MEET COLBERT

Tell us a little about yourself.
I am 50 years old. I was born in the beautiful city of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and have been living in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, for the last 24 years. I was born and raised Seventh-day Adventist but became Catholic about 10 years ago.

How do you identify?
I am a gay man.

What was it like growing up as a gay person?
I had a normal Adventist upbringing, singing in quartets, small groups, and youth choir, and being part of Pathfinders. I never considered myself gay and also hoped to have one of those glamorous weddings one day in church. However, I discovered my sexuality, that I was gay, when I left home and went to college where I met my first lover. So my upbringing was very normal mainstream Seventh-day Adventist. 

Tell us about your coming-out experience.
When I came out as a gay man I was a young adult and faced direct conflict with friends and elders in the church and suffered rejection that eroded my faith in the Adventist Church as a personal choice for a church. Later, I got a job for a Catholic-related organization and eventually found acceptance and love from my colleagues and friends who believed in Ignatian spirituality for the Christian.

Do you currently go to church? 
Yes.

If you were to tell Christians something about the LGBT community, what would it be?
In Zimbabwe, the LGBT community is marginalized and often stripped of the divinity and dignity we deserve as human beings. If Christians made an effort to share their lives with LGBT people, they would, in turn, understand the human and sacred side of the lives of LGBT people, as any person's life is sacred as ordained by God at creation.