Friends,

This is a chance to invite your church or circle of friends to “sing with Uganda” wherever you happen to be. The Facebook Event for this is here.

On Sunday, June 26 (Pride Sunday) we will debut “Preserve Uganda’s Future Hope,” an anthem in solidarity with GLBT persons living there. We will sing it at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota during our Pride worship service. That same day, nearly 8000 miles away, a small gathering of Christians in …Kampala, Uganda, led by Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, will sing this anthem as well! (They will be singing at almost the same time. They are 7 hours ahead of us, but worship at the St. Paul Centre is at 4 p.m. … when they gather in a car garage converted to a chapel.)

So we warmly and enthusiastically invite you to join us — most especially on June 26, but at any point that you can, in singing this anthem WITH Uganda. If you do, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! And please include the message below for those who will be singing it. You can find a file with the lyrics, including the note below, here.

And you can find a YouTube clip, with a slide show of Ugandan images behind the anthem sung by a trio of men from our congregation here.

About the anthem: “Preserve Uganda’s Future Hope” comes from Wingspan Ministry of St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Written by church member, David Weiss, this anthem laments the fear that frames GLBT lives in Uganda today—and prays its hope for a better future. It intentionally uses a familiar patriotic American tune because several high profile American fundamentalist pastors have carried their anti-gay message to Uganda (v. 3). “Preserve” is part of Wingspan’s efforts to raise awareness about the plight of GLBT persons in Uganda and to raise funds to assist Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo in his work on behalf of human rights for GLBT persons in that country. To learn more or to make a gift to Wingspan’s Uganda Project, go to: www.stpaulref.org/wingspan.