December 30, 2009

Encouraging Music 12/30/09 I Love You - God

Matthew 25 Resource 12/30/09-Boulder (CO) Shelter For the Homeless

Mission:



To provide safe shelter, food, support services, and an avenue to self-sufficiency for homeless adults in our community.


Purpose:


We believe that all people deserve the basic necessities of life, and the community in which we live is called to serve this purpose.


Core Values:

Treat all with dignity
Offer support and opportunity
Practice responsible stewardship
Achieve results through competence and creativity
 
Click here to find out more.

PFLAG's Holding Families Together Part 3 and 4 of 4

PFLAG's "Holding Families Together" part 3 of 4: Holding Families Together video series looks at social problems that result when parents reject their LGBT sons and daughters.

Daily Devotional 12/30/09 God's Plan and Purpose for Your Life

From:  Love Worth Finding
                                                                                                                                                     "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is." -1 John 3:2

If Jesus is Lord of your life, then not only is your entire life ordered, but so is every single step within your life.

God has a plan for the plumber as well as the preacher, for the mechanic as well as the missionary. And if, for instance, God calls you to be a mechanic and you become a missionary, you are accepting second best!

To find God's will is the highest achievement in your life. Success is not spelled M-O-N-E-Y. Nor is it spelled F-A-M-E.

Success is the continuous realization of the will of God — what God desires for your life.

God does not make clones; He makes children! There is an ultimate purpose for your life as His child — to be like Jesus.


December 29, 2009

First Legally Recognized Same-Sex Marriage Performed in Latin America

From the Miami Herald:

An official in Argentina's southern Tierra del Fuego province says two Argentine men have wed there in Latin America's first gay marriage.



Provincial spokesman Eduardo Porter says the wedding between Jose Maria Di Bello and Alex Freyre took place at the civil registry in Ushuaia.

Their marriage plans in Buenos Aires earlier this month were thwarted when city officials refused to marry them because of conflicting rulings.


An official representing the federal government's antidiscrimination agency attended the wedding. Claudio Morgado called Monday's marriage "historic."


Argentina's Constitution is silent on whether marriage must be between a man and a woman, effectively leaving the matter to state and city officials.
 
Click here to see photos from the ceremony, also from the Miami Herald.

Encouraging Words 12/29/09-A Secular Jew Encourages LGBT Outreach to Religious Organizations

From Emma Ruby-Sachs, blogger for 365gay.com.  Even though Christmas has passed, the thought is still very relevant.
As a secular Jew, I watch Christmas from the outside. It’s a holiday where the family rumblings and big dinners come with a pleasant, and for many, watered-down host of religious traditions: midnight mass, carols, Church concerts and performances. But religion is particularly important this time of year. With all that thinking about baby Jesus, people also can’t help but consider G-d, their relationship to G-d and their relationship to their own religious traditions.



Funnily enough, this week a number of religious leaders have taken a moment to comment on gay issues. Former Ugandan Archbishop of York condemned the anti-gay bill in his home country. And a patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church confirmed that, despite their position that homosexuality is a sin, punishing homosexual behavior is not supported by the church.


I find these small small movements towards tolerance heartening. We, as an equality movment, are often pitted against religious institutions. But at Christmas time, I am reminded, again, of how central religious institutions are to life in North America and around the world.


So, this Christmas season I am making my own kind of resolution: We need to reach out more, engage more and talk more to the religious community. For those reading this post in between family events, take this time to talk to your own religious community about tolerance and respect for LGBT people. The news shows us, thing are changing, moving towards acceptance.

Encouraging Music 12/29/09 "Hold On to God's Love" by Christine Spencer

LGBT Helping Hands 12/29/09-Q Center (Portland, OR)

Q Center is a 501c3 non-profit organization with a mission to increase the visibility of and foster connection within metropolitan Portland’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Questioning (LGBTQ) community. The center builds public awareness and support, and celebrates LGBTQ diversity through art, culture, and collaborative community programming.



There are dozens of events and groups that meet here, some focused on specific topics (like coming out or gender identity) and others aimed at fun social interactions (like sing-along piano cabarets or craft nights). Most of these options are free-of-charge and run by dedicated volunteers, keeping Q Center truly community-driven and accessible.


In addition to our programmatic offerings, our 5,000 sq/ft facility is also a safe and friendly place to spend an afternoon. With our monthly art exhibits, extensive library collection, Resource Wall, and free WiFi access, there’s always something to see and learn here at Q Center.
 
Click here to find out more.

PFLAG's Holding Families Together Part 2 of 4

PFLAG's "Holding Families Together" part 2 of 4: Holding Families Together video series looks at social problems that result when parents reject their LGBT sons and daughters.

Daily Devotional 12/29/09 Understanding Kingdom Authority

From: Love Worth Finding


"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." - Luke 10:19

A police officer weighing 160 pounds may effectively stand before a tanker truck and, with an uplifted hand, say, "Stop, in the name of the law." The police officer certainly couldn't stop the truck with his physical force. He is appealing to an authority greater than himself — the law — to back him up.

Your authority over Satan is the same way. Your authority does not rest in your strength. You cannot overcome Satan with your power but rather with Kingdom Authority from God. And you have that as a child of the King. You have His authority to overcome every attack of Satan.

Sing of the power of the Lord. Sing or meditate on these verses of "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God."


December 28, 2009

Do Gay Marriage Foes Deserve to be Heard?

Another way to turn this question around is to ask when does free speech cross the line and become offensive and hurtful?  A group in Washington, DC believes ads on local buses against same-sex marriage cross that line.  Columnist Colbert I. King respectfully disagrees in the Washington Post:

That Full Equality Now takes offense is understandable. But should the ads be taken down?



Fortunately, yet another group of citizens has weighed in on the issue.


The group includes Mitch Wood, president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance; Arthur B. Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU of the Nation's Capital; Jeffrey D. Richardson, president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club; Aisha C. Mills, president of Campaign for All D.C. Families; and activist Richard J. Rosendall.
 
Unlike Full Equality Now DC, the group led by Wood and Spitzer has stepped forward to defend the freedom of expression of forces against gay marriage, even though those same forces have not done so for supporters of civil marriage equality.



In their letter to Catoe, the Wood-Spitzer alliance wrote: "As supporters of civil marriage equality, we also embrace the principle of free speech enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which makes our own advocacy possible. Indeed, the then-named Gay Activists Alliance thirty years ago won a court battle against WMATA for the right to place educational posters in Metrobuses with the message, 'Someone In Your Life Is Gay.' WMATA is a quasi-governmental body and is thus subject to the First Amendment. We, the undersigned, therefore urge you to reject the misguided censorship advocated by Full Equality Now DC."


Speaking not only for themselves but also for people like me, they said: "Free speech is not only for those whose beliefs we find acceptable. The proper response to offensive speech is more speech. Your proper response to Full Equality Now DC, therefore, is that those who object to ads by Stand For Marriage DC are free to place their own.


"Thank you for resisting pressures to favor or disfavor particular viewpoints, from whatever political direction they may come."
 
We believe this group does the LGBT community proud and sets a standard right-wing groups should strive to meet by puting their self-interest aside and being concerned about the greater good, in this case preserving freedom of speech.
 
Click here to read the rest of the op-ed.

Encouraging Words 12/28/09-"I am Gay. I am Christian. I'm Not Hiding Anything"

That's a declaration made by Canadian singer Matthew David as reported by Canada's Xtra:

The 27-year-old singer, who came out to his family earlier this year after deciding to release an autobiographical album, admits he was afraid he’d lose everything if he revealed his sexuality to those closest to him.



“If this was 10 or 15 years ago, I would’ve thought that my only option would be to put a gun to my head or run away and never come back,” David says.


“My whole world was Christian,” he explains. “My family, my extended family — my school was a private Christian school. For anyone to discover that I was gay would have been devastating.”


Homosexuality isn’t often talked about in his church, he notes, but it “is alluded to as the ultimate, triple X–rated sin. If you do it once, you’d be lost forever.”

Encouraging Music 12/28/09 "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland

Matthew 25 Resource 12/28/09-United Way Community Food Bank (Bimingham, AL)

About the United Way Community Food Bank: grant of $100,000 from the Greater Birmingham Foundation made it possible for the Food Bank to open its doors on December 1, 1982. At that time, service was provided to Jefferson, Shelby and Walker counties. The planning was done by volunteers from the community and the Planning department of United Way of Central Alabama . Over the last 21 years, the number of counties served by the food bank has increased from 3 to 13 and the number of agencies distributing food in Central Alabama has increased from 30 to 190.



We receive food through America’s Second Harvest (a national food bank network with more than 200 food bank members) from government agencies, national donors, local donors and additional food is purchased with monies allocated in our budget.


The Food Bank operates as a central clearinghouse for collecting food that might otherwise be wasted. The Food Bank solicits and receives both new and commercially excess but fully edible food from many food industry sources such as manufacturers, distributors, warehouse and storage operations, grocery chains and individual donors. The Food Bank is also a member of America’s Second Harvest, a nationwide network of food banks, which solicits food in vast amounts and divides these goods among more than 200 food banks in the United States. This food is distributed to non-profit agencies and religious organizations that directly serve the needy through their own programs. These programs include shelters for the homeless, soup kitchens, residential facilities for the elderly and handicapped and shelters for abused women and children. Any charitable, non-profit agency meeting the criteria of the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 © (3) agency may apply to become an agency of the Food Bank. The agency must then agree to distribute the food to the public at no charge.

Click here to find out more.

PFLAG's Holding Families Together Part 1 of 4

PFLAG's "Holding Families Together" part 1 of 4: Holding Families Together video series looks at social problems that result when parents reject their LGBT sons and daughters.

Daily Devotional 12/28/09

December 27, 2009

A Legal Married Gay Perspective on Legal Marriage

Father Tony at The Bilerico Project weighs in on the institution of marriage a year after he entered into it with his long-time partner and, while grateful, seems somewhat unmoved.  We'll let you in on a secret--as a straight couple, we share many of the same feelings; we were in a committed covenant relationship well before we took our vows and signed the papers.  Here's an excerpt from Father Tony's essay;

My marriage is a contract, a conveyance, a vehicle, a convenience and a protection. Its anniversary is not unlike getting that annual flu shot.



We have built our relationship in a homophobic and hostile culture with no guidance and no template. Before we married, we woke up every day to reinvent and renew an unwritten contract and an allegiance and a love for which there was no recipe and no safe harbor. Therefore, no city hall, no license and no ceremony could ever equal what we have created on our own and entirely of our own daily volition. Marriage does not dignify it or ratify it or solemnify it or sanctify it. If anything, it waters it down a bit or reduces it. Obviously, we married for the practicalities but there have been some surprising benefits that I'll be mentioning.


We got married to protect our assets and our rights and for the financial benefits. We are grateful for those conveyances, but really, they are only what we are owed as citizens of this country. Let's continue the struggle for our rights, but let's not overly glorify this rather odd and ill-fitting institution.
 
Click here to read the rest of the essay.

LGBT Helping Hands 12/27/09-SMYAL (Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, Washington, DC)

The Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) is the only Washington, DC metro area service organization solely dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Founded in 1984, SMYAL is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.Our mission is to promote and support self-confident, healthy, productive lives for LGBTQ youth ages 13-21 as they journey from adolescence into adulthood.


To fulfill our mission, we concentrate our commitment and energy on five focus areas: (1) Life Skills & Leadership Development, (2) Counseling & Support, (3) Health & Wellness Education, (4) Safe Social Activities, and (5) Community Outreach and Education.

Click here to find out more.

Welcome to Sunday Worship 12/27/09

If you don't have a welcoming church near you, or you just can't make yourself step into one, we're bringing worship to you. Here are links to some worship music and services from open and affirming ministries (all times eastern). I hope you are blessed and take time out of your busy schedule to enter into the Lord's day.

Don't forget to click on the tab on the upper right of this blog and leave your prayer requests in the comment section so we can petition the Lord for your needs.

If you know of a service we should add to our list, please send an e-mail and share it with us. Live Sunday Services (all times Eastern)VIDEOFL-Potters'>http://www.ustream.tv/channel/phif">FL-Potters House International Fellowship, Tampa, 11:00 AM VA-Believers Covenant Fellowship, Vienna, 11:00 AMAL-Covenant Community Church, Birmingham, 12:00 AMNC-Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship, Winston-Salem, 12:00 PMFL-Oasis Fellowship Ministries, Casselberry, 12:00 PMOK-Diversity Christian Fellowship International, Tulsa, 1:00 PMCA-Glory Tabernacle Christian Center, Long Beach, 1:00 PMWA-Living Water Fellowship, Kenmore, 1:30 PMCanada-Rainbow Community Church, Vancouver 9:00 PM

AUDIOCanada'>http://www.christalive.ca/?page_id=26">Canada, Vancouver-Christ Alive Community Church, 10:15 PMFL-Beacon of Hope Ministries, Dunedin (Living the Good Life radio program) 4:30 PM
Video Archive
AL-Covenant Community Church, BirminghamCA-Glory Tabernacle Christian Center, Long BeachFL-Church of the Holy SpiritSong, Ft. LauderdaleFL-Oasis Fellowship Ministries, CasselberryFL-New'>http://www.blogofhope.com/?cat=6">FL-New Hope Christian Center, PensacolaFL-Potters House International Fellowship, TampaGA-Gentle Spirit Christian Church, AtlantaGA-New Covenant Church of AtlantaNC-Church'>http://www.renaissanceunity.org/live.htm">NC-Church of the Holy Spirit Fellowship, Winston-SalemOK-Expressions Community Fellowship, Oklahoma CityOK-Diversity Christian Fellowship International, TulsaTX-The One Church, GarlandWA-Living Water Fellowship, KenmoreCanada-Rainbow Community Church, Vancouver

Audio ArchiveAZ-Community Church of Hope, PhoenixAK-Open Door Community Church, SherwoodCA-Christ Chapel of Long BeachCA-Christ Chapel of the Valley, North HollywoodFL-Beacon of Hope Ministries, Dunedin (Living the Good Life radio program)FL-Body of Christ Church of God, LargoFL-New Hope Christian Center, PensecolaGA-New Covenant Church of AtlantaKY-Covenant Community Church, LouisvilleMD-Kittamaqundi Community, ColumbiaNC-Revolution CharlotteOH-Emmanuel Fellowship Church, AkronOH-All Saints Community Church, CortlandTN-Covenant of the Cross, MadisonTX-New'>http://www.nhfcdallas.org/pages/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=9">TX-New Hope Fellowship Church, DallasTX-White Rock Community Church, DallasTX-Community Gospel Church, HoustonTX-Through Him Fellowship, HoustonUT-Glory'>http://glory2godonline.com/cms/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=68">UT-Glory to God Christian Church, OgdenSouth Africa-Deo Gloria Family Church

Can we pray for you? E-mail


Has the National Equality March Made a Difference?

According to this article from the Bay Area Reporter (San Francisco, CA), it's hard to tell, which is not exactly reassuring:

Two months after an estimated 100,000 people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the National Equality March, activists calling for nationwide LGBT equality are working on their next steps.



But progress appears to have slowed considerably.


The National Equality March's only stated goal was equal protection for LGBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.


Cleve Jones, the longtime gay activist largely responsible for the march, had insisted the best way to achieve full equality would be to establish action teams in all 435 congressional districts across the country. But it's still not clear how many of those teams have been formed or what they are doing.


Last month, Jones told the Bay Area Reporter that he thought groups had formed in some 200 congressional districts.


"But that's kind of fuzzy," he said.


Equality Across America is the group that oversaw the march. But it has been hampered by disorganization and a turnover in leadership following the sudden resignations of co-chairs Kip Williams and Robin McGehee less than a month after the march.
 
Click here to read the rest of the story.