June 14 in Chicago: Forum on LGBTI Solidarity in Africa 2014

UPDATE July 3, 2014: Did you miss the Chicago Forum on LGBTI Solidarity

in Africa program in early June, or simply want to revisit that great event?

Chicago Access Network TV has you covered!

Here are re-broadcast dates, times and channels available to everyone who has

cable TV in Chicago. CAN TV will rebroadcast the program on the following schedule:

Sunday, July 6th, 11:30 AM, Channel 21

Tuesday, July 8th, 8:00 AM, Channel 19

Wednesday, July 9th, 12:00 PM, Channel 21

Advocacy!      Support!      Accompaniment!

Thank you! to everyone who participated in the outstanding forum held yesterday afternoon at the Episcopal Church Center in Chicago!

You can learn more about the forum below, and in the soon-to-be-uploaded video recorded by CAN-TV.

Many people remained after the forum for a reception, film screening, and fundraiser to benefit:

Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM)

Encouraging faith communities and others in South Africa and 

throughout Africa to become advocates for LGBTI inclusion and affirmation.

CLASP (Chicago LGBT Asylum Support Program)

Helping LGBTI people live safely in Chicago by provide direct 

living support and welcoming environments to asylum seekers

Pledges and donations for the work of these important organizations are still being accepted! You can make a donation by check or online through the CLASP fiscal agent, Broadway United Methodist Church:

By check: Mail check payable to “Broadway United Methodist” to Broadway United Methodist Church, 3338 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657. Memo: “June 14 Forum”)

Online: Use the Broadway United Methodist online donation portal - check "special contribution" with the memo "June 14 Forum" 

Read more below about the forum panelists and topics.

Read about all the events in Chicago's 2014 LGBTI Solidarity in Africa Weekend .  .  .

Forum on LGBTI Solidarity in Africa 2014

Saturday, June 14, 2014

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Episcopal Church Center - 65 E. Huron, Chicago

Learn about the current situation of LGBTI people in Africa and discover ways to provide advocacy, support, and accompaniment.

Speakers from Inclusive & Affirming Ministries (IAM) in South Africa and CLASP (Chicago LGBT Asylum Support Program).

Some of the questions the Forum will examine include:

What is happening in Africa?

* what is the general environment in which scapegoating of LGBTI people is occurring?
* what role does politics play?
* what is the role of the churches?

What are the special public health concerns arising out of persecution of LGBTI people in Africa?

What pathways exist for persecuted LGBTI people in Africa to find safe haven?

* what is the scope and nature of the refugee challenge?
* how can travel be funded?
* how can people obtain the necessary documents?
* how else can we help meet the needs of refugees?

The Forum will include opportunities for activists with specific interests to work together, particularly in the areas of:

* Refugee settlement in the Chicago area
* Advocacy globally – how can churches and others support African efforts to protect LGBTIs?
* Advocacy to effect US government posture toward African LGBTIs seeking refuge
* Offering pathways to safe haven - other facets

Panelists

John Adewoye is a Nigerian/American gay man resident in Riverdale, IL. He came to the United States in 1999 as a Catholic priest with a secret agenda of pursuing anti-gay "conversion therapy" but discovered it to be false. This discovery and the U.S. environment emboldened him to accept himself and come out as a gay man, but at the cost of his homeland and by choice, the priesthood. He is the founder of Courage Nigeria and the Center for Integration and Courageous Living, and a co-founder of CLASP. Despite his exile, Mr. Adewoye is an active member of two coalitions working hard to overturn the “Same-sex Prohibition Act 2013” signed to law in Nigeria January 2014. He is a Chaplain at University of Chicago Medicine, a member of Chicago Gay Men Chorus, the Arch-diocesan Gay and Lesbian Outreach and Adodi National. He became a US citizen on April 7 of this year.

Victor Charles Aweke is a 31-year-old Nigerian who worked openly as a volunteer HIV and human rights advocate in his home country until recent threats of violence forced him to flee. Mr. Aweke previously worked with Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights as an Outreach Coordinator, Center for the Right to Health as the diversity program officer, on HIV Prevention Intervention Program for most-at-risk persons, Institute of Human Virology as the liaison officer on the trust research for most at-risk persons within the Abuja metropolis in Nigeria. An experienced public speaker in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States, Mr. Aweke is currently working with the Center for Integration and Courageous Living and the Chicago LGBT Asylum support program (CLASP).

Rev. Judith Kotzé is Director, Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM), South Africa. She is a lesbian who in 1995 qualified as one of the first woman ministers in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). She served the DRC from 1996 to 2000 in the multi-disciplinary ministry regarding prostitution. She has a Master’s degree in Missiology, working on Interreligious Dialogue as a model for the Intra-faith Dialogue around sexual orientation. Rev. Kotzé became Director of Inclusive & Affirming Ministries in 2011, having served in IAM in various capacities since 1997, and has traveled widely in Southern Africa as part of her activism.

The Forum is a collaboration of:

Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches
CLASP (Chicago LGBT Asylum Support Program)
Gay Liberation Network (GLN)
Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM)
South Africa
St. Luke's Lutheran Church Logan Square
Truth Wins Out

Endorsed by:

Affinity Social Services
Chicago World Can’t Wait

Special thanks to:

Chicago-based activist Brent Holman-Gomez for moderating
this afternoon’s forum. Brent works within the welcoming church
movement, immigration equality, and Gay Liberation Network.

Truth Wins Out for underwriting support for the day’s events.
Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a non-profit organization that works
to demolish the very foundation of anti-gay prejudice. See twocare.org.

Forum photography: Andy Thayer

Gay Pride 2014 in Cape Town (more images)

June 13-15, 2014 - LGBTI Solidarity in Africa Weekend

Below is a schedule of events currently under development for LGBTI Africa Solidarity Weekend in Chicago - June 13-15, 2014.

Please promote these events and email jtscarry@yahoo.com to find our how your organization can provide additional support.

UPDATE JUNE 12 - On Wednesday, June 11, John Adewoye and Victor Awekewere featured on Jerome McDonnell's Worldview program on WBEZ: Gay Nigerians fight for rights against anti-gay law. They introduced the issues and gave a preview of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday events.

Friday, June 13

AFTERNOON EVENT:

2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Symposium: Theological Resources for LGBTI Liberation
Broadway United Methodist Church - 3338 N Broadway St, Chicago

Judith Kotzé and Ingrid Schoonraad from Inclusive & Affirming Ministries (IAM) South Africa will join in conversation and reflection on the theological resources for the work of LGBTI liberation in Africa. We will consider the intersections of North American liberation theology and South African post-apartheid theology, as they inspire, encourage, and challenge the work of solidarity and liberation for LGBTI people. Join us for the conversation!

UPDATE JUNE 14 -About 30 people participated in Friday afternoon's liberation theology discussion. There was moving testimony from numerous participants, including several people from Nigeria now living in Chicago. (Photo at right: John Adewoye. Photo courtesy Pastor Lois McCullen Parr, Broadway United Methodist.)

EVENING EVENT:

6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. GLN-TV on LGBTI Solidarity in Africa
Chicago Access Network TV - cable channel 21 in Chicago

Rev Judith Kotzé joins the Gay Liberation Network's Brent Holman-Gomez to discuss issues of LGBTI solidarity in Africa, and preview the Saturday and Sunday events in Chicago (see below).


Saturday, June 14

AFTERNOON EVENT:

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Chicago Forum on LGBTI Solidarity in Africa 2014
Episcopal Church Center - 65 E. Huron, Chicago

Connect with the current situation of LGBTI people in African and discover ways to provide advocacy, support, and accompaniment.

Africans from Inclusive & Affirming Ministries (IAM) South Africa and CLASP (Chicago LGBT Asylum Support Program) will lead us. Breakout roundtables will allow everyone to get involved in efforts for US Policy, worldwide/church advocacy, pathways to safe haven, and Chicago re-settlement. Come participate in making a better day for all of us as Chicago connects with Africa!

UPDATE JUNE 15 -About 50 people participated in Saturday's event. There was moving testimony from numerous participants, including several people from Nigeria now living in Chicago. (READ FULL EVENT DESCRIPTION.) (Photo courtesy Andy Thayer.)

EVENING EVENT:

5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. -- FUNDRAISER: Reception and Film screening: Call Me Kuchu

Suggested donation: $25.  Donations benefit Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) in South Africa and CLASP (Chicago LGBT Asylum Support Program .

Wine and cheese reception at 5:00 p.m., followed by 6:00 screening of the film, Call Me Kuchu:

David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, is one of the few who dare to publicly protest state-sanctioned homophobia. Working with an idiosyncratic clan of fellow activists, David fights Uganda’s government and tabloids in the courts, on television, and at the United Nations. Because, he insists, “if we keep on hiding, they will say we’re not here.” With unprecedented access, CALL ME KUCHU depicts the last year in the life of a courageous, quick-witted and steadfast man whose wisdom and achievements were not fully recognized until after his death, and whose memory has inspired a new generation of human rights advocates. (More at callmekuchu.com )

There will be time for audience discussion following the film.

Special thanks to Truth Wins Out for providing for the costs of this event.

DONATIONS STILL BEING ACCEPTED - click here to help support this important work.


Sunday, June 15

MORNING EVENT:

 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon Worship Service of Solidarity and Welcome for LGBTI Activists from Africa
St. Luke's Lutheran Church Logan Square - 2649 N. Francisco, Chicago

(l to r) John Adewoye, Ingrid Schoonraad, Rev. Erik Christensen,
Rev. Judith Kotzé, Joe Scarry (Photo courtesy Robert Castillo.)

AFTERNOON EVENT:

2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Introducing: the Global Interfaith Network for People of all Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions (GIN-SSOGIE)
St. Luke's Lutheran Church Logan Square - 2649 N. Francisco, Chicago

UPDATE JUNE 15 -We had a fabulous introduction to GIN-SSOGIE this afternoon. Read the full description of the Global Interfaith Network for People of all Sexes, Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities and Expressions (GIN-SSOGIE).