[MLPnews] MLPNews Oct. 14, 2005

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*
MLP News

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....working for the full inclusion of LGBT people of faith
in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

	

Volume 2
Issue 9
  Oct. 14, 2005



 

 

 

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In this issue:

    Special section: More Light regional conferences
        The MLP Louisville Conference: Oct. 21-23, 2005
        Vision Quest in Santa Fe, Nov. 4-6
        Sharing Our Journey - Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 11-13

    - "My heart has been changed" -- Presbytery of Genesee Valley passes
    a delete-B overture by 77%
    - Coming out for more light & taking your next steps
    - "This is a moral issue": Winnebago Presbytery takes a stand
    AGAINST proposed Wisconsin anti-gay marriage amendment
    - "No mandate for delay": Witherspoon Society rejects task force's
    call for moratorium on delete-B overtures
    - Another delete-B passes! Mid-Kentucky Presbytery overwhelmingly
    sends equality overture to 2006 General Assembly
    - The Momentum Continues! Twin Cities Presbytery overwhelmingly
    sends a delete-B overture to General Assembly
    - MLP Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Shower of Stoles Project
    - Contribute to our history: How to submit materials to the Rutgers
    MLP/PLGC archives
    - Local More Light teams at work: Despite pushback, First Palo Alto
    organizes More Light table at San Jose Presbytery meeting
    - More Light church in the news: First Baldwin Park hosts an
    elementary school
    - Featured web resource: the More Light job listings



*The MLP Louisville Conference: Oct. 21-23, 2005*

You are invited to join us in Louisville for:
*REALIZING THE DREAM: SOJOURNING TOGETHER*
A Regional MLP Conference & Retreat, October 21-23, 2005, Louisville, 
Kentucky.

The conference and retreat theme based upon Micah 6:6-8 is "Realizing 
the Dream: Sojourning Together." This conference is designed for LGBT 
persons, their families and allies from the Midwest and open to anyone 
from around the country. The registration page 
<http://www.mlp.org/staticpages/index.php?page=sjregky> is available 
online.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=2005092614374448> *

*

MLP regional conference: Vision Quest in Santa Fe, Nov. 4-6
*

*Sharing a Vision Quest in Santa Fe, NM on Retreat with MLP - Nov. 4 - 
6, 2005 *

Our retreat leader is the *Rev. Rachel Srubas, * an extraordinary 
retreat leader, spiritual director, poet and pastor from Tucson, AZ. The 
setting is Ghost Ranch Conference Center, Santa Fe, NM known for its 
sacred landscapes and peaceful atmosphere.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20051002191056625>*
*
*

*
MLP regional conference: Sharing Our Journey - Pittsburgh, PA, Nov. 11-13
*

***Sharing Our Journey * - *November 11 - 13 * at Camp Crestfield, 
Slippery Rock, PA

You are invited to retreat with us to beautiful and peaceful Camp 
Crestfield, just an hour north of Pittsburgh for our Regional MLP 
Conference "Sharing Our Journey: Sojourning Together." It will be a 
weekend of reflection and spiritual growth inspired by the sacred art of 
storytelling.
*Read more...* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20051010191709677>

**



**

** *"My heart has been changed" - Presbytery of Genesee Valley passes a 
delete-B overture by 77%!
*

*
*The Presbytery of Genesee Valley met on Tuesday, September 27, at the 
Presbyterian Church of Dansville NY, to consider an overture which would 
remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order and eliminate relevant anti-gay 
Authoritative Interpretations of the Book of Order. Initiated by Calvary 
St Andrews Presbyterian Parish of Rochester NY, with additional 
concurrences by Lima Presbyterian Church, Downtown United Presbyterian 
Church and Third Presbyterian Church, the measure passed with 77% 
approval, 77 to 22. This is the largest level of support on this issue 
in the history of the presbytery.

Spirits were high among overture proponents. One retired pastor in the 
presbytery, who had suffered a mild stroke within the last two weeks, 
insisted on attending the meeting. He accomplished this by bringing his 
doctor with him, his ID bracelet from the hospital not yet removed from 
his wrist. *
Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=2005092817005510>*

*
*

*
Coming out for more light & taking your next steps
*

**/A message from our field organizer Michael Adee in conjunction with 
National Coming Out Day 
<http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Coming_Out> on Oct. 11/
*National Coming Out Day, October 11, Coming Out for More Light house 
parties, and Taking Your Next Steps*

For those of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, 
queer or questioning, and able to be "out" I invite you to remember your 
own coming out process. Who was the first person you came out to? Do you 
recall your feelings in that moment? What impact has coming out had in 
your life, upon your faith and health?

For those of us who are persons of faith, an integral part of our faith 
and spiritual life is coming out to God. It does not seem necessary to 
"come out to God" for God's sake as if God did not already know, of 
course. The life-giving, "necessary" part for us is the integration of 
our spirituality with our sexuality, our body and soul align in ways not 
entirely possible before. Coming out is about telling the truth of our 
lives. Being truthful is essential to being a person of faith. Reflect 
upon the Biblical stories about truth-telling, the warnings against 
deception and bearing false witness, and being told by Jesus in the 
Gospel of John that "the truth shall set us free." Coming out is like 
coming home to ourselves.
*Read more...* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20051001130712531>* *

**

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*

*
"This is a moral issue": Winnebago Presbytery takes a stand AGAINST 
proposed Wisconsin anti-gay marriage amendment
*

*
*

In a sign that the tide is beginning to turn for the marriage equality 
movement in America, the Presbytery of Winnebago 
<http://www.pbywinnebago.org/> has taken a formal position /against/ a 
proposed Wisconsin constitutional amendment which is written both to 
deny marriage equality to same-gender couples as well as deny a "legal 
status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage". The 
amendment, if passed, would likely strip same-gender families of basic 
human rights including health care, power of attorney, hospital 
visitation, and inheritance rights, and so would significantly harm 
thousands of Wisconsin families.

The presbytery vote was a solid 37 yes (73%), 14 no.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050928102620928>
*

*

*

*
"No mandate for delay": Witherspoon Society rejects task force's call 
for moratorium on delete-B overtures*

The Witherspoon Society <http://www.witherspoonsociety.org/>, a 
decades-old Presbyterian social justice organization, has released a 
statement 
<http://www.witherspoonsociety.org/2005/ws_on_ttf.htm#WS%20response> in 
response to the report of the PCUSA's Task Force 
<http://www.pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity/> on Peace, Unity and Purity. 
Noting that "true discernment cannot proceed in a vacuum of inaction," 
the Witherspoon statement rejects the task force's recommendation to 
postpone action on removing G6.0106b and other discriminatory 
Presbyterian policies.

Here are brief extracts from the Witherspoon statement:

"We agree with the Task Force that discernment must take place in an 
atmosphere of safety and mutual respect. Safety and respect are 
impossible, however, when one group is allowed to take part only as 
second-class members of the community, entering the discussion as 'the 
problem,' whose very presence is subject to question. This is an example 
of how the call for discernment is weakened by lack of attention to the 
realities of power..."
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050914103750307>*

* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050914103750307> *


**

*
Another delete-B passes! Mid-Kentucky Presbytery overwhelmingly sends 
equality overture to 2006 General Assembly
*

The Presbytery of Mid-Kentucky voted at its regular meeting on September 
17 to send a delete B / delete Authoritative Interpretation overture to 
next year's General Assembly. The vote was 88 in favor (71%), 36 
opposed, which is the largest percentage of yes votes that this 
presbytery has ever seen on a delete-B overture. Over time, as people 
have a chance to hear the stories of real LGBT Presbyterians and their 
lives, attitudes and votes are continuing to shift in favor of equality.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050919120552173> *

* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050919120552173>*



**

*The Momentum Continues! Twin Cities Presbytery overwhelmingly sends a 
delete-B overture to General Assembly*


In the first presbytery vote on a delete-B overture since the PCUSA's 
Theological Task Force <http://www.pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity/> released 
its widely-criticized report 
<http://www.pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity/resources/finalreport.pdf>, the 
Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area voted overwhelmingly on September 13 
to send a delete-B overture to the 2006 General Assembly. The vote was 
103 in favor, 39 opposed (73% in favor) on the delete-B overture, and 
101 in favor, 41 opposed on the parallel overture to delete the PCUSA's 
discriminatory "authoritative interpretation" from the 1970's. The 
landslide vote for equality represents a major positive shift within 
this presbytery since 2003, when the presbytery voted 123 to 93 to take 
no action on a proposal to send a similar overture to General Assembly 
in 2004. *
Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050914095423118>*


**

*
MLP Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Shower of Stoles Project
*

*
*

The National Board of Directors of More Light Presbyterians recognizes 
and celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the Shower of Stoles Project 
<http://www.showerofstoles.org> this month. We offer this recognition 
with mixed emotions because this marks the 10th Anniversary of the birth 
of the project wherein its founder, Martha Juillerat set aside her 
ordination as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian 
Church (USA).

Martha and her spouse, Tammy Lindahl, met at a clergywomen's retreat 
when they were serving churches in rural Missouri. Martha and Tammy 
faithfully responded to the call from the PCUSA General Assembly to come 
out and participate in 1993-95 National Dialogue and Study on Human 
Sexuality. Martha set aside her ordination in 1995 in Heartland 
Presbytery rather than have it removed. Tammy was one of six out LGBT 
Commissioners to the General Assembly in 2001. A judicial complaint was 
filed Tammy and as a result the Twin Cities Presbytery lost a capable 
and experienced pastor. Tammy's ministry continues as a hospice social 
worker.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050926115719192> *
*
*

*
Contribute to our history: How to submit materials to the Rutgers 
MLP/PLGC archives
*

Sometimes we can forget that our equality movement has over a 30-year 
history, long enough that historians are interested in tracking and 
archiving materials that document history as it relates to Presbyterian 
LGBT issues and concerns. Rutgers University maintains the official 
MLP/PLGC Archive in their special collections section for precisely this 
purpose. ("PLGC" refers to Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, 
one of the predecessor organizations to MLP.)  MLP's previous More Light 
Update <http://www.mlp.org/staticpages/index.php?page=update> editor Jim 
Anderson recently provided us with the instructions for submitting 
papers and other materials of historical value to the MLP/PLGC archive 
collection. Here are the instructions about the process to follow.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050920115233423>*

* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050920115233423> *


**

*Local More Light teams at work: Despite pushback, First Palo Alto 
organizes More Light table at San Jose Presbytery meeting*

The More Light team at First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto 
<http://www.fprespa.org> (California) broke new ground today by hosting 
what was apparently the first More Light table ever set up at a meeting 
of the Presbytery of San Jose. In conjunction with the presbytery's 
annual Mission Fair event, at which numerous PCUSA-related mission and 
service organizations set up information tables during the presbytery 
meeting's lunch hour, the More Light team worked with MLP's field 
organizer Michael Adee to acquire the print resources needed to stock 
the information table. Initial requests by the More Light team for a 
table reservation revealed some reluctance by presbytery staff to even 
permit the existence of a More Light table at the mission fair.
*Read more (and see the photo)...* 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=200509171819168>

**


*
More Light church in the news: First Baldwin Park hosts an elementary school
*

/Extracted from a larger article in the San Gabriel Tribune 
<http://www.sgvtribune.com>. First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin Park 
<http://hometown.aol.com/firstpresofbp/index.html> is a More Light Church./

*Arts school hopes third time's a charm*
In the five years of its existence, Creative Planet School of the Arts 
has been housed in three churches. But its latest spot, at First 
Presbyterian Church, is one officials and students feel comfortable 
calling "home." Classes started this week for the private, nonprofit 
elementary school, which combines academic and arts instruction. The 
issues that school officials feel got them kicked out of the first two 
churches, in South El Monte and El Monte, including its students' 
performing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles -- won't be a 
problem at its newest location in Baldwin Park.  "This church has been 
gay- and lesbian-friendly for 23 years," said Bill Rugh, the principal 
at the school...*
Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050916141038803>*

* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050916141038803>*


**

*Featured web resource: the More Light job listings *

*
*

If you're a welcoming Presbyterian church 
<http://www.mlp.org/index.php?topic=churches> looking to hire a 
staffperson, be sure to let us know so that we can add your position 
description to the More Light job listings section 
<http://www.mlp.org/index.php?topic=mlpJobs> on the MLP web site. You 
can send job descriptions to our news address at news at mlp.org 
<mailto:news at mlp.org>.

Similarly, if you're looking for a position, be sure to drop in and 
check the job listings <http://www.mlp.org/index.php?topic=mlpJobs> 
section every so often. You can always jump directly to this section by 
clicking on the image that says "More Light job listing" at the bottom 
of the right-hand column on the front page of www.mlp.org.

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MLPnews is published every 3-4 weeks by More Light Presbyterians 
<http://www.mlp.org>.  Text not attributed otherwise is copyright (c) 
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More Light Presbyterians is a member-supported, 501c(3) organization 
which works for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and 
transgender people of faith in the life, ministry and witness of the 
Presbyterian Church (USA) <http://www.pcusa.org>.  Your financial 
contributions are a key part of our witness, activities, and efforts to 
bring equality to the PCUSA.  You can contribute to MLP online, or print 
a mail-in signup form, at www.mlp.org/join.html 
<http://www.mlp.org/join.html>

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