Before the meeting commenced we were briefed regarding the protocol of the session and the perimeters we were to stick to throughout the process. As the discussions started our presentations focused on our individual lived realities as a lesbian and a gay person, however it was imperative to extend the conversation to persons who identify as trans diverse persons as well.
To my astonishment the space was very enabling as Arch Bishop Nasheenda kept emphasising to fellow leaders to feel free to ask and speak their minds while reminding us that we were in a safe place and that everyone was there to learn and understand- “Speak my child?” He urged quite often.
During the question and answer stage, it became evident that the main focus of the discussion had shifted to gender identity and gender expression with minimal advancement of sexual orientation as the key issue. Additionally, discussions started with the reservation of sexual practices, this as a result that reproduction questions came to the fore. To mention a few -
1- “Why do you guys promote your issues – are you recruiting our children?”
2- “What made you different from other man?”
3- “In our culture we have always known people who don’t act like they are expected to- we called them ‘eshenge’- and now this word is regarded derogatory- what is the right word to use these days?”
4- “You guys want same sex marriage to be legalised, with us heterosexual people when our partner dies they are either a widow/widower. With you guys what will it be?”
5- “Can you please share how many LGBTI people are in Namibia? What are the statistics that we need to work with as faith leaders?
6- “How can two people from the same sex have a child?”
With the questions raised above- intense engagement and clarification was done to advance the understanding of our realties. Indeed, this left the room in a roar of comments, fidgeting and having side conversations which continued after the presentation.
A number of attendees shared their appreciation as they saw our willingness to share our stories as bravery, as others asked for material, however, such was not allowed to be distributed. They further shared that they never had exchanges with persons who proudly identified themselves as LGBTI within their communities and that they would like for us to go down to their communities to start dialogues of this nature.
The group also tried to understand the difference between a lesbian woman and a transwoman and how we were actually considered as WOMAN. This opened up discussions which addressed questions of whether or not there was any attraction to men and why is it that we do not pray to strengthen our faith to do away with such emotions.
Further encouragement was given to us to us as the Bishop urged us to continue, saying “you are gifted, there is a reason why you are leading the message, one day we shall get to understand how to improve our diversity in our communities”.
Surely I must say the space was really encouraging and as a community we have to carry the responsibility to engage our own spaces of faith to ensure our narrative is understood and personalised.
My requests and personal expectations included: Acknowledging the existence of LGBTI community within the church, engaging LGBTI people on their journeys of sexuality and spirituality while advancing the dialogue by demystifying debates on issues of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Furthermore, requests included uniting families within the narrative of love by ensuring tolerance and extended acceptance are attained for the unification, while at the same time creating an enabling environment that embraces diversity through community dialogues on issues of sexuality, sexual reproductive health and rights, socio-economic equality and equity for all within the church
Below is a debrief of Deyonce and myself on our experience of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council Meeting.
https://youtu.be/kcPBwWDJyoQ
https://youtu.be/kcPBwWDJyoQ
By: Linda RM Baumann
04 September 2017
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