Meet Rev. Mark Kiyimba from Uganda

Meet Rev. Mark Kiyimba from Uganda on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 7:00 p.m. at Brookfield UUC Church, 9 Upper River Steet, Brookfield, MA.

Contact the church office at 508 867-5145 for more information or to arrange handicap access.

Who is Rev. Mark Kiyimba and why do we want to meet him?

Beginning in 2009, a horrendous legislation was put before the Ugandan government as a private bill: the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which, if enacted, would broaden the criminalization of homosexuality by introducing the death penalty for people who have previous convictions, are HIV-positive, or engage in same sex acts with people under 18 years of age. The bill also included provisions for Ugandans who engage in same-sex sexual relations outside of Uganda, asserting that they may be extradited for punishment back to Uganda, and included penalties for individuals, companies, media organizations, or non-governmental organizations that support LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights. This bill would also punish those who knew of someone who was homosexual, or even only suspected that someone was homosexual, and did not report that information.


Rev. Mark and his church, the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kampala, took a strong and courageous stand against this bill. They organized a conference, called "Standing on the Side of Love: Reimagining Valentine's Day," held February 14, 2010. All details were kept secret until that day, knowing, as one organizer put it: "If we walk through the streets [for this protest] we will surely be stoned."

According to Rev. Mark, whose church members include many LGBT persons, "I cannot stand by and watch as my community is exterminated. My church will become illegal and cease to exist if this bill becomes law" The intense international reaction to the bill, which was stirred primarily because of Rev. Mark's conference, caused President Yoweri Museveni to form a commission to investigate the implications of passing the bill. In May 2010, the committee recommended withdrawing it.

The Unitarian Universalist Association of Kampala includes the urban congregation of about one hundred members in Kampala as well as a rural community that oversees a school and orphanage for HIV/AIDS orphans near the town of Masaka.

First U Yard and Book Sale on October 2nd

It's not too late to donate items to the yard sale!

Donations are still needed for the Yard sale and Book sale. We'll take them right through this Friday up until 9:00 pm.

Anyone interested in providing baked goods for sale, please drop off baked goods Friday evening or Saturday morning.


Larger items or big loads of items can be dropped off on Thursday evening between 6:00 and 8:00 pm or Friday evening between 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm.

Items could also be dropped off Saturday morning before between 7:00 am and 8:00 am. We'll have volunteers to help unload Thursday and Friday evening and Saturday morning before 8:00.

Throughout the rest of this week items can be dropped off during church business hours. All items should be left along the bench areas in Unity Hall.

Please note that what is not sold in the yard sale will be picked up by the Central MA Housing Alliance's Donations Clearinghouse and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

The families that the DCH serve are generally leaving shelter to make a new start in an apartment and very much need the following:

Dishes, pots and pans, kitchen utensils, small working kitchen appliances. bureaus, dressers, kitchen tables, lamps.

The Big Brothers-Big Sisters will take children's clothes, games, household goods and books.