Guyana’s first “Open and Affirming” Church, was launched two weeks ago under the title “Hope of Christ Anglican Church The United Anglo-Catholic Church.”
An Open and Affirming Church is one which affirms the full inclusion of persons who fall under the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community into the church’s life and ministry. Open and affirming churches have reportedly been in existence since 1985.
According to one of the founding members of the church, Dillon Mohamed, the idea to establish such an organisation in Guyana came about during the 2019 LGBT Pride Parade in Georgetown. Mohamed said that while at the parade he noticed, now pastor of the church, Marvin Livan, with a group within the pride march and they had the banner “LGBTQ Christians”. He noted that it caught his attention as he has always been active in the church and after coming out to his family in 2018, he was asked to step down from the leadership positions he held in the church where he was a member. “It was very difficult to try and bridge the gap because all I’ve been taught is that you can’t be both, you can either be Christian or LGBTQ”, he said.
“When I saw Marvin and the group at the pride parade last year, I was like, this is interesting, I thought I was the only person who considered myself LGBTQ and Christian,” Mohamed said while adding that they then began discussions on scriptures in the Bible that seem to be homophobic, most notably in the more recent translations of the Bible. He further stated that it was in that conversation that they began to discuss ways to do something for LGBTQ persons of faith. It led them to begin planning and seeking avenues outside of Guyana as this country has never had an LGBTQ affirming church before. The first connection that they landed was the United Anglo-Catholic Church of America and as such their church was formed under the Church of America’s leadership.
Livan told Stabroek News that he had a vision of starting an “all inclusive Christian movement” some time back and following discussions with friends about starting that movement, it came to life. He noted that before the thought of the church, he attended an Anglican church regularly, where he would have invited LGBTQ friends to come and fellowship, however, most were not comfortable for though they loved to worship and loved being Christians, they always had the fear that persons at the church would utter homophobic remarks to them.
A committee was subsequently formed which included persons from each section of the LGBTQ+ community. At the first meeting of the committee which was held in October 2019, they discussed the roles, functions, and services that the church would offer. Livan stated that within two months, they had two activities planned which were completed and the church was registered legally in Guyana. The church’s secretary Aishah McKenzie explained that through the church’s “We Care Foundation” they offer HIV testing and counselling and taking care of LGBTQ persons who are homeless and/or disowned by their families. McKenzie stated that they will also be looking into assisting persons in finding LGBTQ-friendly jobs and housing. Following the second meeting in November, the date of the first service was decided. It was held on January 5th, 2020 at the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) building in Georgetown.
Mohamed disclosed that within the initial plans for the church, they are planning for its expansion and to even obtain their own building as they are currently being housed at both SASOD and Guyana Trans United (GTU).
While other churches would have Men’s and Women’s Ministries, the church would have various ministries to cater to however someone chooses to be identified. He added that plans are also in place to establish a Sunday school as contrary to popular belief, a number of LGBTQ persons have children of their own. “Of course the church is not a ‘Gay’ church, you know how people label churches… it’s not a church for the LGBTQ community only, its open to everyone, it’s just that it is LGBTQ affirming, of course all are welcome,” Mohamed said.
When asked how the church is prepared to preach or teach around scriptures that have been branded as homophobic, Mohamed told Stabroek News that both he and Livan are graduates of Bible colleges. He noted that he knows that God does not hate LGBTQ persons or anyone while adding that sexuality is not a choice. He asked if God hates homosexuality why are persons always that way and are unable to change. Mohamed who is also a polyglot noted that while doing research and reading the New Testament in its original Greek text form, he discerned that the texts are however, not homophobic.
He went on to explain that in Paul’s writings in the New Testament there are texts that were translated to be homophobic. However, the original Greek texts speak about male ritual temple prostitution and male pederasty (in ancient Greece, a socially acknowledged romantic relationship between an adult male and a younger male usually in his teens). “Those were the things that Paul was really writing against, it wasn’t against same sex attraction. So the word was wrongfully translated”.
Livan who has been an ordained minister since 2014 however stated that the mission of the church is to hold strongly to the four gospels of Christ. He too noted that God in all of his teachings never said a word about homosexuals, but preached love. “The woman caught in the act of adultery was the perfect example of him preaching love and him not siding with ‘the law’” he said. He went on to add that from his knowledge there are many references to homosexual relationships in the Bible.
He further referenced a number of other verses within the Bible, and then made it clear that the church, although recently referenced as a church specifically for LGBTQ persons, is not. Livan said it is a church for everyone; the only difference is that it is an affirming church, which publicly accepts LGBTQ persons and allows them to be a part of the church’s ministry. “We are here to preach a message of love, a message of inclusion.”
