the ministries of theologians and academics.

Who are Voluntary Local leaders?
Local Leaders must be a practising Christian, they are people who are nominated, self nominated, appointed, selected for leadership etc.

Local Leaders must be aged 18 and over at the time of application.

Local Leaders can be a person of any age, race, background, gender and or sexual orientation. All we ask is that they are grounded in the understanding of inclusive gospel and Christian faith.

They will be responsible for leading prayers, devotion and reaching out to Christians including LGBTI people in the local area.

The group will consist of as little as 4 people and no maximum limits. We encourage a continuous development of smaller groups to avoid hostility in the case of a group getting too large.

They will be encouraged and supported by House Of Rainbow Fellowship Council.

Roles and Responsibilities of Local Leaders.
Local Leaders will organise the monthly meetings of House Of Rainbow Fellowship they will have the responsibility to advertise the time and location and also contact details for those that will attend.

They will take initiative and responsibility for security and safety of the meeting space.

Would at all times maintain integrity, discipline, loyalty and honesty in leadership.

Provide pastoral care to all members.

Teaching and discussion materials for the monthly group will be provided by House Of Rainbow Fellowship. This materials will include video aids, online links, devotional booklets and appropriate books will be supplied free of charge to the members.

Local Leaders will also have the responsibility of building a resource library for their members.

Local leaders will represent and share the information about the work of House Of Rainbow Fellowship locally.

Role of House Of Rainbow Fellowship
Provide support for Local Leaders and keep them informed and up to date of the overall fellowship mandate.

This condition of Voluntary service is not exhaustive and subject to periodic review in consultation with the Local Leader.

Offer technical support to Local Leaders in the implementation of Local Group and provide 6 - 12 monthly review of the Local group, leadership and pastoral care.

A letter of Appointment will be issue to appointed Local Leader only.

Procedure
• A decision to reject an applicant because of, or partly because of inadequate information and insufficient reference, in such situation will may defer the applicant application pending further information.
• Generally, an applicant who is rejected will be advised of the reasons.
• An applicant who is rejected will not have a right of appeal.
• Where an individual is accepted by the House Of Rainbow Fellowship Council, and subsequently it becomes evident that the individual failed to disclose relevant information, the matter will be treated as a disciplinary issue and may result in dismissal.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

World AIDS Day 2010 Message from House Of Rainbow


House OF Rainbow Fellowship World AIDS Day 2010 Message.

In John 9:2-4, Jesus was asked why the man was born blind. “Jesus answered, neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.”

We might ask that why are so many millions of people infected or affected with HIV and AIDS, I want you to know that this disease is nothing more than a global tragedy. It is not the will of God that any should suffer.

At House Of Rainbow we take care and time to pray and remember those afflicted by this disease, we pray with them, we touch them with our love and we know that they will always be our brothers and sisters.

HIV has affected all persons from infants to grannies, people of all race, creed, culture and gender, rich and poor nations are engulfed. The world is affected at large.

We suffer with those who suffer and our continuous deepest compassion goes to people and families who have lost their dearest to this disease.

World AIDS Day is a time to remember, acknowledge and celebrate the lives of the departed, may their soul rest in peace. Respect, dignity and prayers for long lives for those who are living with HIV and AIDS. This is a time that we can all acknowledge that the love of God for all people is far more important that the prejudice, stigma and discrimination attached to HIV and AIDS.

As we gather here in our community and all over the world in remembrance and contemplation of World AIDS Day, we pray that God will lead the finding and discovery of a cure. God will guide policy makers, the pharmaceutical and health care officials as they strive to find the best approach, medicinal cure and standard of care. Amen.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Volunteer Local Leaders Needed



Volunteer Local Leaders Needed.
Are you Called to be a Local Leader? House Of Rainbow needs you.

Are you a devout Christian?
Do you believe in the inclusive Gospel of Jesus for All people?
Are you able to manage a small group of people?
Are you passionate about helping people?
Can you provide pastoral care?
Are you aged 18 and over?

If you say YES to all the above questions, then contact us for more information at Church@houseofrainbow.org

Contact:

House Of Rainbow Fellowship London &
Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay Ministries

Phone +44 (0) 2085583485, +44 (0) 7507 510 357
Email: Church@houseofrainbow.org
Skype & Yahoo ID; revjide
Facebook & Twitter: HouseOfRainbow

ONLINE Ministries
Video Messages; www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow
Web; www.rjmm.co.uk
Web; www.houseofrainbow.org
Web; www.wouldjesusdiscriminate.org/

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow

I am so emotional this morning, when I think about all the pain that we are put through, those who feel that killing themselves because they are gays and lesbians is the answer, it is just too much. And also for those who feel empowered to endnager our lives for who we are, killing us is not the answer.

I believe that rather than bow to the pressure and prejudice against a minority group we should take time to pray for the people. I am so sad today, I am in so much pain I am in tears. I am praying to God to help us to deal with all the bigotry and prejudice against Black Gay people and to end the hatred from within the community.

Many African LGBT people at home and abroad are in fear of being killed, I am one of them. My life has been threatened, but I know that "Because Jesus lives I can face tomorrow".

Monday, October 25, 2010

House Of Rainbow 2010 Dates for your Diary


About House Of Rainbow Fellowship
House Of Rainbow Fellowship is an inclusive and affirming religious community open and welcome to all people including Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex people, a monthly gathering of “People of Faith” for “Prayer and Praise”, which focuses on the person’s journey towards reconciliation of sexuality and spirituality.

House Of Rainbow Fellowship aim to provide an inclusive Christian theological focus and interpretation of Scriptures.

The vision of the House Of Rainbow Fellowship was birthed by Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay, an openly gay African theologian. The style of the House Of Rainbow Fellowship is Pentecostal with “High Praise”, Prayers and Christian fellowship.

All are welcomed including;
• Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender and Intersex people (LGBTI)
• Parents and Friends of LGBTI people

Other important tools and resources:

Websites:www.houseofrainbow.org
www.wouldjesusdiscriminate.org
www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow

Recommended Books:Holy Bible
The Children Are Free by Revd Jeff Miner & John Connolly
Pocket Devotional for LGBT Christians by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay
The Queer Bible Commentary Edited by Guest, Goss, West & Bohache
The Queer God by Marcella Althaus-Reid
Indecent Theology by Marcella Althaus-Reid
Take Back The Word Edited by Goss & West
Biblical Ethics & Homosexuality Edited by Robert L. Brawley
In the Eye of the Storm by Gene Robinson

Contact:Reverend Rowland Jide Macaulay
Email: church@houseofrainbow.org
Phone: +442085583485, +44 (0) 7507 510 357


Thursday 4th November 2010, 6.30pm LondonHouse Of Rainbow Fellowship presents a monthly Prayer and Praise evening in London on the first Thursday of the month, with an inclusive gospel of Jesus, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are, to an inclusive space to pray and safe space to praise. www.houseofrainbow.org. For info Call/text +442085583485, +447507510357 email: church@houseofrainbow.org

2010 Dates for your diary:
• Metropolitan Community Church East London 7th Nov @5.30pm
• Manchester Fellowship 17th Nov, 6.30pm
• Sao Paulo Brazil 1-11 Dec, Daily.
• London Fellowship 2nd Dec, 6.30pm.
• Christmas Party by INVITATION ONLY 18th December.

House of Rainbow Fellowship is the place for you. You are welcomed to send your prayer request to us at church@houseofrainbow.org or join our online forum at www.houseofrainbow.org. Wherever we assemble, you can attend our FREE monthly “Prayer and Praise” sessions, refreshments will be served. For more information and details, please contact us or visit our blog www.houseofrainbow.org
Preacher at MCC East London on Sunday 7th Nov 2010, 5.30pmRevd Jide Macaulay will be preaching at MCC East London, join us at the inclusive church, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are. www.houseofrainbow.org. For info Call/text +442085583485, +447507510357 email: church@houseofrainbow.org

House Of Rainbow Fellowship, goes to ManchesterWednesday 17th November 2010, 6.30pm
House Of Rainbow Fellowship presents a monthly Prayer and Praise evening in Manchester, with an inclusive gospel of Jesus, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are, to an inclusive space to pray and safe space to praise. www.houseofrainbow.org. For info Call/text +442085583485, +447507510357 email: church@houseofrainbow.org

House Of Rainbow Fellowship, goes to BRAZIL1st to 11th December 2010, Sao Paulo Brazil.
Times and Locations to be announced.
House Of Rainbow Fellowship presents a “Daily Prayer and Praise” Sao Paulo Brazil, with an inclusive gospel of Jesus, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are, to an inclusive space to pray and safe space to praise. www.houseofrainbow.org. For info Call/text +442085583485, +447507510357 email: church@houseofrainbow.org

Monday, October 11, 2010

Gay Muslims & Gay Christians Celebrate London Gay Pride 2010

Gay Muslim Pav and Christian leader Revd Jide share a celebratory message to encourage Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersex people at London's Black Gay Pride 2010, a show of solidarity between faith communities. There were over 1,000 people at the event. Introduced by fame Actor Cyril Nri.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Increase Our Faith And Respect For Each Other.



Increase Our Faith And Respect For Each Other.
By Rowland Jide Macaulay @ Metropolitan Community Church East London
3rd October 2010

Introduction
The Gospel reading Luke 17:5-6 set the tone for the message today, increase our Faith.

5 The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ 6The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a* mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you”.

How do we increase our faith and respect for each other? Let me leave that question there in your heart and come back to this later.

In the UK the month of October is dedicated to Black History Month celebrated every year. The aims are to promote knowledge of Black History and experience, disseminate information about culture and history of the Black people. There is no doubt that Black people have made many contributions worth celebrating, but we must be mindful of the few Black people who are also causing havoc. What I know is that we all, regardless of race and gender can make a difference in this world. We can increase our faith and respect by standing up against ALL that is evil and unjust.

We may ask what has this got to do with the sermon today, we may ask what has this got to do with my salvation, faith and respect. It has so much to do with it, because our history needed to change from the history of victims to victors, from fear to favour, enslavement to empowerment. There is so much our community need to learn from the Black History. We have often found parallels with the “struggle and fight against racism” with “the struggle and fight against homophobia and transphobia”.

Black History month cannot be complete without Queer or LGBT History, Black History cannot be complete with ALL people’s history, the history of the oppressed cannot be complete without the oppressor, no one speaks about slaves or slavery without the slave masters.

When Habakkuk said, O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you ‘Violence!’ and you will not save? It sends a message that is recognisable from the Black community who were enslaved because of their blackness to the gay community who are ostracised because of who they are, from London to Lagos, New York to Kampala.

When I examined the Habakkuk Oracle, this is what I found, a strange and endearing similarity between the Black people’s struggle and the LGBTI people’s struggles.

We asked the same questions and face the same issues over all these years, from Biblical times to 21st century days. I don’t have all the answers but I am hoping that my sermon today can lead all of us to some answers.

Let me share five points with you today.


1) O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you Violence!’ and you will not save?

What Black History month did for us is to teach us the way to face our struggles as a people, first it was about racial discrimination, but now it is discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, I cannot believe that any religious body will be a part of the hate campaign, I would have thought that the Religious communities will be at the centre of healing, reconciliation and welcoming for all people, but I was wrong,

Brothers and sisters, Cry no more, because your salvation has come. The answer for me and for you is in Colossians 3:9-11, which says Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. 11In that renewal* there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!

2) Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble?

We are faced daily with wrongdoings and we steer trouble in the face daily. LGBTI people all over the world live in fear every day. Many times when we step out to help others and speak against injustices, we become the problem, in many societies people who are seen as “Human Right Defenders” are often those who look at trouble in the face. What are we doing today to save guard the future of our community?

I received a message from the LGBT centre in New York, which reads “Our Hearts are heavy” the back drop to the message is that six teenage gay and lesbian children have in the last few weeks and months committed suicide because they were bullied for who they are, we need to face wrongdoing, not just for our sake but for the future LGBT generation. I am angry at the fact that there is continued renewal of hate not just towards us but also within us. We are not sharing the message wide enough, we are not raising the bar of LGBT role modelling, the message of love and inclusion is lapsing, we need to create a climate where young LGBT people can be free and be themselves, children should be playing not harming themselves or driven to such harm by bullies.

3) Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.

There is no doubt that there will be some destruction and violence, there will be strife and contention, people will disagree with us, our theology will not be the favourite one to listen to or to handle, it was the same with the Black theologians, there were opposition. Queer theology is scary for many, because not everyone fits into the same shoe, we seldom sing from the same song sheet. Christianity is a price to pay, it is radical and we have to take the message out there for many millions who not just hate us but for those who might just be saved. Rev Troy D Perry’s Coming Out as a Gay Christian leader in the 1960s saved millions of LGBT people, we also need to do our part. Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr and many other Black theologians in history have played their part in the emancipation of Black people and Black theology. Reverend Solomon S. Seay, former head of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, in the United States of America and also a civil rights campaigner alongside Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr, said following a fight for equal rights for African American during the Montgomery bus boycotts “If a person doesn’t want to sit beside me because I am dirty, that is my fault. If a person doesn’t want to sit beside me because I am loud, that is my fault too, but if the person doesn’t want to sit beside me because I am black, that is not my fault because God made me black” I dare to add to this note that “If a person doesn’t want to sit beside us because we are Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transsexuals and Intersex people, then we need to know that it is not our fault, God made us Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Intersex people”
It is time for us to increase our faith, action and respect and do something we have never done before. Save a life, save our own lives.

4) So the law becomes slack and justice never prevails.

The laws are too slow to recognise the discrimination, the interventions are bureaucratic, policy makers makes endless promises, but we can make a difference, that is why we have voices, we can speak out, write articles, consider joining a campaign for what is right, I am sure that when people started the discussion about ending slavery, it certainly did not start amongst Black people, because largely they were not responsible for the big ship and the voyage, but I believe that people in our history both Black and White made this happen.

Many days of my life, I was victimised on the grounds of sexual orientation, with faith I have risen to a place where I not only celebrate who I am, Child of the living God, but also work with others, on the journey to reconcile, I have stood in many places challenging governments to change discriminatory laws against LGBT people, from Cameroon to Comoros, Iran to Iraq, Kuwait to Qatar, Guinea to Lesotho.

When we teach, let us speak out against injustice, because if we don’t we only prolong the pain of future generation. I say today that I do the things I do today, not because I see the benefits for me, but I do them because I dream of the benefits for future generations, I want history to record that at least I tried. Brothers and sisters, what will be in your legacy?

5) The wicked surround the righteous— therefore judgement comes forth perverted.

The wicked people are very very powerful, they will suppress the truth. We spend too much time in accusation, when people in politics and religion stand up, to uphold discrimination, my heart bleeds, when the proposals were drawn to end slavery there was violence, there was an attempt to pervert justice. The same is happening today in our world, we must not seat back and allow people Religious or not to judge us for who we are, the Bible says in Jeremiah, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; Isaiah confirmed “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by myself spread out the earth.”

Many millions of people are threatened by the actions of the ignorant few, families are scattered, there is a surge in suicidal tendencies and the health of the people declined.

I take refuge in the word of God, I am not stubborn, but I refuse to allow the negativity of these ignorant actions to get through my heart, mind and skin. It is not an easy place to be, however, when people ask me where in the scriptures does it say that God loves or indeed creates homosexual, I want to let you know that the Bible points to more verses of inclusion than exclusion. God is responsible for LGBTI people and it is only God that can love us as we too are the original imprint of God’s love and never a secondary group of people.

Hebrew 11:1-3, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2Indeed, by faith* our ancestors received approval. 3By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.*

What are we hoping for? a world that will accept us and not kill or dehumanise LGBT people. Even though we have not seen justice we must begin to celebrate the freedom and liberation, just like our ancestors. If we believe by faith that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, then we must begin to live and love who we are, even though we may be invisible to the other inhabitants.

Conclusion
Let me conclude with Paul’s letter to Timothy, which says I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. 6For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. 8 Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, 9who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.

I recognise that calling in you today, I recognise that calling in Michael Jackson who has gone before us. Black History month is about our ancestors, the joy, the liberation, the pain, the injustices, we must today bring a change to the world we live in. Michael Jackson in one of his many revolutionary songs sang about healing the world, make it a better place.

There's A Place In Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

In order to increase our faith we need to step out of the shadow of fear and work against all the injustices, we need to be comfortable with who we are, not what people want us to be or say we are. The gospel reading is a response that we can do anything if we have faith. The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a* mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.

As we seek reconciliation we would be empowered knowing that God’s love was given to us when we were formed in our mother’s womb, and this is how we increase our faith and respect for each other.

God bless you. God bless our universe, Amen.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

House Of Rainbow Fellowship Prayer and Praise 7th October 2010.



Thursday 7th October 2010, 6.30pm House Of Rainbow Fellowship presents a monthly Prayer and Praise evening in London on the first Thursday of the month, with an inclusive gospel of Jesus, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are, to an inclusive space to pray and safe space to praise. www.houseofrainbow.org For info Call/text +447507510357 email: church@houseofrainbow.org

2010 Dates for your diary: 4th November, 2nd December

Thursday, September 23, 2010

UPR Kenya United Nations Human Right Council Geneva


15th Session of the Human Rights Council
Item 6: Universal Periodic Review – Statement by
Action Canada for Population and Development (ACPD)

Mr. President,

ACPD with Minority Women in Action, the Coalition of African Lesbians and Pan Africa ILGA, wishes to stress the following points in relation to the Universal Periodic Review of Kenya:

We welcome the State’s support on various recommendations including the promise to review national laws to fully uphold the principle of non-discrimination, eradicate the use of torture and ill-treatment by public officials and take effective measures to safeguard the work of human rights defenders. We also recall the State’s ratification of various international and regional human rights instruments including the protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the rights of women in Africa.

However, we express disappointment that the Kenyan government has rejected recommendations to take measures to provide for the protection and equal treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. The criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct encoded in Sections 162 and 165 of the Penal Code fuels stigma, discrimination and violence against sexual minorities. Human rights are universal, inalienable and inherent. These principles apply to all citizens of Kenya including lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex Kenyans.

The importance of human rights was emphasized by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in a high-level panel at the current session of the Human Rights Council who said:

“No doubt deeply rooted cultural sensitivities can be aroused when we talk about sexual orientation. Social attitudes run deep and take time to change. But cultural considerations should not stand in the way of basic human rights.”

LGBTI Kenyans are repeatedly discriminated against and continue to face threats and violence as well as torture, ill-treatment and harassment at the hands of public authorities simply because of who we are and who we love. We regret the silence of the State in the face of these violations, such as in the highly publicized attach on 12 February, 2010 in Mtwapa targeting homosexual individuals that saw organized physical violence, life threats and hate speech.

In this dawn of a new constitutional dispensation, we urge the State of Kenya to seize this moment and respect, protect and fulfill the rights of all Kenyans including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. Our rights, the rights of LGBTI people, are human rights.

Thank you.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

UPR Lesotho United Nations Human Right Council Geneva


UPR: Lesotho
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva. 21st September 2010.

Presented by Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr. President, distinguished members of the delegation,

I am pleased to make this statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Pan-Africa ILGA.

We wish to address recommendations 98, paragraphs 2, 4 and 5, issues of serious concern raised in the Working Group report on Lesotho. These recommendations call for the amendment of the penal code provisions which criminalize consensual sexual activity between persons of the same sex, to ensure that no one is punished under these laws.

Criminalization of consensual same sex activity constitutes a violation of established international human rights law and undermines public health initiatives.

Just last Friday, in a high-level panel held in conjunction with the current session of the Human Rights Council, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu called for an end to criminal laws against homosexuality. He noted that South Africa included sexual orientation in its new post-apartheid Constitition, stating that “we knew, from our bitter experience that an injury to one is an injury to all.”

These calls were echoed last week by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who underlined:

“Laws criminalizing people on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity violate the principle of non-discrimination. They also fuel violence, help to legitimize homophobia and contribute to a climate of hate. No doubt deeply rooted cultural sensitivities can be aroused when we talk about sexual orientation. Social attitudes run deep and take time to change. But cultural considerations should not stand in the way of basic human rights.”

We were therefore disappointed that Lesotho did not accept these recommendations. The UN Human Rights Committee has noted that laws criminalizing homosexuality “run counter to the implementation of effective education programmes in respect of HIV/AIDS prevention” by driving marginalized communities underground, a finding supported by UNAIDS and other key actors in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

We therefore urge the government of Lesotho to reconsider Recommendations 98.2, 4 and 5, and take action to bring its legislation into conformity with internatiponal standards, by repealing legislation which criminalizes same-sex conduct between consenting adults.

Thank you Mr. President.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

UPR Guinea United Nations Human Right Council Geneva


UPR: Guinea
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network & Pan-Africa ILGA
United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva. 21st September 2010


Presented by Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr. President, distinguished members of the delegation,

I am pleased to make this statement on behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Pan-Africa ILGA. In the recent UPR of Guinea, stakeholders submitted reports recommending that Guinea decriminalize sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex, noting that under Article 325 of the 1998 Penal Code same-sex activity between consenting adults is criminalised.

We urge Guinea to give serious consideration to these recommendations. Criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct constitutes a violation of established international human rights law and a major blow to public health.

Just last Friday, in a high-level panel held in conjunction with the current session of the Human Rights Council, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivered a statement, saying:

“Laws criminalizing people on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity violate the principle of non-discrimination. They also fuel violence, help to legitimize homophobia and contribute to a climate of hate. That is why in May of this year during a visit to Malawi, I called for such laws to be reformed worldwide. No doubt deeply rooted cultural sensitivities can be aroused when we talk about sexual orientation. Social attitudes run deep and take time to change. But cultural considerations should not stand in the way of basic human rights”

These concerns have also been raised by the UN Human Rights Committee, which has noted that laws criminalizing homosexuality “run counter to the implementation of effective education programmes in respect of HIV/AIDS prevention” by driving marginalized communities underground, a finding supported by UNAIDS and other key actors in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

We appreciate the government of Guinea’s understanding and therefore urge the government to ensure compliance with international standards by:

• Repealing article 325 of the 1998 Penal Code, which criminalizes same sex activity between consenting adults.
• Promoting policies which ensure equality of access to public health services by all marginalised populations.

Thank you Mr. President.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Five Days To Go: House Of Rainbow FORUM is Moving

Dearly Beloved Friends,



Five Days To Go: House Of Rainbow FORUM is Moving



I trust all is well with you, I am extremely delighted and thankful to God for this webpage. However, we shall be moving the forum to another service provider who has kindly donated the space to us free of charge.



We would move on or before the 18th September, we would continue to keep you up to date with further instructions.



We are also on;



Facebook: HouseOfRainbow

Twitter: HouseOfRainbow

Youtube: HouseOfRainbow



Email: church@houseofrainbow.org



Webpage: www.houseofrainbow.org



Telephone: +44 (0) 208 558 3485

Mobile: +44 (0)7507 510 357



More love more power



Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

10 Days To Go: House Of Rainbow FORUM is Moving

10 Days To Go: House Of Rainbow http://spiritualityandsexuality.ning.com/ FORUM is Moving. I trust all is well with you, I am extremely delighted and thankful to God for this webpage. However, we shall be moving the forum to another service provider. We would move on or before the 18th September, we would continue to keep you up to date with further instructions. We are also on; Facebook/Twitter/Youtube: HouseOfRainbow. Email: church@houseofrainbow.org, Web: www.houseofrainbow.org, Phone: +44 (0)7507 510 357

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Hatred In the Name Of Jesus



HATRED IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

Dear Friends, I try so much not to blog the hatred I get daily in my email and also posted on all our webpages, I am posting this one below because I need your prayers for strength and endurance.



bbenjam1050 has posted a comment on your profile:

JIDE YOU ARE DEVIL INCARNATED!! YOU ARE BLASPHAMY THE NAME OF MY GOD JESUS AND YOU DONT DESERVE TO LIVE. BUT TO STONE YOU UNTIL YOU DIE A VERY PAINFUL DEATH FOR LEADING PEOPLE ASTRY AND FOR BLASPEMY AGAINST THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISSAC AND JACOB. THE CREATOR OF UNIVERSE AND EARTH.



JerryTatum posted a comment:


Not only are you going to Hell, but your taking other with you, with your teaching .that is your greatest sin .I turn you over to Satan for the destruction of your flesh ,that your soul might be save.repent now



I am a living testimony of the love of God and if anything could be of any asssurance is the Bible Reading in the Christian Lectionary today Luke 14:26 ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple"



I stand by God with my Homosexuality and I believe that I am guaranteed a place in Heaven with Jesus and all the saints before me.



The Principle of Reconciliation for me and many Homosexual Children of the living God is enshrined in Scripture.



Please read.



A)



But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people,* in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.



B)



There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit* of life in Christ Jesus has set you* free from the law of sin and of death.



C) In that renewal* there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!



What the Religious Haters are doing is Selective Discrimination out of ignorance and the greatest understanding of the ineffable love of God for ALL his children, Jesus said to the Pharisees after their action to discriminated against a blind man. Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'* 36He answered, 'And who is he, sir?* Tell me, so that I may believe in him.' 37Jesus said to him, 'You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.' 38He said, 'Lord,* I believe.' And he worshipped him. 39Jesus said, 'I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.' 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, 'Surely we are not blind, are we?' 41Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, "We see", your sin remains.



I leave them with their conscience, I am not at all worried. I repented when I accepted God into my life because He approves of my humanity including my Homosexuality. This is my TESTIMONY.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

PROJECT: An opportunity to Broadcast on Radio


There is an opportunity to Broadcast on Radio in the UK and I am looking for people with ideas so we can collaborate. A community Radio has airtime to award and it will be a great opportunity to start "Gay Africa Radio".



Aim

Broadcast LGBT issues on the airwaves as they affect LGBTI people of Africa descent in the UK and also highlight many activities and news from around the world related to Africans, at home and abroad.



What are we looking for at this stage?

People with incredible ideas, you do not need to be an expert in broadcasting.



Topical issues connecting/relating to Homosexuality in Africa and for LGBTI people of African Descent abroad.



If you are interest or want to be part of the project, it doesnt matter where you are as we can work electronically, please contact me on +44208558 3485 or +447507510357.



regards



Rowland Jide Macaulay

Monday, August 30, 2010

House Of Rainbow is Four Years Old

House Of Rainbow was founded by Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay, a Christian community welcoming and affirming to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex people in Nigeria. A Bible believing ministry that also welcome people of other faith. Webpage www.houseofrainbow.org, www.twitter.com/houseofrainbow, www.facebook.com/houseofrainbow, email us at church@houseofrainbow.org, +447507510357

Monday, August 23, 2010

RJMM.CO.UK - Update


RE: RJMM.CO.UK

"Our business is a consultancy, service provision on education and support of Human Rights affecting Sexual Minority of African Descent. We have a great understanding of the politics of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Africa with a background of 15 years collective experience in this field".

I am writing to you to inform you of our products and services and would welcome further collaborations with you and your organisation. For your conveniences I have listed the products and services of RJMM.CO.UK below.

We would appreciate if you will;

1.Browse our webpage at www.rjmm.co.uk
2.Let us know how we can be of service to you
3.What products or services you are interested in
4.Call or email to arrange a time to discuss your requirements.

Products and Services

■Expert Advisor and Researcher on Sexuality and Immigration
■Training and Information on Human Rights and Activism, Sexual Health & Rights
■General Consultation on LGBTI Human Rights
■NGO representative at the United Nations Human Rights Council
■Country Specific Report and Analysis on Sexual Minority
■Motivational Speaker/Panellist
■Conference leader/Project Management
■Liberal Theologian/Preacher
■TV/Radio Participation/Expert contributor
■Human Rights Activist, Author and Publisher
■Workshop & Seminar Manager
■Radio Production/Presenter

(First Consultation and Enquiries are free)

Many Regards

Rowland Jide Macaulay

ConsultantRJMM.CO.UKTelephone: +44 (0) 2085583485,

Mobile: +44 (0) 7507 510 357

Email: info@rjmm.co.uk

Monday, August 9, 2010

House Of Rainbow Online

Dearly Beloved Friends,

Re; http://spiritualityandsexuality.ning.com/

Very soon this forum and online page will close as the owners have decided to add a subscription for its use. We have enjoyed the forum for nearly two years and generated 100s of videos and discussion, we have prayed together, shared devotion, raise many issues.



There are currently 575 members and growing.



We are working to moving our information and sharing page to http://www.houseofrainbow.org, please make a note of this for to be able to connect with us in future.



More Grace More Power

Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay
House Of Rainbow Fellowship London
+44 (0) 2085583485, +44 (0) 7507 510 357

House Of Rainbow Metropolitan Community Church, Lagos Nigeria
+234 1 741 0978, +234 (0)805 241 7256
+234 (0) 805 256 7170 Nigeria

Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay Ministries
Skype & Yahoo ID; revjide
http://www.facebook.com/RowlandJideMacaulay
Alternative email; revjide@yahoo.com

ONLINE Ministries
Video Messages; www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow
Web; www.rjmm.co.uk
Web; www.houseofrainbow.org
Web; www.mccchurch.org
Web; http://www.wouldjesusdiscriminate.org/

Saturday, July 31, 2010

House Of Rainbow Fellowship London AUGUST 2010


House Of Rainbow Fellowship Prayer and Praise August 2010.

Thursday 5th August 2010, 6.30pm
House Of Rainbow Fellowship presents a monthly Prayer and Praise evening in London on the first Thursday of the month 5th August, from 6.30pm to 8pm, with an inclusive gospel of Jesus, celebrating the ineffable love of God for all people. Come Just as you are, to an inclusive space to pray and safe space to praise. www.houseofrainbow.org For info Call/text +447507510357, email: church@houseofrainbow.org

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Video: Africa's Last Taboo: must see documentary now on YouTube



Video: Africa's Last Taboo: must see documentary now on YouTube
By Paul Canning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyEFfL9GbRw

Dispatches is UK TV channel Channel 4’s highly successful, sometimes controversial pioneering documentary series that critically covers a vast range of topics and areas.

In a recent episode entitled ‘Africa’s Last Taboo’, Sierra Leonean filmmaker and reporter Sorious Samura traveled across Africa.

In Mtwapa, Kenya, the scene of an attempted pogrom of gays which followed false reports of a 'gay wedding' earlier this year (see our reports), he begins to discover the levels of hate and prejudice that are driven not only by communities, but also religious organisations and governments, and meets some of the young men who have suffered because they are gay.

"They would have burned him alive." "Because he's gay?" "Because he's gay," he is told.

Amazingly Samura asks some of those who participated in the pogrom, "if I was to say to you now I was gay, what would have happened?"

A local Imam and bishop confirm to him that gays should be killed.

The man dragged from the HIV clinic in Mtwapa, Kenya, HIV/Aids clinic - in pictures which went around the world - tells Samura that he had been warned by police that he would be killed.



He says he lives in fear. His mother supports him but his father does not.

Another Kenyan gay man tells says Samura of how he was attacked and had paraffin poured on him.

I heard someone shouting "put a fire on him".
To those who did this he said:

I cannot say anything to him. I think we have no rights, gays have no freedom.
Samura tracks down a riot leader caught on video who says if it is his brother who is gay or "my son, I will burn him."

In an interview with an HIV+ gay male sex worker, who is raising his young sister in a hovel, the common belief of his often married clients is that anal sex is less risky than vaginal sex.

This attack on a clinic providing HIV-focussed services, including to gay men, highlights how same-sex transmission is often treated, or more usually ignored, in much of Africa. "Many [gay men] are dying needlessly", says Samura.

Unfortunately Samura does not report on the follow up work which civil rights groups did following the attempted pogrom. This work shows that such homophobia can be countered by well supported grass-roots work.

Mbale in Uganda, host of a large anti-gay rally in April, is where Fred Wasukira and his then partner Brian were arrested and were held in custody. Samura conducts an astonishing interview with the local police about how they were caught and this results in the policeman interviewed pontificating on the 'use of the anus'. He speaks to the doctor who examined them to prove they'd had sex. The doctor agrees that in doing this he was violating their human rights.

Samura interviews Fred, now in Kampala and staying with his sister. She say that customers in her restaurant have threatened to desert her because of her support for her brother: "they don't want him to touch plates, our drinks or anything."

At a bar in Kampala where gays are accepted and can "queenie around" Samura meets a man who a gay activist has had a crush on. Told by the man that "I've already says no", Samura asks "You're not going to give up?"


The activist, Gerard, tells him about his life in Uganda: "it's about being abused every day."


He attends a Christian rally where Lou Engle, notorious American anti-gay activist, is in attendance alongside numerous white Americans. The Ugandan pastor says that the disavowal by US evangelicals of Uganda's 'kill the gays' bill is 'just for the media'.

Samura confronts the pastor with a former worker for his church who is gay (it's Gerard, the gay activist). He dismisses him saying "homosexuality is a Western colonisation."

After a pointless hour's discussion, where the pastor says tells him he should be imprisoned, Gerard says:

Whether they like it or not, we exist. Whether the laws are here or not, we shall be here.
In Malawi he asks human rights activist Dunker Kamba outside the trial of Stephen Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga about the idea that homosexuality is 'un-Africa'. Says Kamba, how come we have a traditional word for a homosexual from before the British colonialists imposed a law?

Samura visits Tiwonge in prison and comes away moved and shocked. He speaks with gay men, who are disguised, in Malawi. "Everybody's afraid, we are living undrground", he is told.

Malawi's our home. Where we are supposed to live? But it seems as if we are somewhere where it is not our home.

We want to be free.
He visits Tiwonge after his release. Tiwonge says when the pardon was announced that the other inmates "lifted me up in the air. They were dancing, some were crying."

Asked about his challenge to Malawi's attitude to gays Tiwonge says:

Everyone is born free. Freedom is for everyone and should not be limited.

I cannot change. I won't change. I'll be this way until I die.

Samura wrote for Channel Four about his experiences making Africa's Last Taboo and the prevailing attitude towards sexuality in Africa.

According to an old African proverb, or should I say according to conventional wisdom, 'a child doesn't just get up and walk, it will first of all learn to crawl' – and the same goes for every race on earth.

There's a lot of talk in the Western media and even classrooms today about sexual attitudes but in Africa we still find the word 'sex' extremely difficult to mention, let alone discuss. Even now as a full grown man with my own children, I cannot talk about sex, or menstruation or even childbirth with my old man because to him all these are taboos, and he gets really angry whenever I try to.

There are a lot of things my dad and his mates would not entertain, but the one thing that makes them go mad even today is when somebody tries to talk to them about gay and lesbians. 'They are devils, evil bastards or nasty animals not fit to be amongst human beings'. These are just some of the words my father and his friends would use to describe gay people and this was exactly how my friends and I, and millions more across Africa, were brought up to view homosexuals.

Somehow we used to be a bit tolerant towards girls, because it was always rumoured that girls in boarding homes tend to have sex with each other, but we always concluded that this was something they would outgrow.

I was one of those who would tease and provoke you until you broke if we suspected you had gay tendencies. We would perhaps set you up to fight with girls we believed could beat you up – and once you lost that fight we would then start giving you all sorts of female names – but that was as far as it would go. We just had no way to talk about it to our parents, even when found two boys having sex, or dressing or behaving like girls. We would simply refer to them as dirty.

But we never even knew the word 'homosexual' existed. For me and for most of my friends, the word 'gay' or 'homosexual' only made it into our vocabularies when we were in our mid or late teens.

So it was a real challenge for me personally to make this film. It was really tough to confront some of the men who were now standing up against gay men in my continent because I knew exactly where they were coming from and what they would think about me – and it wasn't long before respectable men like Bishop Oyet in Uganda started questioning my sexuality. I spent a lot more time off camera answering questions about my sexuality than I spent interviewing some of the characters in the film.

We found out in some of these countries we filmed that, on top of coping with the rejection by their communities, it was pressure from religious leaders that has made it more difficult for gay and lesbians to come out about their sexuality in Africa – and not only African religious leaders either. We found American Christian preachers who had come over to help their African brethren in their fight against homosexuality. We also found out that not only has this homophobia led to a lack of sexual education but it also plays a significant role in the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

There is no doubt that this topic is clearly one of the last few taboos that still remains in Africa. As the Western world was some 30 years ago, the people of Africa are still on a journey of understanding, learning to crawl before they can walk.
The documentary can be viewed on Youtube.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

What Is Happening About Town?



What is happening about town?

• Thursday 22nd July 3 to 4pm I will be at Voice for Africa Radio Station 94.3fm doing a Live Interview, this will be broadcast in to the London Area. Tune in.
• Saturday 24th July- 11am to 4pm Volunteers Open day at the Rukus Federation, this is a Black LGBT archiving event at Kairos in Soho. You can arrive anytime. FREE entry
• Saturday 24th July 6pm Nigerian film “The Fake Prophet” by Teco Benson, cost from £10. You can see the trailer at - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBfZQqTh2Fw, Call ticket hotline 0845 313 8391
• Sunday 25th July , St Barnabas Anglican church is having a special service at 10am followed by a BBQ, all are welcomed, St Barnabas Road London E17, FREE entry
• Saturday 31st July Quiz night 6.30pm at the Stoke Newington Methodist Church, if you are interested we can form a team for House Of Rainbow and or just enjoy the event. £10 per person
• Saturday 31st July from 10pm/midnight, The Victoria Bar Party, one of the local night clubs in Walthamstow, 186 Hoe Street London E17, £5 before midnight.
• Tuesday 3rd Aug, 6 to 10.30pm I will be on a Panel discussion at a national event in Bethnal Green organised by Big UP. FREE entry
• Thursday 5th Aug is the next House Of Rainbow Fellowship at 6.30-8pm, tagged Sing, Clap and Dance in East London, FREE entry
• Saturday 7th Aug is the Gay Pride in Brighton
• Saturday 14th Aug is the UK Black Gay Pride in London. I have been asked to lead a workshop and I am hoping to get tickets for the group. Talk soon and have a great day. visit website: www.ukblackpride.org.uk/ or email us on: info@ukblackpride.org.uk

For more information please call +44(0)7507510357 or visit www.houseofrainbow.org

Saturday, July 17, 2010

UK Supreme Court upholds LGBT Asylum seekers

UK Supreme Court upholds LGBT Asylum seekers must not be sent back to countries with risk to their lives.

The Justice for Gay Africans [JfGA] Society heartily welcomes the ruling by the Supreme Court that gay men and women should not be sent ‘back to live discretely’ in countries with homophobic laws.

This ruling is a landmark and goes a long way to ensure that LGBTI people have a fair hearing when seeking safety in the UK from perceived or known persecution in their home country. As the Home Secretary has welcomed this ruling, implementation should be immediate and loopholes checked against as recent researches, like the 'No Going Back' by the Stonewall highlighted a high level of ignorance, disbelief & sheer hatred by immigration staff who handle these cases.

From many indications, it is disheartening to see and know that many ordinary individuals do not know nor understand this grave wickedness carried out by their government through an immigration system riddled with staff who show no humane compassion towards vulnerable people who run here for safety from persecution and forceful lifestyle.

“This is great news. It is consoling to know that someone really cares and recognises the dangers of asking people to ‘go back [to homophobic countries] and live discretely’ hence living a lie for the rest of their lives. The discretion test case confirms that majority of people of this country [UK] are compassionate and understands that ‘living discretely’ contravenes the idea of freedom by all ramifications. We now hope that the government will implement this recommendation sincerely and that other countries bound by the 1951 Convention will follow this excellent judgement”, says Godwyns Onwuchekwa of JfGA.

We have a strong belief in the coalition government to make good this opportunity to improve the image of the UK as a country with respect and support for human dignity and liberty.



NOTE FOR EDITORS (Please circulate amongst your contacts)

Justice for Gay Africans Society (JfGA) is a pressure group based in London and founded by LGBT people of Black and African origin. Our mission is to use civil approaches to bring a change of attitude in black and African people in UK, Africa and other black countries where homosexuality is criminalised and homophobia is rife. We also aim to keep the insecure and inhuman state of treatment of LGBT people in these countries on the top of agenda of the international communities.

For more information, please visit www.jfga.org.uk or email info@jfga.org.uk



Godwyns Onwuchekwa

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

BBC Radio World Service with Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay


"A BBC Radio World Service Interview with Rev Jide

Click Here to listen http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p008grqh "

Broadcasts
Wed 7 Jul 201012:32BBC World Service.Wed 7 Jul 201016:32BBC World Service.Thu 8 Jul 201000:32BBC World Service.Thu 8 Jul 201004:32BBC World Service.Sat 10 Jul 201005:32BBC World Service.Sat 10 Jul 201020:05BBC World Service.Sun 11 Jul 201002:05BBC World Service.Sun 11 Jul 201011:32BBC World Service.Sun 11 Jul 201023:05BBC World Service

Jide Macaulay was born into a devout Pentecostal Christian family in Lagos, Nigeria. His father is a well-known theologian.

As a child, Jide loved church more than playing with his friends.

But around the age of 11, he began to become aware that he was different from other boys.

Much to his horror, he realised that he was gay.

In conversation with Michael Ford, Jide recalls the inner conflicts he went through as a teenager and a young man, in a country where it is almost inconceivable that anyone can be both a committed Christian and homosexual.

We hear how he learnt to embrace his orientation after a failed marriage.

Leaving behind the deep shame he had felt, he founded a church for gay and lesbian people in Lagos: the House of Rainbow.

Driven out of the country by death threats, Jide now continues his ministry to African gay and lesbian Christians from his home in London, through a vibrant "virtual" church. He has become a well-known voice in Africa and beyond.

Monday, July 5, 2010

OPEN LETTER TO HOMOPHOBES - THE TRUTH


Open Letter to Homophobes.

Far too many people play God and dehumanize Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans, and Intersex people throughout the world, in every culture, race, background etc.

The discrimination is so bad that it leaves many LGBTI people wondering and asking questions. This letter to Homophobes is being reproduced to answer many questions people have asked me.

Both heterosexuals and homosexual people, People of all faith have claimed that homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22 and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.

The following is an open letter to all Homophobes...(I also pray and hope that gay people will learn that they are children of the living God.)

Dear Homophobes,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your bigoted rhetoric, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, they are clobbered with Leviticus 18:22 which clearly state it to be an abomination...End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighbouring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odour for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problems are my neighbours. They claim the odour is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbour who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. Clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

The Other Child of the living God.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Press Release:Pan Africa ILGA Publishes Gay Map


Press Release: Pan Africa ILGA publishes Gay Map.

38 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships between consenting adults in Africa, four with death penalty.


The map was launched together with the 4th edition of the State-Sponsored Homophobia published by ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. The report is a collection of legislation criminalising consensual sexual acts between persons of the same sex in private over the age of consent*. Maps are available in French, English, Portuguese and Spanish. http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/1161



ILGA is a world-wide network of national and local groups, with more than 700 member organizations from every continent and representing 110 countries, dedicated to achieving equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people, wants to name and shame the States which at the end of the first decade of the 21st century still treat their LGBTI citizens like lesser persons, unworthy of consideration. The unworthiness rests entirely on these States, for theirs is the shame of depriving a significant number of their citizens of dignity, respect and the enjoyment of equal rights.



*Laws relating to such acts in public, with under aged persons, by force or by any other reason are not included. Nor does it include countries where such acts are legal.



Linda RM Baumann, Co-Secretary General, Pan-Africa ILGA
Thirty-eight countries in Africa have laws criminalizing homosexuality, some with death penalty, and many more with harsh jail sentences. By far, it’s the continent with the worst laws on the books when it comes to homosexuality and other sexual minorities, a phenomenon which is in part rooted in bad colonial-era laws and political situations, religious autonomy, strong negative belief in cultural and family values, and the evil of patriarchy.”

Rev Rowland Jide Macaulay, Co-Secretary General, Pan-Africa ILGA
“The struggle against HIV/AIDS is also undermined by criminalization of same sex relationship. The Human Rights Committee has noted that laws criminalizing homosexuality “run counter to the implementation of effective education programmes in respect of HIV/AIDS prevention” by driving marginalized communities underground. Some homosexuals respond to stigmatization by moving away from their countries, communities, families; others build supportive networks outside their communities; while others struggle to keep it a secret by pretending to be heterosexual”



Pan-Africa ILGA is the African region of ILGA. Pan-Africa ILGA counts with 64 members groups in the region.



For more information on State Sponsored Homophobia and legislations affecting LGBTI people, ILGA and Pan-Africa ILGA activities around the world and at the United Nations, please contact:



Steave Nemande, Regional Coordinator for Pan Africa ILGA:

steavenemande@ilga.org

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Ten Ways You Can Follow House Of Rainbow

Ten Ways you can follow House Of Rainbow;

1) Join or Start a local group,
2) Email your prayers to us at church@houseofrainbow.org,
3) Visit our web site www.houseofrainbow.org,
4) Join our e-forum http://spiritualityandsexuality.ning.com/
5) Watch video messages, www.youtube.com/houseofrainbow,
6) Twitter and Facebook - HouseOfRainbow,
7) Chat on Yahoo/Skype; REVJIDE
8) Call/SMS +447507510357l
9) Prayer & Helpline +442085583485
10) Monthly Prayer and Praise fellowship.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Why Do Christians Discriminate?

Why do Christian Discriminate? If you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can be sure you are a Christian. You are not a Christian because you go to church, or because you do good things. The Bible says "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Christ came to die for our sins, so that "To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12) visit www.houseofrainbow.org God Bless.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

US Sec of State Hillary R Clinton Celebrates LGBT Pride 2010

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers opening remarks at an event celebrating LGBT Pride Month at the Department of State in Washington, DC June 22, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x66HWNjMPmQ, honor to the struggles of African LGBT Activists.

Monday, June 21, 2010

BBC Radio World Service with Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay


BBC Radio World Service with Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay

Heart and Soul series on the

“Spiritual Dynamics of Fame, Blame, and Shame”

Date: Wednesday 7th July 2010 @ 12:32 and 16:32.

In subsequent weeks, the same pattern is repeated for the programmes

Thursday 0032; 0532;
Saturday 0532; 2005;
Sunday 0205; 1132; 1132; 2305.

How to listen On the radio:
It's easy to listen to the BBC World Service in the UK if you have a DAB radio or TV digibox, both of which carry the World Service. For details on how and when best to listen elsewhere in the world, please use the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmeguide/

On the Internet:
If you have a PC with loudspeakers, another good way to listen in the UK or anywhere else in the world is via the Internet. This is the relevant link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/2009/03/000000_heartandsoul.shtml You can listen to each programme there from around lunchtime on the Wednesday it starts its run. You can listen in your own time, or download your programme as a free podcast during the week following the first transmission. If you miss that date, you can still listen via our online archive using the link above (click on "Listen to previous episodes").

Contact: Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay
Email: Church@houseofrainbow.org
YouTube/Twitter/Facebook: HouseOfRainbow
Phone: +442085583485, +447507510357
Web: www.houseofrainbow.org

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Exporting Hate to Africa

Exporting Hate to Africa Part 1.



Exporting Hate to Africa Part 2.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Your Questions about Homosexuality Discussed at Church

House Of Rainbow Fellowship London Answers your Questions

"ADVANCE NOTICE: Thursday 1st July 2010, 6.30pm House Of Rainbow Fellowship London, Monthly Prayer and Praise. If you have any question, "What the Bible says about Homosexuality", please send to Church@houseofrainbow.org for consideration. Next month we are going to have an interactive and Holy Spirit filled meeting, come and be a part of what God is doing in our lives. Come along and Please pass on the invitation."


Speaker; Revd Rowland Jide Macaulay
Location; London
Time/Date; 6:30pm 1st July 2010
Phone:+447507510357

Friday, June 11, 2010

UPR Gambia


UPR: Gambia
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva. 11th June 2010.

Presented by Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr. President, distinguished members of the delegation,

An issue of serious concern raised during the UPR of Gambia relates to the criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct under article 144 of the 1965 Criminal Code, punishable by up to 14 years’ imprisonment.

We are deeply concerned that Gambia did not accept the recommendations of Chile, the United States, the UK, Argentina and others to repeal these provisions, which are a violation of established international human rights law and a major threat to public health.

Arbitrary arrests have been reported pursuant to this provision, and stakeholders expressed concern at public statements by the Gambian President threatening homosexuals with expulsion from the country or beheading.

The UN Human Rights Committee has confirmed that criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct violates the rights to privacy and non-discrimination, contrary to articles 17(1) and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and runs counter to the implementation of effective education programmes in respect of HIV/AIDS prevention by driving marginalised communities underground, a position also supported by UNAIDS.

• We urge the Government of Gambia to reconsider and accept the recommendations to repeal provisions which criminalise sexual activity between consenting adults, and ensure that no-one is arrested or detained pursuant to these provisions.

• We further recommend that violence directed against any person, including because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, be vigorously prosecuted, and that incitement to violence on these grounds be condemned.

• Finally, we recommend that training be provided to police, judicial and other authorities to promote respect for all persons, including on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Thank you very much Mr President.

UPR Egypt


UPR: Egypt
Acton Canada for Population and Development &
International Lesbian and Gay Association (European Region)
United Nations Human Rights Council, Geneva. 11th June 2010.

Presented by Rowland Jide Macaulay

Mr. President, distinguished members of the delegation,

An issue of serious concern, reflected in recommendations 5, 7 and 8 of paragraph 97 of the Working Group relates to the importance of ensuring that national legislation is not misapplied to intimidate or criminalise individuals because of their actual or presumed sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

UNAIDS and other key actors in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic recognizes that criminalization of consensual same-sex conduct or HIV status has a negative impact on the spread of the virus, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon recently called for the repeal of laws against consensual same-sex conduct.

We note that the Committee against Torture, several Special Procedures, and NGOs including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have expressed concern at persons arrested and charged with the “habitual practice of debauchery”, which has been applied to criminalise sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex.

These reports also indicate instances in which detainees have been subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including in some cases being chained to hospital beds and being subjected to forcible anal examinations without consent.

According to the Compilation of UN Information, Egypt has responded that any such prosecutions or verdicts are not related to the defendants’ sexuality, sexual orientation or HIV status. We therefore urge Egypt to confirm that the “habitual practice of debauchery” provision is not to be interpreted or applied to criminalise any individual on the basis of his or her actual or presumed HIV status or sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex.

We further recommend that no other provision in Egyptian law be interpreted or applied to criminalise such activity, and that steps be taken to ensure that no-one is detained, incarcerated or mistreated because of actual or presumed HIV status or consensual adult same-sex conduct.

Finally we urge Egypt to implement education and training of police, prison, medical and other authorities to help ensure that no-one is subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on these grounds.