The Audacity of Canyon Ridge Christian Church Participating in National HIV Testing Day

You might say that Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas has a certain degree of chutzpah. But in this case, that's not entirely a compliment. See, Canyon Ridge has for years been a "strategic partner" to a Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa, who is spear-heading efforts in that country to criminalize homosexuality with the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Scores of faith leaders that were once friendly with Ssempa have long since abandoned him and condemned his work to criminalize homosexuality. But not Canyon Ridge. They've refused to condemn Ssempa's work to kill gay people and HIV positive people, instead saying that Ssempa is leading "a prophetic ministry through the media," and that Ssempa is raising "a new generation of world-class leaders" to move Uganda forward.

Yes, for Canyon Ridge, death to gay people and HIV-positive people is apparently the way forward for life in Uganda.

But what's even more troubling than Canyon Ridge's support for Martin Ssempa's ministry is that next week, the Church is slated to be a hosting site for a day of rapid HIV-testing held by the Southern Nevada Health District. It's all part of National HIV Testing Day, annually marked on June 27. And while we should be encouraging everyone to get tested, there's a deep sense of creepiness that Canyon Ridge will be the site of a test center.

Yes, with one hand they say they've got a commitment to be an "instrumental force in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS," and with the other hand they're celebrating the work of Martin Ssempa, who if he had the chance, would systematically kill nearly every gay man who tested positive for HIV. Sound a little bit hypocritical?

Makes you wonder why the Southern Nevada Health District would want to partner with Canyon Ridge to provide HIV testing. Don't you think it might make sense to ask Canyon Ridge to stop celebrating the work of a pastor in Uganda who wants to kill HIV-positive people first?

Send the Southern Nevada Health District a message that they should demand that partnering with Canyon Ridge, while the Church actively works with people who criminalize HIV, is the wrong message for a public health group to convey.

Warren Throckmorton, a Grove City University professor who has been writing about Uganda's anti-gay problem for close to a year, has tried to engage Canyon Ridge a number of times, hoping to coax out of them a condemnation of Martin Ssempa's work. After all, Rick Warren has condemned Ssempa's work to criminalize HIV and homosexuality, as well as a number of other religious institutions (including WAIT Training) that used to work with Ssempa. But Canyon Ridge won't budge. They keep coming back with tired rhetoric about how their mission isn't to judge others.

But that's literally staying neutral while a man parades around Uganda stirring up such widespread homophobia that some activists believe Ssempa and his allies could be liable for a potential genocide against gay people and HIV-positive people. Here are Ssempa's own words about what he thinks about gay HIV-positive people:

"Homosexuals should absolutely not be included in Uganda’s HIV/AIDS framework. It is a crime, and when you are trying to stamp out a crime you don’t include it in your programmes," Ssempa said. Ssempa has also made comments that he finds it perfectly acceptable for Christians to execute HIV-positive gay people.

Yet here's Canyon Ridge's own Web site, praising the work of Martin Ssempa.

We've asked before why Canyon Ridge would want to continue to partner with such a fanatical and dangerous man. Hundreds of Change.org members have emailed the Church, pleading with them to denounce Martin Ssempa's rhetoric. So far they haven't listened.

But for the Southern Nevada Health District to now join forces with Canyon Ridge, while the Church celebrates the work of a man in Uganda working to kill HIV-positive people is a travesty. Yes, National HIV Testing Day is supposed to be a day about advocacy and awareness. But this sends the wrong message. This sends the message that Canyon Ridge doesn't have to be accountable for their support of a man who wants to murder gay people and HIV-positive people.

The Southern Nevada Health District should take their business elsewhere, at least until Canyon Ridge can unequivocally say that they denounce the work of Martin Ssempa.

Photo credit: San Francisco Sentinel