On February 20, 2011, Sunday, Soulforce will join with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) to engage in a non-violent act of resistance to the exportation of homophobia and religious bigotry to Uganda by Lou Engle, evangelist and founder of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) and The Call. We will be joined by volunteers from the organization EQUAL of Kansas City, Missouri, volunteers who conducted a highly visible public protest of Mr. Engle’s activities last December, 2010.
UPDATE – FEBRUARY 17, 2011: As of today, Lou Engle has agreed to meet with a group representing HRC and Soulforce at a date to be determined. HRC and Soulforce look forward to meeting with Engle and directly communicating their concerns about his radical views, and urge him to immediately make two statements on record: one opposing the criminalization of homosexuality in any country, and another, delivered on Ugandan soil, explicitly opposing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In the meantime, Sunday’s scheduled vigil and delivery of petitions will go forward as planned in order to educate the public about the horrific situation in Uganda and the role American evangelicals have played in escalating it.
We will deliver a petition with 36,000 signatures calling for the end of USA supported ministries in Uganda that catalyze harm and death to LGBTQ people. We will join in a vigil outside the church during worship services at IHOP, awaiting Mr. Engle’s response to our letter request to dialogue about the horrific treatment of LGBTQ Ugandans arising out of USA broadcasts and on-site religious propaganda.
We want to thank the United Nations Faith Coalition for LGBT Human Rights for its groundbreaking work in Uganda in defending the worth and dignity of all people, particularly members of the LGBTQ community. Friends and allies of LGBTQ people are invited to join together on the sidewalk in front of the International House of Prayer (3535 Red Ride Road) at 7:45am on Sunday morning.
SCHEDULE
7:45 am – Vigil begins on sidewalk in front of the International House of Prayer
10:15 am – Sunday Worship
12:30 pm – Press Conference
The International House of Prayer is located at 3535 E Red Ridge Road, Kansas City, MO 64137.
Limited parking is available across from IHOP and in the surrounding residential areas east and west of IHOP
Please check out our Facebook event, and rsvp to attend this action.
For those interested in attending the action, we will be having an important call – in training and briefing about our schedule for this action and the non-violent principles by which we operate. This call will take place at 7:30pm EST on Thursday, February 17th. We ask that when you join the call, you not announce yourself and place your devices on mute. There may be a large number of participants, and this will make the call more functional. The call will last about an hour, and will be informational. A period for questions and feedback will take place after the briefing and training. A copy of our source material for the presentation can be downloaded here. Participants are encouraged to read over this presentation and follow along throughout the call.
Conference Call details
1. Call (712) 451-6050 prior to 7:30pm EST.
2. Dial our conference code: 1007067# to connect.
3. Place phone on mute to eliminate background noise.
We are dedicated to ending the exportation of bigotry and spiritual violence. We also want to honor and keep in remembrance those whose lives have been taken in Uganda, including most recently David Kato.
Please make plans to join us in Kansas City. Even if you can’t be with us in person, you can still aid this and other important programs by donating today!
Please pass this information along to all of your friends and folks who live in the Kansas City area!
Video references
Below are a series of videos from Rachael Maddow’s show which give more information and shed light into the on-going situation. We invite you to spend 30 minutes watching them if you haven’t already.
Vincent Cervantes, a participant on the intersectional justice panel at the Soulforce Symposium: Philadelphia: 2010, released a paper entitled "Critical Witnessing and Multilingualism: Building the Counter Movement." We invited you to 
The news over the past several weeks has been astounding.
On Saturday, November 6th the symposium will take place at the Historic Downtown Courtyard by Marriott. The hotel is adjacent to City Hall and offers some of the best views of the city. Participants of the Symposium may book rooms at the hotel for the rate of $99 per night, which is a nearly 70% discount! To book a room you may either call the hotel directly, at 215-496-3200, or call central reservations at 1-888-236-2427. Be sure to mention our code: SOULFORCE in order to receive the discounted room rental rate. Rooms with a king bed, or two queen beds are available.
Jay Bakker is a pastor who grew up witnessing both the good and bad of the church. His parents are Jim and Tammy Faye, ministers-turned-TV-hosts, who helped start both the Trinity Broadcasting Network and the 700 Club in the 1970’s, and later founded the PTL (Praise The Lord) Club. At the height of their popularity, they pastored the largest church in the country – until their lives were changed by one of the biggest scandals in American history. For the first time, Jay was exposed to the dark underbelly of religion; an experience that would stay with him to this day. In 1994, Jay, along with Kelli Miller and Mike Walls, started Revolution Church in Phoenix, AZ, to minister to those being ignored and rejected by the Christian church. He started a Revolution Church in Los Angeles, CA, and Atlanta, GA, before moving to New York and starting a church there in 2005. Jay has been an ally and friend to the LGBTQ community.
Daniel Helminiak teaches psychology and spirituality as Professor at the University of West Georgia. He is also a psychotherapist, Catholic priest and theologian, author, and lecturer. He holds a PhD in psychology from The University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in theology from Andover Newton Theological School and Boston College, where he was teaching assistant to Prof. Bernard Lonergan, whom Newsweek magazine called the Thomas Aquinas of the 20th Century. He is certified as a Fellow of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and is licensed as a Professional Counselor in the state of Georgia. His book, What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality (Alamo Square Press, 1994, 2000), is an international best-seller.