The Global Fight for LGBT Rights
HRC Hosts a Timely Conversation Between Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda and Bishop John Selders of Amistad UCC in Hartford, CT
June 9, 2010
Bishop Christopher Senyonjo
Bishop Senyonjo’s ministry to LGBT people is born out of compassionate listening. In 1998, after 24 years serving as the Bishop of Buganda, he retired and began counseling young gay men who had nowhere to turn. They came to him with stories of deep fear and unhappiness, wondering whether God really loved them. This was a time when anti-LGBT violence in Uganda was increasing in vehemence as Uganda's President Museveni called for greater criminalization against homosexuality. Through his counseling with young gay men, Bishop Senyonjo’s faith was strengthened and his bold advocacy became even bolder. He worked with those he counseled to form the LGBT faith-based advocacy organization Integrity Uganda where he served as chaplain and founding chair.
In 2001 the Anglican Church of Uganda denounced Integrity Uganda and Bishop Senyonjo was vehemently attacked for his support of the group. He routinely received death threats and in 2006 Archbishop Henry Orombi stripped him of all church responsibilities and financial support. He is no longer recognized as a bishop in the Anglican Church of Uganda. Through the personal losses and threats, his advocacy for LGBT people has never dampened. For those who love justice he remains the true bishop of Uganda and a pastor for the world.
Bishop John L. Selders, Jr.
A member of the HRC Religion Council, Bishop Selders is an ordained minister serving the United Church of Christ; the organizing pastor of Amistad United Church of Christ, Hartford, CT; Program Coordinator of Zezzo House (an 18-unit housing project) and Lead Principal for The Human Connection Project. In the fall of 2004, he was consecrated to the office of Bishop in the Church of god and set as Presider of a new religious body, The Inter-Denominational Conference of Liberation Congregations and Ministries (ICLCM), an interfaith, ecumenical fellowship of radical inclusivity. He is a teacher, lecturer, workshop leader, an HIV/AIDS educator and activist with numerous scholarly citations for his work.