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A Call to Prayer and Action
for
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia {IDAHO}
May 17, 2012
Each year on May 17th people around the globe together lift their voices in calling for respect and equality for LGBTI people.
Initiated in 2004 by the French academic, Louis-Georges Tin, the date coincides with the 1990 removal of homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization, and has grown to include participants in over 70 nations. The Parliament of the European Union and the governments of Spain, Belgium, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, France, Luxemburg and Brazil officially commemorate the day.
This year in the Philippines there will be a march to the Commission of Human Rights to present a list of those who have fallen victim to hate crimes, and MCC of Quezon City will sponsor the 3rd annual Flores de Mayo LGBT Pride March in Manila.
- In Morocco, Gay Maroc, an LGBT organization, will launch a national campaign to repeal Article 489, which criminalizes same sex relationships.
- In New South Wales PFLAG will host a day commemorating the families of LGBT people.
- In China, Hong Kong and Taiwan an IDAHO lesson kit will be distributed and a SAFE ZONE program to create friendly campuses for LGBT students will be initiated.
- In Kenya, Women Working with Women will host a sports tournament between LGBT teams and allies.
Many will march, demonstrate and speak out for an end to violence and in promotion of peaceful coexistence among diverse populations, calling for unity and equality.
This year the Global Justice Institute, a joint ministry of Metropolitan Community Churches and The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, is calling all our churches and communities of faith to observe IDAHO by hosting a Prayer Vigil that day or designating the Sunday before or after May 17th as IDAHO SUNDAY.
Together MCC and TFAM have congregations and groups in over 40 countries and we can be a powerful and prayerful voice for ending criminalization laws and promoting social, political and religious policies that guarantee equality for God’s LGBTI children.
An on-line video about IDAHO, suitable for educational purposes is available in English {https://player.vimeo.com/video/41191271}, in Spanish {https://vimeo.com/41429156} and in French {https://player.vimeo.com/video/41191281}. — In addition to the video, a resources for liturgical use follow this letter.
Together, we can make May 17th and the Sundays surrounding it days when the voices of LGBT people and our allies around the globe are lifted in praise for the gift of our lives and in petition for the day when the earth will be at peace with its own diversity.
In solidarity,
The Rev. Pat Bumgardner The Rev. Joseph Tolton Executive Director Director of African Affairs Global Justice Institute Global Justice Institute Metropolitan Community Churches The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries
RESOURCES FOR PRAYER VIGILS AND SUNDAY SERVICES
Scriptural Texts: Isaiah 56: 1-8 A House of Prayer for All People Micah 6:8 What does God ask of us? Only this…. Joel 2:12-14 Come back to me with all your heart…. Amos 5:24 Let justice flow like a mighty stream…. Esther 4:12-14 For such a time as this…. Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice support your throne Matthew 8:5-13 Healing of the gay soldier’s lover Matthew 10:1-15 Jesus commission’s the disciples; it will go better for Sodom and Gomorrah than for those who did not receive you.
Hymns: Caridad y Comprension Let There be Peace on Earth Coming to Our Own Lift Every Voice and Sing Come Let Us Dream O Freedom Bring Many Names Once to Every One and Nation Go Ye Therefore Pueblo Libre Dona Nobis Pacem The Voice of God is Calling Every Time I Feel the Spirit This Little Light of Mine For the Healing of the Nations We Shall Overcome God Make Me a Means of Your Peace We’ve Come This Far by Faith I Have Decided to Follow Jesus When Israel was in Egypt Land In Christ there is no East or West You’ve Got the Whole World
Prayer: O God, Today we join our voices with those of LGBT people and our allies around the globe in both thanking you for the diversity of creation and praying for the safety and protection of all life. You know the many Pharoahs we face as a people ~ LGBT people in Russia dare not speak a word of affirmation without fear of imprisonment; our people in Uganda live under the pending threat of a law that would put them to death. {Here in …. *insert your local situation.} Long ago, You spoke to Oppressors everywhere with the call to “Let my people go.” Help us today to find ways to make that call ring in the ears of religious and social and political leaders everywhere. Help us to take that call to heart ourselves, so that every word we speak, every deed we do might be of use to You and Your plan for all creation coming to know the glorious freedom of the Children of God. We make this prayer trusting in the name and the vision of Jesus the Christ. +Amen