MY JOURNEY WITH GLOBAL INTERFAITH NETWORK

Global Interfaith Network (GIN) is an organization that is aimed to break the stereotypes around sexuality and spirituality.

I first met up with the GIN in 2019 around July. At first I was just a participant in their dinner meeting. Following this first meeting my role has always been that of a community mobiliser here in Maun. Before 2019 I never knew anything about GIN, in fact I never imagined any organization existed to focus on us as the LGBTIQ+ community in relation to our spiritual life.

Before GIN came to Maun it was common for the LGBTIQ+ community to be chased away from their places of worship that we even normalized being in closets so as to serve our Lord. Most of the gay men never even bothered to go to church because their femininity could not allow them to be in the midst of a judgmental congregation. For some who risked going to church, faith in God was challenged, and eventually lost altogether because it appeared as if He did not see them and was never on their side as they went through verbal abuse and being treated as outcasts or demons.

When GIN came into the picture a lot changed bit by bit, we got to understand the Word of God more clearly, some of us gained confidence to be who we really are at church and some ministers had their minds changed when it comes to their perceptions about homosexuals. We had a religious dialogue last year here in Maun in collaboration with the Botswana Council of Churches where some pastors got a chance to understand Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE) better and know what it really means. During the dialogue, emotions were heated up and some harsh words were used by most of the pastors. I remember one pastor openly called homosexuals “spirits” that can be cast out by prayer and another one said the reason why there is global warming is because of “these” people, God is punishing us. While still reeling in shock of what I had just heard, one pastor also said we as homosexuals are responsible for so much bloodshed in this world, something which I still struggle to understand to this day. All these petty and misinformed statements always affect us emotionally, they sting even though we know they are not true, and they anger and frustrate us but we never let them get the best of us, instead we use them as teaching moments. We explore why such perceptions are popular, and use the scripture to counter those misconceptions, and offer an alternative interpretation of scriptures that are often used to demonize LGBTIQ+ people. As the community mobiliser and the leader of a Maun based LGBTIQ+ support group, I also got a chance to go on a Hearts Set On Pilgrimage retreat with Global Interfaith Network where I learnt a lot about reconciling my faith and spirituality with my sexuality. I can proudly say the retreat helped me to grow big not only spiritually but also generally on a personal level. With all that I learnt and the support that we all got as participants I can confidently say that I am ready to take on my village and share what I have learnt so that the community can change their minds when it comes to merging sexuality and spirituality. I do know that I need more training or more teachings because it is never enough when it comes to the gospel, but trust me I have already started on with a beautiful foundation here in Maun. There are already a few pastors that are allies to the movement and we have plans to start having open conversations and meaningful engagements on faith, spirituality, and sexuality. We want to make sure that these conversations stop being such taboos, that religion is not weaponized against LGBTIQ+ people and that Batawana, Bayei, Baherero and Bambukushu also understand and appreciate that one does not have to choose between their faith and their sexuality, both can co-exist within an individual. Personally, I hope that GIN does not stop the good work they are doing and pray that God blesses them so they can keep helping those who have been scarred and hurt by religion, to find their way back to church so that they can start healing and worshiping freely, without having to hide who they are or pretend to be something they are not.