IDAHO (the day) refers to International Day Against Homophobia, which will be commemorated this Saturday, 17th May. In London, the major faith event to mark the day will be the workshops “Living in Prophetic Hope“, at St Martin in the Fields, orgnised by Changing Attitudes Greater London, and sponsored by Catholics for AIDS Prevention & Support (CAPS), Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement (LGCM), MCC North London, LGBT Catholics Westminster, and Soho and Westminster LGBT Community Forum. For events elsewhere, see the IDAHO 2014 events page, which includes listings for current and past events for an impressive range of countries from Albania to Zimbabwe (yes, ZIMBABWE, Africa, with a statement issued by local activists for Idaho 2012). The full range covers all continents, particularly concentrated in Europe, but also with several for Africa.
IDAHO map, indicating where events are sceduled, or have been held in previous years
Faith groups across Europe, including the Forum of LGBT Christian Groups and Progetto Gionata (Italy), in collaboration with Progetto Ruah (Trieste, Italy) have prepared a toolkit for reading, praying and reflecting together, using as a keynote the biblical text,
Romans, 15:7 - Accept one another just as Christ accepted you
The text of the toolkit begins,
This year, we suggest the Christian LGBT groups to mark IDAHOT with services highlighting the journey from desolation and loneliness to the encounter with God’s Love and mutual acceptance, as suggested by the official verse, Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you (Romans, 15: 7).
We suggest you to divide the vigil into four parts depicting a symbolic path from the negative feelings affecting the society and the victims of homophobia and transphobia towards forgiveness, acceptance and cooperation with God. Therefore, we propose an itinerary on the story of David and Goliath from the first book of Samuel.
It is meant to portray homophobia/transphobia as a modern Goliath, a monster of fear and desolation, which David contrasts with his faith, his courage, and his spiritual gifts. The last part concludes with the reading from the Letter to the Romans from which the official verse was taken. Groups addressing primarily women could alternatively use readings from the Book of Judith.
(Access the full toolkit here)
Although it is clear from the map that many events have already been arranged across the world, there are still gaps. If there’s no event near you, it may not be too late to do something even now, with a small group of friends, gathered together in person, or on-line - or just in personal prayer, alone.
Related articles
- IDAHO 2014: “Living in Prophetic Hope” (queeringthechurch.com)
- Italian Cardinals Support IDAHO Prayer Vigils (queeringthechurch.com)
- Queer Saints and Martyrs: Calendar for May (queeringthechurch.com)
- LGBT Ministry: Creating a Queer Welcome in Italy. (queeringthechurch.com)
- LGBT Christians Supported by Dutch Government (queeringthechurch.com)
- International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO) (mlp.org)
- LGBT rights versus Christian faith: International Day Against Homophobia calls for prayers (jesusinlove.blogspot.com)
- Official May 17 IDAHOT theme tune breaks into UK independent charts (prfire.co.uk)
- International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (reachoutleeds.wordpress.com)
- Spain: Anti-LGBT incidents make up majority of overall hate crimes (pinknews.co.uk)
- Archbishop Justin Welby Condemns Homophobia
