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Emmanuel Kamau,
Other Sheep co-Coordinator for Africa |
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"We need to distribute more copies of The Children Are Free" (Don't they look free!) |
| "Present-day experiences of gay Christians in Kenya and Nigeria"
February 17, 2008 |
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Jose Ortiz (in foreground), Other Sheep co-Coordinator for Africa, was one of the panelists |
| Links to Steve Parelli's writings on the "ex-gay" movement |
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| Links to Steve Parelli's 2006 ETS paper and related topic |
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| BOOK SIGNING: Jose Ortiz, right, with John Marks' wife. John Marks (center background) singing his newly published book. |
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Photo: San Marcos, TX |
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Saying good-bye at JFK airport: Emmanuel Kamau (right) hugs Victor Mukasa, his dear friend, February 16, 2008. Emmanuel has been in the States for a year now seeking asylum | |
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The four REPORTS of interest, briefly given here in this Other Sheep eNews, are covered further on our "executive" website with plenty of photos, additional links and some detailed information. We invite you to visit us there for the complete story.
Steve Parelli, MDiv., Executive Director,
and Jose Ortiz, co-Coordinator for Africa and Coordinator for Asia
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Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya come to the Bronx Bronx, NY February 16, 2008 |
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Victor Mukasa (Uganda), Emmanuel Kamau (Kenya) and Davis Mac-Iyalla (Nigeria) discuss homophobia and the African church
Photo: V. Mukasa, D. Mac-Iyally, E. Kamau
 Over lunch at the very-gay friendly Manatus Restaurant in the Village, they talked about the force of the church in Africa as the primary cause of homophobia and about the book The Children Are Free and the dire need for copies of the book to be distributed in Africa. Victor commented: The human rights organizations miss this part. Where are they in equipping us to address the church? And it is the church that is the primary cause of homophobia. (paraphrased).
 Photo at left (from left to right): Victor Mukasa (Uganda), Emmanuel Kamau (Kenya) and Davis Mac-Iyalla (Nigeria). Photo taken in front of the apartment building where Steve Parelli and Jose Ortiz live in the Bronx. Photo by Steve Parelli |
| The February 17th Maranatha - Other Sheep forum is well attended and well received
Manhattan, New York February 17, 2008 |
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| Panelists Emmanuel Kamau, Davis Mac-Iyalla and Jose Ortiz speak on gay Christian LGBT experiences in Kenya and Nigeria
"It was a healing experience for me," said panelist Emmanuel Kamau, a charismatic Catholic. "The church that had wounded me was now reaching out to me to hear me and to help me. The church had disappointed me; now it was reaching out to me."
 Panelists from left to right: Jose Ortiz (USA - Other Sheep), Davis Mac-Iyalla (Nigeria - Changing Attitude Nigeria), and Emmanuel Kamau (Kenya - Other Sheep) Photo from annual gymkhana weblog |
| The "Parelli-Ortiz" family takes part in the "American Family Outing" Lead Families training
Austin, TX February 22-24 |
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| Steve Parelli and Jose Ortiz share their "ex-gay" experience at the Lead Families training
The Parelli-Ortiz Family
 An "American Family Outing" is taking shape in the spring of 2008 so LGBT families can talk with mega-church leaders and congregation members to share the message that justice for LGBT people is compatible with Christian teaching. Pot lucks, picnics and soulful talk are the order of the day as Soulforce, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), and COLAGE invite churches to talk-the-talk so everyone is free to walk-the-walk." -from Soulforce Press Release, January 8, 2008.
 Photo: Jeff Lutes, Soulforce Executive Director, before a Lead Families training session. Jeff asked Steve and Jose to speak impromptu before this group about their "ex-gay" experience. |
| An interview with Steve and Jose published in John Marks' new book Reasons to Believe HarperCollinsPublishers
East Village, Manhattan, New York February 25, 2008 |
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From the book: "The room tore him apart. Baptist historians rose and denounced his methodology. Never in all their years had they seen Roger Williams used in such a fashion."
Above photo (left to right): Craig Detweiler of Fuller Theological Seminary, Steve Parelli, John Marks, author of Reason to Believe, and Jose Ortiz. | |
| San Jose Mission, Texas . . . just being family
February 27, 2008 |
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Photo: San Jose Mission, San Antonio, TX
What's this? . . . Jose and I just being family together . . . sightseeing, one of our shared joys.
Jose, a NYC school guidance counselor, was on vacation the week that everything happened: our guests from Africa, related meetings and appointments, and the "American Family Outing" training in Texas. So, you know what we did? We took two days on our way to Austin for the "American Family Outing" training and stopped off at San Antonio as well as two stops along I-35: San Marcos (photo at left) and Gruene (both lovely spots cited in our AAA tour book). In San Antonio, we happened upon Huckabee, presidential hopeful, in an open air meeting in front of the Alamo. And you know what? I was so into the "vacation mode" that it never crossed my mind to pull him over and set him straight (no pun intended) on the gay marriage issue. I wanted to see the Alamo, not Huckabee -- I was vacationing! with Jose, being family. Social justice would have to wait its turn... we needed refreshing together . . . then back to the work together, still being family.
Sincerely,
 (Rev.*) Steve Parelli, MDiv
*Defrocked by a local Baptist congregation for entering into a committed, loving same-sex relationship.
I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in also. John 10:16 |
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