|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
From the Executive Director
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Don’t forget the Association of Welcoming and Affirming
Baptists’ 2007 Carolinas Conference: Acceptable to God.
The conference will take place at Myers Park Baptist Church on
Friday and Saturday, October 5 and 6. Acceptable to God
will include small and large group conversation, panel
discussion, video, worship, personal reflection, congregational
action planning, and other shared resources.
For a complete agenda and registration form, go to
www.wabaptists.org.
Please complete the registration form and return it to Myers
Park Baptist Church. If you have questions, contact event
organizer Fran Cook at
(704)
301-3022 or fcook10@carolina.rr.com.
Lovingly,
Ken Pennings
608-255-2155
ken@wabaptists.org
New York Court Upholds
Recognition of Foreign Same-Sex Marriages
By Arthur S. Leonard,
September 12, 2007
For the first time, a New York state court has ruled that the principal
of "comity" used to determine whether out-of-state marriages should be
recognized in New York would support recognizing same-sex marriages from
other jurisdictions, even though the New York Court of Appeals has ruled
that same-sex couples do not have the right to marry in this state.
Acting Supreme Court Justice Thomas J. McNamara's ruling in Godfrey v.
DiNapoli, No. 5896-06, RJI No.:
01-06-086862 (Supreme Court, Albany County) was communicated
to the parties on September 5 and publicly announced by State
Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli on September 12. The litigation arose
from a decision by DiNapoli's predecessor, Alan J. Hevesi, who had
announced that the New York State and Local Retirement System, a pension
system for public employees in the state, would recognize same-sex
marriages contracted in Canada, where that became possible in some
provinces as early as 2003. Hevesi acted in response to an inquiry from
a state employee who was planning to marry his partner in Canada. Hevesi
relied on an opinion that had been issued in the spring of 2004 by
then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's office, suggesting that comity
principles would support recognizing same-sex marriages from
Massachusetts and Canada. According to Justice McNamara, this decision
mainly affects the right of surviving spouses to receive various
benefits if a pensioner dies.
October is GLBT History Month, and Equality Forum has announced 31
icons to be featured throughout the month. The 31 icons, selected
by leaders of national and international GLBT organizations,
achieved
success within their respective fields of endeavor, were national
heroes or advanced GLBT civil rights. Log onto AWAB’s website,
www.wabaptists.org, every
day in October to read some amazing stories about Leonard Bernstein,
Annie Leibovitz, Angela Davis, Renee Richards, and 27 others.
National Coming
Out Day, October 11
The theme for
National Coming Out Day 2007 is Talk About It, continuing the
slogan and branding that the national program has been building
since 2005. National Coming Out Day is a time to celebrate openness
and honesty—whether you came out 20 minutes ago or 20 years ago,
this is a time for all Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and
Straight supportive people to Talk About It with friends,
family and coworkers. You can order Coming Out Day kits by going to
the Human Rights Campaign’s website,
www.hrc.org.
Holy Relationships: 2007 Midwest Regional Conference
November 2-4, 2007 Indianapolis, Indiana
Featuring National Theologians, Authors, and LGBT Activists: Rev. Dr. Mel
White Dr. Virginia Mollenkott Dr. Sharon Groves Sponsored by: The
Pride of the University of Indianapolis The Church Within (Indianapolis,
Indiana) The Holy Relationships National Steering Committee Co-Sponsored
by: The Human Rights Campaign: Religion and Faith Program, The Pacific
School of Religion Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies, The UCC Coalition for
LGBT Concerns, The Iowa Pride Network; Global Peace Initiatives, Inc.
Friday,
November 2, 2007 4:00 –
6:00 PM Registration / Organizational Fair 6:00 – 6:50 PM Gathering Service / Keynote Address Music by
Gospel Singer – Brenda Williams 7:00 – 9:00
PM Performance and Discussion: Remember Who Made You by
Jeffery Barnes
Saturday,
November 3, 2007 8:30 -
9:00 AM Gathering & Devotions, led by Rev. Darren Chittick
9:00 – 10:30 AM General
Session I: On Holy Relationships General Session I Speakers:
Jeffery Barnes, Moderating Qualities of Holy Relationships Rev. Rich
McCarty, co-moderator, Holy Relationships National Steering Committee
Relationships with Others – LGBT&A Dr. Virginia Mollenkott, Professor and
Author Cultivating a Holy Relationship with Oneself Linda L. Proffitt,
MSW, Executive Director of Global Peace Initiatives 10:45
– 12:00 PM
Workshops: Exploring Sex, Sexuality, Wholeness and Holiness,
Relationship with Self, Bible 101: What does Scripture really say about LGBT
people?, Interfaith Dialogue on Human Sexuality and Relationships, Gender
Identity, Young Adults and LGBT Culture, LGBT Identities: Straight Acting?
Queer? Butch? Fem? Dom/Submissive? Exploring the different ways LGBT
identify, Christian Theology and Holy Relationships: Drawing on Our
Traditions, Living Healthy and Whole With or With One You Care About with
AIDS: Individual, Community, and Church Response and Efforts, Unholy
Relationships – Racism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Reimagining Forgiveness: When
Holy Relationships Need Healing, Exploring Holy Relationships
General Session II: LGBTA Storytelling General Session II
Speakers: A Portrait of Faith Communities and LGBT Inclusion in America
Dr. Sharon Groves, Manager, Human Rights Campaign: Religion and Faith
Program On Families Accepting Their LGBT Relatives Ria Murray, Author (To
be Confirmed) Issues Facing Youth and Young Adults in our Schools Ryan
Romerman, Executive Director of the Iowa Pride Network 4:00 – 7:00 PM Break 7:00 –
8:30 PM
Workshops: Creating My Own Story/Monologue, Transgender Storytelling,
Young Adult/Young Professional Storytelling, Parents, Family, and Friends of
LGBT, Stories from the Church: Our Struggles, Our Hopes, Our Pain, Our
Healing, Stories from Mixed Marriages: When Homosexual People are Married to
Heterosexual People, Discussions on Monogamy and Polyamory, Sacred Pampering
Post a Group: Post a topic for discussion, gather for informal
discussion. 8:45 – 10:30 PM Film/Artistic/Musical Presentation:
The 2007 Holy Relationships Midwest Regional Conference Planning Team
looks forward to bringing you an engaging performance piece by which we
might draw together after a full day of conferencing.
Sunday,
November 4, 2007 9:00 –
9:25 AM Gathering and Devotion 9:30 –
10:30 AM Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. Mel White 10:30 –
10:45 AM Musical Presentation 11:00 –
11:30 AM Book-signing with Mel White 11:45 –
1:00 PM
Workshops: Resources for People of Faith in the Effort of Full Inclusion,
Strategies for Congregations, Legal Rights / Legal Strategies, Gay –
Straight – Alliances on Campuses, Strategies for Creating Peace, Strategies
for Parents, Family, and Friends of LGBT, Strategies for the Next Generation
of Leaders
Closing Service - 1:15 – 2:00 PM
For additional information and to register:
www.holyrelationships2007.com.
by AWAB Chairperson Heather Rittenhouse
Are you curious about how faith and sexuality
could possibly intersect? Do you wish you could talk meaningfully
with those whose views are radically different from yours about this
topic, but you don’t know how? Do you love movies?
If your answer to these questions is yes, please
check out the new documentary entitled FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.
Directed by Daniel Karslake, this film presents religion and
sexuality in a way that
encourages viewers to engage their beliefs in a
spirit of serious examination rather than mindless acceptance and
also to recognize how matters of faith can be easily co-opted by
politics. Since its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film
Festival, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO has won multiple human rights
awards as well as “best documentary” audience awards at numerous
festivals. In the words of Daniel Karslake, “The film is all about
family and all about healing. There is no other film out there that
is
more respectful of people and their right to
disagree.”
Currently, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO is scheduled
to open in theaters around the country beginning in October. For a
location of a screening
near you and to view the trailer of the film, please visit
www.forthebibletellsmeso.org
Interim Pastor
Grace
Baptist
Church
is seeking a part-time interim pastor. Grace
Baptist
Church
is a small, diverse American Baptist congregation that meets on the
north side of
Chicago.
The 20-year-old church rents worship space from another church and
meets on Sunday evenings. It is a member of the Association of
Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (with a high percentage of GLBT
members) and a member of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America.
Members come from both the suburbs and the city of
Chicago.
As a congregation, Grace is justice-oriented, committed to prayer for
one another, and engaged in dynamic and eclectic worship. The community
places a high value on lay leadership, and is committed to using
inclusive language in worship.
Please send resume and cover letter to:
Interim Search Committee
Grace Baptist
Church
1020 W. Bryn Mawr
Chicago, IL 60660
or to:
pastor@gracebaptistchicago.com
Associational is a periodic e-newsletter of the Association
of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, a network of 68 churches and hundreds of
individuals who have joined together to advocate for the full inclusion of
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons within Baptist communities of
faith. Please forward this e-newsletter to interested friends. Copy
relevant information into your organization’s bulletin and newsletter. To
subscribe, send an e-mail to
subscribe@wabaptists.org
with SUBSCRIBE in the subject
line. To be removed from this list, send an e-mail to
unsubscribe@wabaptists.org
with REMOVE in the subject
line. To read back issues of Associational, go to:
www.wabaptists.org/associational.htm.
To learn more about the Association, go to:
www.wabaptists.org.
|
