homosexuals may attend but not lead anglican churches – bishop

By Jabulani Dube (BTM Fellow)

KENYA – July 15, 2008: Diocesan Bishop Thomas Kogo of Kenya’s Anglican Church has refuted the reports by media that gays and lesbians are banned from attending the Anglican Church unless they renounce their sexual orientation.

Reports stated that Kogo said the Church will forbid homosexuals from attending Anglican churches after his arrival from the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) held between 22 and 29 June this year.

However, Kogo denies this saying that homosexuals are not banned from the church because they need to sit in church and seek God’s mercy and grace for them to change.
“Let it be known, loud and clear that gays and lesbians were, and are not banned from the Anglican Church. The only thing we are refusing and denouncing strongly is for them to be ordained as priests and Bishops. These, to the Anglican Church, are Holy orders”, Kogo set the record straight.

He added: “I know that Jesus ate and dined with the sinners, to which I am not opposed to, but when it comes to the question of gays and lesbians wanting to lead the church, then that is our parting point.”

Kogo argued that God created and ordained marriage between a man and a woman, represented by Adam and Eve, making any family unit blessed and sanctioned by the Word of God and Holy Scriptures be between a man and a woman.

However, Reverend Steve Parelli, Executive Director of Other Sheep, an ecumenical Christian organisation that includes lesbians, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LBGTI) people differs.
“The Bishop [Kogo] does not have a monopoly on how to interpret the Bible, since he makes the claim that the Bible takes his position”, he asserted.

Responding to the Anglican Church’s stance on homosexuality, Peter Wanyama, a gay Anglican man said: “The Anglican Church has taken an ungodly position. This is not a decision likely to favour the church of Christ. It is a very divisive idea, and it beats all logic of oneness in God.”
Wanyama feels betrayed “by the very people who claim to be the representatives of Christ.”
Meanwhile, Behind The Mask asked Kogo if the issue of homosexuality is dividing the Anglican Church.

He responded: “No it is not dividing the Church against pro-gay and anti-gay but it is making those difficult decisions which are less popular. I can say, we either change the structure or change the people. Why do lesbians and gays feel sidelined when they are told to sit in the congregation?”, he questioned.

Gays and lesbians should not feel sidelined because “they all have a direct entry to God Almighty, but let them respect the ordained Ministries in the Anglican Church”, he reasoned.