LGBT Q&A for Black History Month: Jide Macaulay from House of Rainbow in conversation with OTN trustee Augustine Tanner-Ihm
Jide Macaulay, founder & CEO of House of Rainbow, was in conversation with OTN trustee Augustine Tanner-Ihm for Black History Month 2021
FOLLOWING the success of our recent Q&As with our Patrons (still available on our YouTube channel), in October our Q&A was a #BlackHistoryMonth special with Revd Jide Macaulay, founder and CEO of House of Rainbow in conversation with OTN trustee Revd Augustine Tanner-Ihm.
If you missed our Q&A webinar with Jide and Augustine on Thursday 21st October 2021, or want to watch it again, now you can catch up below or on our YouTube channel (58 mins).
Jide Macaulay began House of Rainbow 15 years ago to meet the needs of black African people who are LGBT and Christian. Jide’s work of reconciling faith and sexuality has expanded to include counselling, pastoral support, and human rights advocacy. Jide is an openly gay, British-Nigerian born in London. He has been a Christian minister since 1998, first with the Metropolitan Community Church, and now he is an Anglican priest in East London. Jide is an inspirational speaker, author, poet, pastor, preacher, and HIV+ activist, with a Masters degree in theology. In 2019 he presented the BBC documentary Too Gay For God, which examined church teaching on sexuality and marriage. In 2021 he was nominated in the British LGBT Awards for his Outstanding Contribution to LGBT+ Life.
Augustine Tanner-Ihm is an openly gay African-American activist, writer, speaker who recently trained for Anglican ministry, and is now a curate at St James & Emmanuel, Manchester, which hosts Didsbury Pride. He is also a Doctoral Student in Leadership, Culture, and Practical Theology. He was also the winner of the 2020 Church Times Theology Slam competition. WATCH Augustine’s intro video [2mins].
Jide answered a wide range of questions, including:
Tell about your story, and how you came to faith.
You became a minister, first with the Metropolitan Community Church, then as an Anglican priest. How did that come about?
What is the future for black queer Christians, and why is there a divide between the Black community and the LGBT community?
How can we speak to our African siblings with a more conservative view, without being accused of pushing colonial views upon them?
What are the largest challenges for the church to be more diverse and inclusive, and how can we support and champion our black and brown siblings in our Open Table communities?
How do you forgive and maintain a relationship with people close to you when you've experienced their homophobia?
How do we move forward in our relationship with the Anglican church of Ghana, as it is supporting their government 's anti-gay legislation?
Are you hopeful that the situation for LGBT+ people both in church and society in Africa will improve?
Has the Black Pentecostal movement been a harder place for LGBT+ people, more than other churches?
If you could sit around an open table with anyone, who would they be, and why?