NuWine Press comes to Harlem to talk RAW!

We are pleased to announce that NuWine Press (www.nuwinepress.com) – the all-inclusive and LGBT-affirming voice of independent Christian publishing and LGBT Fatih Leaders of African Descent will be sponsoring a book reading for RAW: A Poetic Journey – finding a Way from Conflict to Revelation at Hue-Man Bookstore 2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Harlem, NYC on October 19.  More information here!

Review: RAW: A Poetic Journey – Finding a Way from Conflict to Revelation

RAW: A Poetic Journey – Finding a Way from Conflict to Revelation by Aimee Maude Sims
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book published by NuWine Press: The All-Inclusive and LGBT-Affirming Voice of Independent Christian Publishing. It is a collection of poetry from LGBT Christians and friends. The poems are vulnerable and honest. Each poet is on the path to self acceptance – there are housewives who have just separated from their husbands and acknowledged their sexual orientation all the way to long-time lesbian pastor Barbara Caesar-Stephenson, declaring that her place in heaven is so assured that "You can’t crown Him (Jesus) ’til I get there." The poems are encouraging to anyone who’s ever faced internal conflict – and needed some revelation. It’s a journey worth taking.

View all my reviews

How to be a Christian Without Annoying Everyone

How to be a Christian Without Annoying People to Death

By Aimée Maude Sims

Strife between Christians and gays has come to the forefront.

Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson asserted that religion, and its rejection of homosexuality, played a crucial role in suicides among LGBT youth. A Wal-Mart employee’s firing made national news because she claimed the harassment she dealt a fellow gay co-worker fulfilled the requirements of her Christian faith. At this year’s “The Awakening” conference, a gathering of conservative Christians held at Liberty University, panel moderator and school dean Matt Barber was quoted as saying homosexuality was “hedonism repackaged.” At conservative Christian college campuses around the country LGBT students are speaking up and being silenced.

The fact of the matter is, God continues to save LGBT people.

The mere existence of significant numbers of individuals who are boldly gay and Christian should be proof enough that God is still extending His love toward “Whosoever believes in Him.”

Strife between Christians and homosexuals is an outgrowth of an even deeper dilemma. It started when the first Christian took it upon his/herself to usurp St. Peter’s position at the gates of heaven and broadcast their own very human assessment of who was Heaven-worthy and who was not. It has turned the foot of the cross from a safe space into an exclusive club and turned many unsuspecting children of God into Christians who are truly doing a disservice to the name.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

It is a Christian’s duty to share “good news” to those who are in need (Mark 16:15). How you do that makes all the difference. Many individuals form their first impressions about Christianity after an “evangelical experience,” in or outside of a church, where someone has tried to convert them. Sharing your beliefs with someone can deliver fresh revelation or a fresh wound.

Here are a five salient suggestions on how to represent a faith built on the concept of unconditional love. Because the truth is, if you can’t figure out how to reach a soul without being judgmental and offensive, then you don’t want to reach them badly enough .

• Judge not lest ye be judged: Talk about Jesus – not other people. There is enough material within the gospels of Jesus Christ to address all the concerns that people face. Tell people about Jesus, not about themselves. They are likely not interested in your opinion (John 21:25).
• Share your beliefs without devaluing other’s: Most people don’t hold their beliefs lightly. Some of the most ardent Christians started out in a different faith. It’s dangerous to create converts to Christianity by undermining other religions. Christianity shouldn’t just be someone’s last resort. Meet a person where they are. Only take them as far down the road to discovery as Christ allows (I Corinthians 3:6-9).
• Allow people the right to disagree with you: Not everyone is going to believe that Christianity is the way. Not everyone is going to accept Christ the instant you speak with them. You may just be planting a seed. The point of your interaction may simply be for you to become the first non-annoying Christian someone encounters (Proverbs 15:1).
• Don’t be so easily offended: Christ died to save us. You did not. God doesn’t need us to defend His supremacy. A seeker’s process of discovery is fertile ground for growing faith and relationship. Being defensive only pushes people away (I Corinthians 8:9-12).
• Leave LGBT people alone: Making the assumption that gay people are lust-driven hedonists condemned by God only reveals deep-seeded ignorance. The fact is, whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Help someone believe. Leave the rest to God. (John 3:16)

  
  

If YOU Were Turning 400 …

It’s time to have a healthy discussion about the Good Book.

It’s poetry month.

The Bible is poetry.

It’s 2011.

The KJV has turned 400 years old.

If you were turning 400 wouldn’t you want someone to talk about you?

Welcome to NuWine Press.com’s new Readers Writers and Friends forum – a place to discuss all things Christian and literary – good books and The Good Book all in one place.

Join the conversation here!

TTYL

Poetry Contest becomes Book Project

NuWine Press’ poetry contest, “This is My Story” is now closed. We are currently sorting through the entries and preparing the book. Our hearts are overwhelmed by the stories we have received from believers at various points in their walk with Christ. We believe this will be a powerful book and are putting our team of editors and graphic design people together to create a work that is respectful of the stories we have received, and effective as a witness to the world.

To get all the latest info about what’s next with the “This is My Story Book Project” sign up to our e-mail list by following this link.

RIP Peter Gomes – Re-read Your Bible

Please school yourselves. This was a great man.

Featured Article: Top 10 Ways We know God Loves Gays

NuWine Press has just released a new articles section on its website – to give all of you literary minds some brain food. You’ll find light-hearted, timely and scholarly articles written by our staff and friends to keep you reading and conversing while you’re waiting for the next NuWine Press book to be released. Check in to the website, read an article, leave a comment and enjoy!

Our current featured article is: “Top 10 Ways We Know God Loves Gay People.” Check it out!

A Call to Action for Uganda (via MCC)

My Sisters and Brothers

A Call to Prayer and Action

As the people of Uganda prepare to go to the polls to vote on Friday, I urge you to offer up a prayer for justice. I also ask that you contact the White House, Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama and ask them to remind the Authorities in Uganda that we as a nation are watching! The bill put forth by David Bahati  on the advice and funding of The Family is still on the ballot. The bill calls for death to those who are LGBT. The White House Switchboard is 202-456-1414 or you can send an email. The State Department can be reached via   email or by calling 202-647-4000.

Peace,

Rev. Elder Darlene Garner

MCC

For David Kato Part 2 – Redeemed Silence

“I opened my mouth to the Lord/And I won’t turn back/I will go/I shall go/To see what the end is going to be” – Negro Spiritual

Frank Mugisha, Executive Director, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), worked alongside David Kato, fighting for the rights of LGBT individuals, until Kato was bludgeoned to death with a hammer.

He told the audience at Harlem’s legendary Abyssinian Baptist Church that Kato was the one that welcomed him home from the airports and bailed him out of jail when just being became a crime. He didn’t know who he would call now, Mugisha said, to welcome him when he got home to Uganda. He told of Kato’s bravery in eloquent words and then stopped. He wanted to cut his comments short he said, because it had been so long since he’d had an opportunity to be in a church, and to be reflective and meditate. A gay man like him wouldn’t be welcome in a church in Uganda.

 

Rev. Dr. Michael Walrond Jr. challenged the insanity of being requested to make comments at Kato’s memorial under the heading “A call to a new understanding.” Fully aware that Kato’s murder was spawned in part by some Christian’s hatred of LGBT people, he suggested that all Christians need to be called back to the “old understanding” that Jesus is love and love does not incite people to kill. Reverend Walrus referred us back to the Prophet Mica’s Old Testament iteration of the Christian requirement to “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.”

 

Elder Joseph Tolton’s call to social action caused us to consider the theory of evolution as the blueprint for a “survivor of the fittest” mentality that prompts constant power-hungry grabs for dominance over those considered to be “lesser” evolved. The phenomena seeded the evils of racism, especially as expressed by the southern white Christian evangelical church, which has never been apologized for, Elder Tolton said. The phenomena was also the seed used to pit black conservatives against gay people to the benefit of the Defense of Marriage crowd during recent political elections. Last but not least, the phenomena was a seed to the hatred that took the life of David Kato.

 

It was a powerful night. And seeing clergy from so many open and affirming churches gathered in one of Harlem’s oldest and most respected churches memorializing the life of an African LGBT activist helped put another brick in the bridge between transnational issues of oppression for the benefit of all. But still to me, one of the most poignant moments was Mr. Mugisha’s time of redeemed silence. That silence represented the value Mugisha placed on being within the four walls of a house of worship, in a church, in a pew, in Harlem and in his gay skin. He priced it as being worth one – dare I presume even two – fewer precious words at the memorial of a dear friend. And although many in the U.S. would still argue that Mugisha was somehow unworthy of that time in the divine, and although many of us in the U.S. struggle to find gay-friendly churches, Mr. Mugisha’s golden opportunity for reflection will make me and perhaps all of us LGBT believers who have made their peace with their God and their chosen house of worship sit a little humbler in our congregations this Sunday morning.

For David Kato Part 1

Live video from the memorial service (please excuse the quality).

NuWine Press is not just concerned about equality movements, in particular, the equality movement for people with disabilities for LGBT individuals, for women, and people of all races and socio-economic standings, it is also particularly concerned about where these equality movements intersect with faith, and especially the Christian faith.

Consequentially, the murder of David Kato affects us deeply and honestly, should affect and change everyone in this country. Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato was not just bludgeoned to death with a hammer because he was gay, he was also the victim of a fire stoked by an influential Evangelical Christian group based here in the U.S. (see “From CNN” below).

Too often, the church of the God who said He: “So loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” is on the side of haters and the killers.

To those who continue to be responsible for spreading hatred of LGBT people whether from the pulpit or in High School locker rooms, or on the streets, I can only say as Pastor Calvin Butts did at Kato’s NY Memorial Service (see “Obituary” below): “There is room at the cross for you.”

From CNN:

• “In an interview last year, Kato told CNN he feared for his life after a local Ugandan tabloid listed him as one of the country’s “top homosexuals.” Kato was also a strong advocate for gay rights in a country where homosexual acts are considered crimes.
• Prior to his murder, he fought against proposed legislation that would potentially increase the maximum punishment from life in prison to death.
• Demonstrators in Washington said that the Fellowship Foundation, the Christian organizers behind the National Prayer Breakfast, have supported that legislation. David Bahati, the Ugandan parliamentary member who introduced the anti-gay bill, is associated with the Christian group.
• The Fellowship Foundation is also known as the Family, after a book by that name that was published about the group several years ago.” (Gay rights advocates question Obama’s prayer breakfast appearance By Padmananda Rama, CNN)

Obituary for David Kato

This is an obituary for David Kato, as printed in the program for David Kato’s NY Memorial Service,  held February, 2011 at Abyssinian Baptist Church. The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III Pastor. On the program were Min. Andrea Vassell and Rev. Vanessa Brown, Pastor Rivers of Living Waters and Family of Faith Churches; Rev. Stacey Latimer, Pastor, Love Alive International Ministry; Rev. Pat Bumgardner, Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church, New York; Frank Mugisha, Executive Director, Sexual Minorities Uganda; Charles Radcliffe, Sr. Advisor to the High Commissioner on LGBT Human Rights; Rev. Dr. Michael Walrond Jr. Pastor, First Corinthian Baptist Church; Elder Joseph W. Tolton, Pastor, Rehoboth Temple Christ Conscious Church, Consultant, The Global Justice Institute.

Obituary Text:

“Born to the Kisule clan in its ancestral village of Nakawala, Namataba Town Council, Mukono district, Kato received the name “Kato” from the fact that he was the younger twin brother of another sibling, John Malumba Wasswa. He came out to his family members before he left to spend a few years in Johannesburg, South Africa during its transition from apartheid to multiracial democracy, becoming influenced by the end of the apartheid-era ban on sodomy and the growth of LGBT rights in the country. He came back to Uganda in 1998 and, not long afterward, was held in police custody for a week due to his activism. He became highly involved with the underground LGBT rights movement in Uganda, eventually becoming one of the founding members of SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda). By 2010, he had quit his job as a school teacher in order to focus on his work with SMUG in light of the events surrounding the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Kato was among the 100 people whose names and photographs were published in October 2010 by the Ugandan tabloid newspaper Rolling Stone in an article which called for their execution as homosexuals. Kato and two other SMUG members who were also listed in the article, Kasha Jacqueline and Onziema Patience, sued the newspaper to force it to stop publishing the names and pictures of people it believed were gay or lesbian. The photos were published under a headline of “Hang Them” and were accompanied by the individual’s addresses. The petition was granted on November 2, 2010, effectively ruling for the end of Rolling Stone. Giles Muhame, the paper’s managing editor, commented, “I haven’t seen the court injunction but the war against gays will and must continue. We have to protect our children from this dirty homosexual affront.” On January 3, 2011, High Court Justice V.F. Kibuuka Musoke ruled that Rolling Stone’s publication of the lists, and the accompanying incitation to violence, threatened Kato’s and the others “fundamental rights and freedoms,” attacked the right to human dignity, and violated their constitutional right to privacy. The court ordered the newspaper to pay Kato and the other two plaintiffs 1.5 million Ugandan shillings each ($646.50 US).

On January 26, 2011, while talking on the phone with SMUG member Julian Pepe Onziema, Kato was assaulted in his home in Mukono Town by at least one unknown male assailant who hit him twice in the head with a hammer before fleeing on foot. Kato later died en route to the Kawolo Hospital.”