Brother Davis Mac-Iyalla

Brother Davis Mac-Iyalla, an Anglican Christian lay leader and co-founder of Alliance Rights, the first gay and lesbian network in Nigeria, will speak at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, in the parish hall.

In February 2008, Mac-Iyalla received the Bishop Desmond Tutu Award for Human Rights and Social Justice from the World Pride and Power Organization. This award reflected Mac-Iyalla’s tireless efforts over the previous 20 years to advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Africans in the face of significant opposition from government and religious organizations.

Later that same year, following imprisonment, violent attacks and a string of death threats, he fled Africa for the UK where he received asylum and now lives. In the UK he co-founded Nigerian LGBTIs in Diaspora Against Anti Same-Sex Laws and the Nigeria Association of LGBTIs Abroad.

Mac-Iyalla was born in 1972 in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. He is one of the first Nigerian gay men to come out publicly. He is a lay reader and a Knight of the Church of Nigeria (an honor given to laypeople who have made significant contributions to the church).

Mac-Iyalla wrote and published his story in the book “Fiyabo,” which means “survivor” in his language. He says that he and his LGBTI brothers and sisters are survivors. He said he wrote his book to inform people about the plight of LGBTI people in Africa and to help his fellow Africans understand that LGBTI people “are God’s children too.”

For more information, visit www.stpaulschestnuthill.org or call 215-242-2055.