LAST YEAR OTN saw a large rise in requests for support from around the world, particularly from Uganda, where the President passed a harsh Anti-Homosexuality Act last month.

In the closing communion service at our national gathering on Saturday 10th June, OTN trustee Neil Rees, who has more than 30 years’ experience in international mission, shared prayers of solidarity and a call to action for our LGBTQIA+ siblings. Names have been changed to protect vulnerable individuals.

In November last year, I received another international enquiry via the OTN website from Necmi in Turkey. He is one of a growing number of international enquiries we are receiving:

Hello my name is Necmi, I am a Christian and gay. I am from Turkey. Jesus found me 11 years ago. I want to keep in touch with people who are like me. it just feels free to text you. Thank you very much for your time.

Over the last six months I have met online with him, listened to his story, and the challenge of being a Christian from a Muslim background in this Islamic country. He hid his sexuality as best as he could from everyone, dodging questions about when he was going to find himself a good wife. He was outed by a church leader and had to leave the city where he worked. February's earthquake rocked his city, Antakya, leaving his home destroyed and 28,000 dead. Last month he succeeded in his bid to emigrate to somewhere where he can practise his faith in freedom, and live his sexuality openly - in Australia.

I enjoyed the church I want to visit again. It's full of gay people. and a gay man was reading the bible and leading. The worship is incredible. It's a gay church but worship and sermons are amazing. They really focus on God I loved it so much. It's a really church where I can feel God's presence and hear his word… just like other churches.

Many enquiries reveal deep need and pain. Vera, a trans woman from South Sudan, one of some 200,000 refugees in a Kenyan refugee camp, wrote:

Trauma, depression and anxiety are killing me, making my painful memories catch up with my ugly present resulting in a disastrous mix. I'm losing my dignity, my freedom and my faith in humanity. I feel horrible, terrified, uncomfortable, nervous and very sad.

But God knows them, just as he knows us. At the same time we received an enquiry from Fr. Andrew, a a priest who has experienced first hand opposition because of his inclusive ministry, who has now founded the first open support group for LGBTQIA+ people in Kenya. We connected them together, and Fr. Andrew was able to visit Vera in the refugee camp.

Not all the stories have such a happy ending, such as in Uganda, from where we have received numerous enquiries, like this one from Fortune:

I am writing to you because I see you are an advocate for LGBT rights seeking for your sincere support. I am gay and my family/friends take it as a curse. To be honest, I didn’t choose this, it’s just me. It’s almost becoming impossible to live here. Some people are just homophobic for no reason. Others think they need to protect their children from people like me. I am not doing anything wrong but am finding it very difficult. Wherever you go, everyone looks at you with disgust in the community. People have always been there trying to bring me down for it’s unacceptable to be gay here. But all that was still manageable while it was someone insulting me without harm, until the words turned into actions. Right now I can’t freely move or express myself unless I am looking for death.

We have been corresponding with several human rights organisations and grass-roots support networks who offer support to LGBTQIA+ people. It is a frightening situation that severely limits their activities. Dembe and Henry told us:

Uganda already had laws (from UK colonial era) prohibiting male same-sex sexual relations and social stigma was strong. The recent anti-homosexuality bill (March, signed into law 29 May) includes life imprisonment, death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, 20 years prison for promotion of homosexuality (=support), 10 years prison for attending a purported same-sex marriage, 7 years for renting premises to anyone engaging in homosexual activity, 5 years for failing to report homosexual activity, forced conversion therapy...’

Uganda is not alone. 11 other countries have same-sex relations punishable by death: Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen...

The saddest thing in Uganda is that the anti-homosexuality law has been enacted with the full support of the Church of Uganda. The Most Rev. Dr. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, wrote:

‘The Church of Uganda welcomes the diligent work of Parliament and His Excellency, the President, in crafting the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023.... This ensures that Uganda does not set a legal precedent that will be difficult to overcome in the future. The LGBTQ-affirming countries have shown us the negative consequences. We thank the President for not surrendering to their threats and for protecting Uganda from their paths of self-destruction… The Bible teaches, and scientific studies have shown, that children flourish when they are raised by both their mother and father, and with the presence, involvement, and support of their extended family. This is the African way; this is the Biblical way; and this is the way shown to us through natural law.’

The effects of the bill (even before it was signed into law) have been catastrophic: lynchings; arrests; raids on safe houses; homelessness; denial of access to medical services; withdrawal of support, help, and advice; and a very difficult time for support agencies.

But God sees, hears, and cares. Psalm 72:12-14 says:

‘For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.’

 So let us pray for these, our brothers, sisters and siblings, and may our prayer and solidarity sustain them:

Jesus, Word Incarnate, You came to give honour to those forgotten, overlooked and misjudged, to the misunderstood and undervalued, to all who are rejected, abandoned and mistreated. You came to us as one of us, vulnerable to our shared human condition, yet also bringing the love of God as a real and tangible presence in the world.

Help us to be that presence today. Help us to love as you would love, to care as you would care, to pray as you would pray.

Let our hearts touch where our hands cannot.

Let our tears speak when our words fail.

And may our prayers bring comfort to those in distress. We pray for vulnerable LGBTQIA+ people across Uganda, and ask you for:

• protection from evil, and from those who would harm them

• secure and safe places to live

• adequate food and clean water

• resources to maintain personal dignity and hygiene

• people they can trust, those who will be there for them, friends and supporters

• people prepared to advocate on their behalf

• access to health care and medication

• support with mental and emotional health

• dignity and worth, value and respect as individuals

• opportunities to work and be fulfilled

• peace in the present situation, and hope for the future

• for the human rights and constitutional appeal process, and the repeal of this destructive and abusive legislation.

Lord, we also pray for Uganda's lawmakers, Christians and church leaders. Move and stir their hearts. Awaken them with Your righteousness and mercy so that, they would recognise the humanity and vulnerability of LGBTQIA+ people in Uganda, and pursue justice and compassion rather than judgement and victimisation.

And Lord God, we pray for ourselves. Help us to be your ears to listen to their cries, your voice offering them love and acceptance as we speak out on their behalf, and your arms to embrace and defend them.

Lord, give us deep empathy, moral clarity, and persistent courage. Help us to stay present, be prayerful, and compelled to action – to be active participants in Your Kingdom here on this earth. Strengthen each of us to speak up for those whose voices are not heard, and whose plights are ignored.

• Prayer: Continue to pray for our siblings in Uganda; read news reports or connect with people in Uganda, and pray regularly for them. 

• Advocacy:

  • Write to your MP to call for justice for our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Uganda, using this template letter,

  • Consider signing this petition calling for a ban on Ugandan MPs and clergy who supported the Anti-Homosexuality Act from travelling to the UK.

• Giving: Emergency funding is needed for direct support for vulnerable individuals. If you wish to offer financial support, please consider one of the following:

  • Royal Rays Initiative, a grass-roots Ugandan organisation, is running a crowdfunder based in Canada,

  • Global Black Men Connect, a US based organisation sending finance to local Ugandan partners,

  • Kaleidoscope Trust, a UK based organisation with a particular focus on LGBT+ rights in former UK colonies in the Commonwealth.

May we be a people marked by justice, mercy, and humility.

‘For you will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. You will take pity on the weak and the needy and save them from death. You will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in your sight.’ - Psalm 72:12-14 (NIV).