Church In Harlem Sanctuary For Black Gay Men And Lesbians
With all the fuss about same-sex marriage and such, there is now a church where gay men and women can feel welcome.

Via NYTimes:

In a church nestled among a row of residential brownstones, parishioners clapped and danced as a woman began to testify. “Aren’t you glad Jesus got up?” the woman, Twanna Gause, asked the predominantly black congregation, which responded with enthusiastic shouts of “Amen” and “Hallelujah.”

“He got up so I can come out,” Ms. Gause said, as worshipers hopped out of their seats and cheered in agreement. “He got up so you can come out.”

For black Christians who are gay and lesbian, church can be a daunting experience, where on any given Sunday they are taught that homosexuality is not only a sin, but a one-way ticket to hell. That alienation has been a benefit for the Rivers at Rehoboth congregation, in Harlem, which has made ministry to gay men and lesbians, combined with the worship traditions of black churches, its mission.

The congregation was formed by the merger of two churches, Rivers of Living Faith and Rehoboth Temple. The pastor of Rivers, Vanessa M. Brown, 41, is a lesbian, and the pastor of Rehoboth, Joseph Tolton, 45, is gay, and both were born and raised in Harlem. Their merged congregation rents space out of Grace Congregational Church on West 139th Street, where Mr. Tolton’s former church worshiped for four years.

Ms. Brown, the church’s senior pastor and Ms. Gause’s partner, preaches what she calls a “radically inclusive” message, while Mr. Tolton, the associate pastor, offers as a mantra the phrase “Gay by God.”

“God doesn’t make any junk,” Ms. Brown said. “He made us knowing who we were going to be before we were it.”

Only “small segments” of black church leaders openly welcome gay men and lesbians in their congregations, according to Lawrence H. Mamiya, a professor of religion at Vassar College who has researched black churches. Rivers at Rehoboth is attended by an average of 200 members each Sunday. On Easter, ushers had to place folding chairs next to pews to accommodate visitors, some of whom had traveled from as far as Italy and Australia.

Both pastors speak openly about their own experiences struggling with sexuality as black Christians.

Mr. Tolton said that for over 20 years, he believed his sexual orientation was a spiritual demon from which he needed to be saved. As a young man, he asked clergy to pray for him to be straight.

Mr. Tolton said he left his church after a friend told him he could not be the best man at his wedding because he is gay.

“It broke my heart,” Mr. Tolton said. Ms. Brown said she, too, struggled with the church’s stance on homosexuality.

She said she married a man who was gay, to help him cover up his sexuality and protect his image in the church. But Ms. Brown divorced him after growing tired of living a lie, she said.

“I was ruining my own self,” she said. “I wasn’t happy.”

Many members of the Rivers at Rehoboth have their own stories. The pastors say they are now looking for a larger space in which to expand.

“We want people to know that they are loved, there’s a safe space for them in the house of God,” Ms. Brown said, “where they can truly worship the Lord and be their authentic selves.”

DI SET UP LOOK NICE……HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ALL A DONT KNOW BOUT DI STARS PART DOE

The search continues for 10 missing Jamaicans

André Williams, STAR Writer

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade is still trying to determine the whereabouts of 10 Jamaicans who went missing after leaving the Bahamas in an efforts to reach the United States (US).

The men were among a group of people who were on one of the many illegal shipments of people who attempt to go into the United States illegally. But since setting off on March 9, none of them have been seen or heard of.

A Bahamian publication, The Freeport News, recently named as missing among the 10, Howard ‘Wayne’ Pryce, 45, of Chestnut Lane, Kingston 14. He is said to be 6 ft tall and weights 190 lb. He is further said to have a scar in the middle of his chest.

The names of other persons listed as missing among the 10 are Richard Gapour, Micheal Anthony Stephenson, Rumara George Bailey, Claude Walters, Carlton Nelson, Daulton Thomas and David Dean.

According to reports, the 10 had travelled to The Bahamas in late February and March, and had set out on a boat from Freeport to Miami. There has thus far been no reports of any of the 10 missing Jamaicans arrested or found dead. No boating accidents have been reported in Jamaica, The Bahamas or the United States waters.

When THE STAR contacted the Diaspora and Consular Affairs Department in the foreign affairs ministry, our news team was referred to its most recent release which states, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade continues its efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of the approximately 10 Jamaican men, who according to reports, set off by boat from Freeport, Bahamas on Friday, March 9, 2012. The ministry is currently in the process of seeking an official report from the Bahamian authorities based on an updated listing.”

However, on the contrary, according to a report from another Bahamian publication, The Tribune 242, a Bahamian police spokesperson Loretta Mackey, said the matter is out of the hands of Bahamian law enforcement.

an obvious trend

There is an obvious trend as in previous years many people who journey the Bahamian route to get across to the US by boat have either been reported dead or accosted by US authorities.

In 2010, it was reported that dancehall personality Mickey Pelpa had allegedly drown while trying to enter the US illegally via boat from The Bahamas.

Based on information obtained, Pelpa, born Michael Augustus Lynch, was among a group of men who took a boat from the Bahamas and tried to enter the United States.

Lynch reportedly jumped from the boat, on the approach of US coast guards, got into difficulties and drowned. The alleged captain of the boat, a Bahamian, was charged with human smuggling.

US Customs and Border Patrol agents, according to reports, have held several Bahamians who have tried to smuggle people into the US. In one particular case, a Bahamian, Captain Kelsey James McQueen, reportedly told immigration agents he was to be paid to ferry immigrants between Nassau and Palm Beach County.

THE STAR contacted a Jamaican now married and living in the United States who entered the US via boat from The Bahamas to get a first-hand account on the passage.

He said, “Yard did ruff and there wasn’t any hope in sight, so a friend tell mi bout the Bahamas route and mi hustle the money … it was US$3,000 (J$239,000) at the time and took on the sea. I left Jamaica for the Bahamas and then we leave the Bahamas for Miami a few days later. It was not an easy trip, but thank God we made it and things looking up”.

Dancehall artiste Flippa Mafia was also allegedly accosted by United States authorities after a failed attempt to enter US soil via boat from the Bahamas in 2010. He has since been released.

JUS FI DI LAWS PAWT

– There was day time drama in Naivasha town on Tuesday, after a man started feeding on grass like a cow on the roadside.

Nelson Mwangi, who was allegedly bewitched for stealing a shirt in a small estate in Naivasha town, caused a huge traffic jam in Naivasha town as a mammoth crowd gathered to see him.

According to one eye witness, Ayub Gitau, many at first thought that Mwangi was drunk but on checking they noticed he was busy eating grass.

This is the fourth time this year that such incidences have happened in Naivasha town.

Naivasha OCPD Earnest Oponyo confirmed the incident and said the man was taken to Gilgil Mental Hospital for psychiatrist check up.

Stephen Njoroge, (The Kenyan DAILY POST)

“Woe Be unto You Who Scatter my Sheep”
rate or flag

By creativeone59

“Woe Be Unto Who Scatter My Sheep”

Woe be unto you, who sactter my sheep.
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“Woe Be Unto You, Who Scatter My Sheep”
Jeremiah chapter 23 -1 & 2 :Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord.

2: Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my flock and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, said the Lord.

When God made the statement above, I’m sure he used pastors as an example,but I’m sure he meant for everyone that’s out in the world teaching false doctrine or doctrines of men.I think that there are have been many people professing to be true believers and doers of the word of God, when in actuality; they are wolves in sheep clothing trying to lead God children astray. We need to make sure we search our hearts and minds to make sure we’re teachings and spreading the bread of life, Gods way. We are people that suppose to be in the God business, of saving sinners, but their are some that are misleading them and teaching the wrong doctrine. If you are a minister and you’re telling lies to sinners or people that want to know the truth about the word of God. If you are blaspheming the word of God. if you ‘re a bishop or a pope, and you’re sexually misusing and abusing his sheep; God says woe unto you. If you’re professing the goodness of God and you doing everything that’s not of God, then woe be unto you, because your actions has cursed you, your life and your existence. We have catholic priest committing atrocious sexual sins against young boys; people this is unacceptable to us, but most of all to God.

We are doing all manner of evil and wickedness to fulfill the lust of the flesh. We Have taken natural emotions of a man and women and going after other strange flesh. We have become lovers of ourselves. This warning from God applies to anyone misleading the children of God. The words, woe unto you, are so profound until you know you’re in big trouble; if we don ‘t adhere to the message. Gods word is talking to us; those that are proclaiming to be godly and telling Gods truth, but lying in their words and actions. You ministers, pastors, preachers, bishops,priest and evangelist, woe be unto you, if you aren’t telling and living Gods truth. God doesn’t want us misleading his sheep. if we are doing it, then there is a hefty penalty if we do so. Beware of scattering God’s sheep, which mean, if you doing things that running people way from the congregation or from the churches because you have did something unacceptable to the members, then you’re scattering Gods sheep. Check yourselves and make sure you correct your actions.

Benny Faye Douglass