Bringing the "Voice" of GLBT Africans to Lambeth
By Katie Sherrod The Episcopal Cafe Several of us have been trying for months to figure out how to get the voices of GLBT Africans heard at the Lambeth Conference. Getting them there physically is very difficult, because it's hard for them to get passports and visas. Many of them can't get jobs because they are gay—or in the case of straight allies—because they are sympathetic to the GLBT cause. The British immigration people don't care why they are jobless -- they just won't let them in if they don't have a job to return to. So the idea for a Voices of Witness Africa video, similar to the Voices of Witness 2006 video produced by Louise Brooks for Claiming the Blessing, emerged. It seemed a natural way to bring the African witness into the Lambeth context. But raising money takes time, and the first bloc of funding didn't arrive until the first of June. We videotaped their stories for a video to be shown at Lambeth to as many bishops as we can corral, and perhap...