"healing'' homosexuals.

The Bermuda Human Rights Alliance, which says it represents more than 100 local homosexuals, called the attempt "crazy''.

The campaign will start next month, when churchmen fly in a team of American "former homosexuals'', who will tell how their lives have changed.

Churches then want to set up a local group to help gay people who want to change.

But the BHRA will ignore the campaign and take no part in planned discussion meetings, a spokeswoman for the organisation said yesterday.

"It's crazy for a bunch of people to bring in these guys and say `We're going to change you, and you are suffering from neurosis', which basically means `mental disorder'.

"It's a game we're not going to participate in. We'll just ignore it.'' The spokeswoman accused campaign organisers of "playing God''.

"No-one chooses to born black in a world that's run by whites, and no-one chooses to be born gay - to have your family discriminate against you and have your friends stop talking to you.

"We're not going to respond the way they expect us to respond, but that doesn't mean we're just going to let sleeping dogs lie.'' The BHRA spokeswoman identified herself only as a "25-year-old single black female''.

"We just want to lie low at this point,'' she said.

The church campaign is the brainchild of a new Christian body being formed by West Pembroke Pentecostal Assembly, the Church of the Nazarene, Emmanuel Baptist Church and the New Testament Church of God.

Called the Family Policy Council, it has the aim of involving all the Island's churches in "strengthening the family''.

Church leaders say homosexuality will be the council's first topic because it is one of the most "controversial and potentially divisive'' issues facing Bermuda's Christians.

The council plans to fly in members of Transformation Ex-Gay Ministries, based in Washington D.C.

They will speak at open meetings on May 14 and 15 which will include personal testimonies, a workshop for church officials, a discussion on what causes homosexuality and a review of scientific opinion.

The Rev. Harlyn Purdy, of West Pembroke Pentecostal Church, said he had hoped the BHRA would take part.

"I would be disappointed if they were just simply saying they are not interested in what anybody else has to say.

"We had hoped for an exchange of ideas. We're not putting this thing on for the purpose of bashing anybody.'' He said he found Transformation Ex-Gay Ministries "very credible'', from what he had been able to discover.

"There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that homosexuality is a choice, and absolutely no conclusive evidence otherwise.''