NCCI Webinar on COVID, LGBTIQ Communities and the Church

Wednesday June 10^th 2020, 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm

The COVID – 19 lockdown continues in the country, despite measures to relax it in phases. Various marginalized communities are undergoing struggles detrimental to their survival. Among such groups of people the LGBTIQ communities have been facing different types of struggles during this time, adding to their ongoing struggles with stigma and discrimination on various fronts. This needs attention from various stakeholders and duty bearers.

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), has in the past facilitated faith communities engage with the LGBTIQ communities. This it did through its ESHA Project and its National forum called the National Ecumenical Forum for Gender and Sexual Diversities (NEFGSD).  Even during the lockdown the NCCI has been engaged in addressing the concerns relating to LGBTIQ communities. These experiences push one to think that the Church at large should start working on the concerns of these peoples.

On behalf of the NCCI, and as part of its ‘Rebooting as Ekklesia’ series of webinars, the ESHA Program and the NCCI National Ecumenical Forum for Gender and Sexual Diversities (NEFGSD) is offering a platform for Churches to engage with the community and discern a mission agenda and priority for engagement. It is hoped that this offering will open different avenues of engagement between the Church and the people belonging to one or all of the LGBTIQ communities.

What we want to do

To understand the difficulties of the LGBTIQ communities that became compounded during the situation as COVID and the lockdown.

To discern a call of the times in the contexts of peoples with different sexual orientations and gender identities.

To list specific areas of relevant and appropriate engagements of churches in such contexts.

How we propose to do that . . .

Listen to the lived experiences during the lockdown from representatives of LGBTIQ people (Ms Santa Khurai, Mr Rohan Regi Mathews, Dr Anand Chandrani, Mx Gopi Shankar, Ms Sonal Giani)

Consolidate the voices, acknowledge responses and suggest more possibilities for collaboration (Dr L. Ramakrishna , Ms Rachana Mudraboyina).

Discern a way forward  (Fr Dr Reji Mathew, Rev Dr Sunil Caleb, Rev. Solomon Paul, Rev Priscilla Rawade)

Click here for registration.

Webinar date: Wednesday June 10^th 2020 (5.00 pm to 7.00 pm).
You will receive a zoom link when your registration is accepted.