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Ugandan Reverend to speak at Cascade on anti-homosexuality bill
Photos and story by Abe Proctor
The Reverend Mark Kiyimba, a leader in the struggle against the repressive anti-homosexuality bill being considered by the Ugandan parliament, will speak at Cascade Campus on Friday, Nov. 5. His address is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moriarty Auditorium.
Rev. Mark Kiyimba.
The Rev. Kiyimba is the founding minister of the Unitarian-Universalist Church in Kampala Uganda. He has received international attention for his courageous stand against the anti-homosexuality bill that is now before the Ugandan parliament. According to the bill, those perceived as homosexual could be punished by life imprisonment or, in some cases, even death. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Kampala held a conference in February to protest the bill. More than 200 people attended the conference, including gay and lesbian Ugandans and their allies, risking possible arrest. The Kampala Unitarian church is one of the few congregations in Uganda that welcomes lesbian, gay, and bisexual and transgender people.
The Rev. Kiyimba and his church have also founded the New Life Primary School and New Life Children’s Home for AIDS orphans in Masaka, Uganda. The school has an enrollment of 505 children and provides them with a basic education within a framework of Unitarian-Universalist values.
More information about the Rev. Kiyimba and photos of the school are available at; newlife-uganda.com. During his trip to Portland, the Rev. Kiyimba will also speak at two morning worship services (9:15 and 11:15 a.m.) at the First Unitarian Church, corner of Southwest 12th Avenue and Main Street, on Sunday, Nov. 7.