In This Sgaporean Church, You Can Be Happy and Gay

Contents:

• IN THIS SGAPOREAN CHURCH, YOU CAN BE HAPPY AND GAY
• IN SGAPORE, A CHRISTIAN GROUP AIMS TO HELP LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS ‘OVERE’ BEG GAY

IN THIS SGAPOREAN CHURCH, YOU CAN BE HAPPY AND GAY

Helmg are Siew, the first ordaed openly-gay mister the untry, and Pastor Ple Ong, who intifi as lbian. Photo: Ko Lyn Cheang“We are a Christian Church, first and foremost, not a gay Church, ” said Siew, who spent three years pletg a Masters Divy at the Pacific School of Relign Berkeley, California. “The s of Sodom is not about homosexualy.

The Methodist Church Sgapore's Bishop Gordon Wong told VICE that the Methodist Church's posn is that “the practice of homosexualy is patible wh Christian teachgs, ” but said celibate romantic same-sex relatnships are "theoretilly" permissible. Intellectual, well-read, and “radil, ” said Pastor Siew, the foundg members were active Sgapore’s fledgg gay and lbian liberatn movement.

IN SGAPORE, A CHRISTIAN GROUP AIMS TO HELP LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS ‘OVERE’ BEG GAY

Photo: Ko Lyn CheangThe Church’s first parish, where they spent half a year 2004, was a pub on the fourth floor of an elegant red brick shophoe buildg that was also home to a proment gay bar known as Mox. Worshippers met beneath two silver dis balls hangg om the ceilg where they listened to the pastors preach acceptance of May 2018, while Ong was preparg for a Church event to memorate Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, she received a ll om the Sgaporean police who qutned her about the event. “Let me put simple and unambiguo terms: A homosexual Christian is an oxymoron, ” Yang wrote.

“The problem is, even if you look at the vios they have done, [the participants] say they don’t intify as gay, ” said Ong. “Was I born gay?

He said that wh the help of God and Te Love, he realized that he was not gay. They wanted nothg more than to rid themselv of beg gay, says the church.