Articles From Our June, 2005 Newsletter
Kansas City will possibly be the location of the
nation's first charter school to
actively welcome LGBTQ youth into its student body. Federal
law mandates that charter schools
"...will not discriminate
against (anyone)," and that
all youth who wish to attend the school may do so.
Jerry Battey, President of E/I Charter Academy,
Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit (educational) corporation and
Director of Program Development, will be the guest speaker
at our June 12th general meeting.
While teaching in the Los Angeles Unified School
District from 1983-2003, Battey made his name as founder of
EAGLES Academy in April 1991, the
nation's first high school program for
LGBTQ youth to have its inception as a product of a public
school system. He was also instrumental in creating the
first high school Prom in 1994 to be implemented by a
public school system. The prom was a huge success and
received international attention.
Battey retired from the District in 2003 and,
"...because California
had become too expensive to even think about living there
in retirement..." he returned
to his home state last December with his two
"children," Sonny &
Cher.
Once here, he immediately knew retirement
wasn't for
him...yet...and set out to
continue his work with youth, particularly gay youth, by
investigating the possibility of creating a charter school
in the Kansas City area.
Included in his presentation at PFLAG will be a
20-minute segment from the 1995 GLADD Media Award Winner
for Best Television Documentary, "The
Question of Equality: Generation Q." The
documentary was a four-part series on homosexuality
produced by PBS in association with Channel 4
(London).
The presentation will inform members of PFLAG of
his plans for the charter school and its
development.
"I hope that members of PFLAG
will embrace the project and perhaps some will want to
become directly involved in its development. I will be
reorganizing the Corporation, the development team, and the
Academy's Site Council. Recent high
school graduates and students of the school will be
added/elected to all governing bodies of the school. How
can one believe in a student-directed curriculum if one
doesn't directly involve students in its
curriculum development and
governance?"
The meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m. in room 307 of
The Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Road, Prairie
Village.
Greetings all. By the time you get this
newsletter I
will officially be someone's monster, I mean,
mother-in-law. The big day was May 28th. On to other
news.
Approximately two months ago I received a phone call
from Juan Rangel at The National Conference for
Community and Justice. He asked if I'd like to
introduce one of the speakers at their annual
fundraiser. Because I had worked with this young man
on an NCCJ project, I was very happy to say yes. I
have learned to be a little more comfortable in front
of a crowd so I didn't think much more about it. I
marked my calendar, wrote the intro, rummaged around
to find something appropriate to wear, and found a
date (John was gracious enough to accompany his mother
as Richard was called to work). I honestly thought it
would be a decent sized crowd but I was unprepared to
see Dick Vermeil, Carl Peterson and Tony Richardson
from the CHIEFS at the next table. Tony was one of
three people receiving a Distinguished Citizen Award
that night. Our table was close to the front so it
wasn't until I was behind the podium that I saw the
actual size of the crowd in that banquet hall...my heart
is now pounding, mouth is dry, palms are sweating...but
I opened my mouth and low and behold...out came a few
words and then some more...words that I had actually
prepared no less. Marshall then stepped up to tell of
his experience with NCCJ and the power that comes when
we address our own prejudices. The greatest thing
about standing in front of that crowd is seeing such
diversity in one place and knowing they are all
committed to the same thing- ending bigotry, racism
and bias wherever it exists. Unfortunately, it wasn't
until after the dinner that someone told me there was
no need to be nervous "after all, this is the choir".
That expression reminded me again that it doesn't
matter who you are or what you do for a
living--everyone has the opportunity to be a
distinguished citizen when they take a stand. As a
pflag mom it's nice to be reminded again that we are
not alone in the battle.
Love you all,
Jamie
P.S. If you have never been to PRIDE, please consider
coming out this year- celebrate the diversity in our
own families"--I guarantee you'll have fun.
will officially be someone's monster, I mean,
mother-in-law. The big day was May 28th. On to other
news.
Approximately two months ago I received a phone call
from Juan Rangel at The National Conference for
Community and Justice. He asked if I'd like to
introduce one of the speakers at their annual
fundraiser. Because I had worked with this young man
on an NCCJ project, I was very happy to say yes. I
have learned to be a little more comfortable in front
of a crowd so I didn't think much more about it. I
marked my calendar, wrote the intro, rummaged around
to find something appropriate to wear, and found a
date (John was gracious enough to accompany his mother
as Richard was called to work). I honestly thought it
would be a decent sized crowd but I was unprepared to
see Dick Vermeil, Carl Peterson and Tony Richardson
from the CHIEFS at the next table. Tony was one of
three people receiving a Distinguished Citizen Award
that night. Our table was close to the front so it
wasn't until I was behind the podium that I saw the
actual size of the crowd in that banquet hall...my heart
is now pounding, mouth is dry, palms are sweating...but
I opened my mouth and low and behold...out came a few
words and then some more...words that I had actually
prepared no less. Marshall then stepped up to tell of
his experience with NCCJ and the power that comes when
we address our own prejudices. The greatest thing
about standing in front of that crowd is seeing such
diversity in one place and knowing they are all
committed to the same thing- ending bigotry, racism
and bias wherever it exists. Unfortunately, it wasn't
until after the dinner that someone told me there was
no need to be nervous "after all, this is the choir".
That expression reminded me again that it doesn't
matter who you are or what you do for a
living--everyone has the opportunity to be a
distinguished citizen when they take a stand. As a
pflag mom it's nice to be reminded again that we are
not alone in the battle.
Love you all,
Jamie
P.S. If you have never been to PRIDE, please consider
coming out this year- celebrate the diversity in our
own families"--I guarantee you'll have fun.
For the Concord Monitor, NH
The public discussion of same-sex
relationships is not a discussion, nor is it about
relationships. It is mainly an exchange of people's
feelings about sex. We'll never get anywhere until we start
rationally discussing the qualities of healthy
relationships and families.
Most critics of gay marriage focus almost entirely on anatomy: Different anatomy is good, same anatomy is bad. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It says nothing about the relationships themselves.
Are they loving, faithful and committed, or are they casual, abusive or coercive? It doesn't seem to be an issue. All that matters is the people's gender. But anatomy will not save marriages.
I know of gay relationships that are loving, respectful, gentle and marked by lifelong faithfulness. Are these relationships bad simply because of the people's anatomy? How about instead of arguing about anatomy, we talk about relationships?
The problem is that when we think of same-sex relationships, we don't think of the relationship as a whole. We don't think about mutual love, respect, communication, support and fidelity. We think about sex.
Same-gender sex feels icky to most of us, so an emotional reaction - what I call the eew factor - overwhelms our thinking. We no longer rationally discuss the characteristics of same-gender relationships; we just vent our repulsion at what we imagine their intimate lives to be like.
If you try imagining most heterosexual intimacy, the eew factor is equally strong. It's not a good basis for rational discussion.
We cloak our emotional reactions in moral and religious language. Most of the moral principles we apply to same-gender relationships come either from the belief that anything goes or from an uncritical acceptance of biblical norms.
Importing sexual ethics from biblical cultures without examining them is dangerous. The condemnation of same-gender relationships comes out of a sexual ethos that sees women as property, considers rape a crime against the woman's husband and requires the brother-in-law of a childless widow to marry her to sire children. That'll make you go eew. We ought to examine all the sexual ethics we get from the Bible, not just some of them.
One biblical claim is that same-gender relationships are bad because they can't make babies, which is the purpose of marriage. If we wish to debate this assertion, we ought to apply it to all marriages, straight as well as gay.
A sociological claim is made that gay relationships erode the family. I don't know of a family whose integrity is endangered because of another couple's gender. What is it about the actual qualities of the relationships between gay people that threatens families? Those qualities are what we ought to talk about. But we don't. We're just thinking about sex.
Gay couples are not seeking approval of their sex lives. They're seeking the same legal rights as partners that we give to those whose anatomy is different.
Notice the people who line up for gay marriage licenses. Half of them are couples in their 60s who have been together for longer than most heterosexual couples. Sex is the last thing on their minds.
Most critics of gay marriage focus almost entirely on anatomy: Different anatomy is good, same anatomy is bad. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as between a man and a woman. It says nothing about the relationships themselves.
Are they loving, faithful and committed, or are they casual, abusive or coercive? It doesn't seem to be an issue. All that matters is the people's gender. But anatomy will not save marriages.
I know of gay relationships that are loving, respectful, gentle and marked by lifelong faithfulness. Are these relationships bad simply because of the people's anatomy? How about instead of arguing about anatomy, we talk about relationships?
The problem is that when we think of same-sex relationships, we don't think of the relationship as a whole. We don't think about mutual love, respect, communication, support and fidelity. We think about sex.
Same-gender sex feels icky to most of us, so an emotional reaction - what I call the eew factor - overwhelms our thinking. We no longer rationally discuss the characteristics of same-gender relationships; we just vent our repulsion at what we imagine their intimate lives to be like.
If you try imagining most heterosexual intimacy, the eew factor is equally strong. It's not a good basis for rational discussion.
We cloak our emotional reactions in moral and religious language. Most of the moral principles we apply to same-gender relationships come either from the belief that anything goes or from an uncritical acceptance of biblical norms.
Importing sexual ethics from biblical cultures without examining them is dangerous. The condemnation of same-gender relationships comes out of a sexual ethos that sees women as property, considers rape a crime against the woman's husband and requires the brother-in-law of a childless widow to marry her to sire children. That'll make you go eew. We ought to examine all the sexual ethics we get from the Bible, not just some of them.
One biblical claim is that same-gender relationships are bad because they can't make babies, which is the purpose of marriage. If we wish to debate this assertion, we ought to apply it to all marriages, straight as well as gay.
A sociological claim is made that gay relationships erode the family. I don't know of a family whose integrity is endangered because of another couple's gender. What is it about the actual qualities of the relationships between gay people that threatens families? Those qualities are what we ought to talk about. But we don't. We're just thinking about sex.
Gay couples are not seeking approval of their sex lives. They're seeking the same legal rights as partners that we give to those whose anatomy is different.
Notice the people who line up for gay marriage licenses. Half of them are couples in their 60s who have been together for longer than most heterosexual couples. Sex is the last thing on their minds.
They want to care for each other in the
hospital. They want to share parenting. They want health
care.
Despite society's attempt to break them up, they are living out the very kind of lives their critics think they threaten: lives of mutual love, honor and fidelity.
So, besides our inability to get it out of our heads, why do we keep talking about sex? I think it's because we want to blame others for our own stuff. We want to point to someone who's different, like gays and lesbians, and blame them for the crises in our marriages.
The hard part is that in order to talk about the qualities of healthy relationships and families, we have to talk about ourselves. We have to look at our own ways of loving, our own families. Eew!
True friendship is gentle and respectful, regardless of the other person's gender. Love is a trust of mutual vulnerability and self-giving. Marriage is a commitment of fidelity, a union of steadfast connectedness. Family is where you belong.
As Robert Frost says, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/They have to take you in."These qualities apply equally in all relationships, ours as well as others', regardless of people's gender and independent of any government policies.
It will be a lot harder to talk about these qualities, and how to encourage them, than to blame people who are different. But when we do, we will begin to make real progress.
(Steve Garnaas-Holmes, pastor of the Bow Mills United Methodist Church, is a member of the Monitor's board of contributors.)
Despite society's attempt to break them up, they are living out the very kind of lives their critics think they threaten: lives of mutual love, honor and fidelity.
So, besides our inability to get it out of our heads, why do we keep talking about sex? I think it's because we want to blame others for our own stuff. We want to point to someone who's different, like gays and lesbians, and blame them for the crises in our marriages.
The hard part is that in order to talk about the qualities of healthy relationships and families, we have to talk about ourselves. We have to look at our own ways of loving, our own families. Eew!
True friendship is gentle and respectful, regardless of the other person's gender. Love is a trust of mutual vulnerability and self-giving. Marriage is a commitment of fidelity, a union of steadfast connectedness. Family is where you belong.
As Robert Frost says, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there,/They have to take you in."These qualities apply equally in all relationships, ours as well as others', regardless of people's gender and independent of any government policies.
It will be a lot harder to talk about these qualities, and how to encourage them, than to blame people who are different. But when we do, we will begin to make real progress.
(Steve Garnaas-Holmes, pastor of the Bow Mills United Methodist Church, is a member of the Monitor's board of contributors.)
It's hard to believe that the final concert
of our 19th season is just two weeks away..."Life Is a
Cabaret," a brand new revue of the fabulous music of John
Kander and Fred Ebb.
The Chorus is sounding great, and the show is shaping up to be an evening of wonderful entertainment.
Please help us spread the word -- send an e-mail to your friends and contacts inviting them to attend. Include the link www.hmckc.org/cabaret.htm and they'll be just two clicks away from ordering tickets.
The Saturday, June 11 performance is predicted to be a sell-out, and the Sunday, June 12 performance is filling up nicely.
Sincerely,
Rick Fisher, Executive Director
Heartland Men's Chorus
The Chorus is sounding great, and the show is shaping up to be an evening of wonderful entertainment.
Please help us spread the word -- send an e-mail to your friends and contacts inviting them to attend. Include the link www.hmckc.org/cabaret.htm and they'll be just two clicks away from ordering tickets.
The Saturday, June 11 performance is predicted to be a sell-out, and the Sunday, June 12 performance is filling up nicely.
Sincerely,
Rick Fisher, Executive Director
Heartland Men's Chorus
PFLAG SUPPORTS REAL FAMILY VALUES