From Rev. Marlin Lavanhar

I am honored to stand with my colleague from my partner church in Uganda as he risks so much to stay true to what he believes, "that all people are children of God and God makes no mistakes.

There are times in a our lives when we have to decide, 'here I stand and I can do no other’ and sometimes standing on the side of love means risking imprisonment and even death. The Ugandans who are taking this stand, love freedom more than they fear imprisonment or death. Such love is something they learned from Jesus and there is nothing more dangerous to the status quo than fearless love.

They’re not asking, "If we do this, what will happen to us?" But, "if we don’t support the gay and lesbian community of Uganda and their families, what will happen to them?"

There are times when the church colludes with injustice and evil, like in its support of slavery and racial segregation. In those times, people must rise up to save the church as much as society. This is one of those times.

There are moments in life when we have to take risks to support what we believe to be God’s will for humanity, and it is my strong belief that God’s will is for people to be free.