Inside the Ugandan church offering sanctuary to the LGBTQ+ community

In a quiet pocket of Kampala, Uganda, the sound of singing cuts through the Sunday morning silence.

The harmonising voices are part of the Adonai Inclusive Christian Ministries – but this is no ordinary Sunday service.

The Church is place for members of Uganda’s LGBTQ+ community to come and worship without judgement, prejudice or fear.

Heading to prayer as an openly gay person in Uganda is risky. The East African country has some of the strictest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world – and they are only set to get stricter.

The newly revived Anti-Homosexuality Act, which was passed by the government in March this year and is likely to become law, sets to make sex acts by LGBTQ+ individuals punishable by the death penalty. Meanwhile, merely identifying as gay could result in up to 20 years in prison.

Many of Uganda’s religious leaders, including the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, have supported or advocated for the bill to be signed into law.

It has resulted in a struggle for members of the local LGBTQ+ community as they try to reconcile their Christian faith with their sexuality. The Adonai Inclusive Christian Ministries is a safe haven for them to express their authentic selves as well as worship in peace.

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