IDAHOT Vigils will be held again in Europe and Latin America

For many years now, religious groups and communions have been celebrating the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, therefore making a stand for LGBTI rights and Freedom from Violence. Progetto Gionata, together with other Christian Groups and Networks have been preparing material for vigils in numerous cities and countries.

2015 is the 8th year that Progetto Gionata, based in Italy, assists groups all over the world in the organization of vigils of prayers. The groups have started organizing the Vigils to remember and give acknowledgement to all the victims of violence related to gender identity and sexual orientation. This year, the Vigil official verse will be taken from Psalm 139 “God made me like Wonder”. Nobody can judge or exclude another on God’s name “by teaching doctrines that are worldly rules” (Marc, 7:1-13).The words of praise and hope contained in Psalm 139 have been the most voted on the online poll thrown by the Italian website Progetto Gionata in close cooperation with the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups and with the Commission on Faith and Homosexuality of the Italian Baptist Methodist and Waldensian Churches.

We will remember Mary, Angela, Ibrahim, Pedro, and many other people whose lives were affected by prejudice, violence, assault, and fundamentalism, because they had the courage to live the way God created them […]
We will pray all together in order to be the light of hope in our societies, in our churches, in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. We will pray after so many churches have been for too long time place of discrimination, where the Gospel of freedom has been used to exclude, to draw boundaries and to exclude sisters and brothers. We will pray to find God in our deep silence, and in our relationships. We will pray to discover the joy and the gift of God in our diversities. We will pray our Lord Jesus to show himself to us through his love and his judgement on discrimination, on oppression, and on exclusion. We will pray to ask all together God to give us strength, clarity, joy, and good relations based on justice and peace.

Progetto Gionata, the Christian LGBT European Forum, and the Italian Commission of the Baptist, Methodist and Waldensian Churches, are preparing some suggested material for the preparation of the Vigil.
The list of the events around the world where the Vigils and the Services will take place will be available from May 1 2015 on the websites http://www.gionata.org and inveglia.wordpress.com
For more information, please contact Gionata at their e-mail address gionatanews@gmail.com and visit their website inveglia.wordpress.com or facebook page