Winners Chapel London Says It Welcomes Gays and Homosegxwals To Its Church After Expose

From the first moment I mentioned my segxwality, presenting as a gay man to pastors at Winners’ in Dartford, their attitude was immediate and obvious.

They told me that I didn’t need to feel guilty about what I said I was, but that wasn’t in any way reassuring.

To them, it was clear that being gay was both a sin, and in some sense a sickness that is both mental and spiritual.

They described it as demonically-influenced, and so my lack of guilt was because I didn’t necessarily cause it.

I went through hours of counselling and prayer sessions, all directed at ridding me of my homosegxwality.

Sometimes the prayers in themselves seemed harmless, such as for God to direct me and guide me.

I felt it changed from something that could have been comforting to something sinister and potentially traumatising.

Prayer is, for many people, a powerful and spiritual experience.

Belief in God helps many religious people in their lives in numerous ways. I grew up in the church and understand how faith can be a strength and a comfort.

But my experience at Winners’ showed that there is a disturbing ignorance around issues of segxwal orientation in some churches.

Some of the pastors who counselled me made highly disturbing comments, comparing me to brainwashed children in Nazi Germany.

There was little sensitivity about how this could have been incredibly damaging to me.