Articles From Our January, 2007 Newsletter
At PFLAG, we stress the importance of support, education and advocacy. Each month we try to provide a program that will help us along the way--this journey of learning about the many aspects of diversity.
Our program this month will feature two speakers! Donny Robinson from the Good Samaritan Project and Maria Reyes of the Guadalupe Center will be speaking to us about the difficulties that LGBT folks often face within the African American and Hispanic communities. We are sure that you'll find it to be enlightening.
So be sure to come and join us on the 14th of January at 3:00 pm. We will meet at our usual location, Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Rd., Room 307, Prairie Village, KS.
You won’t want to miss the program....nor the food and fellowship. We always have a great time together.
From Our President
Happy New Year, all.
In pondering what to write this month, I marvel again that we have celebrated four anniversaries with John—his coming out has helped our entire family to consider what it is to love. I ran across this paragraph in a book recently and I am sure you will see why it struck a cord and resonated deep within me.
“When I imagine myself as an old woman at the end of my life and ask myself how I will evaluate my time here, there is only one question that concerns me: Did I love well? There are a thousand ways to love other people and the world—with our touch, our words, our silences, our work, our presence. I want to love well. This is my hunger. I want to make love to the world by the way I live in it, by the way I am with myself and others every day. So I seek to increase my ability to be with the truth in each moment, to be with what I know, the sweet and the bitter. I want to stay aware of the vastness of what I do not know. This is what brings me to the journey. I do not want to live any other way.”
Four years ago we were ignorant of our son’s sexual orientation…and once it was shared, the ball was in our court. We were thrust head long into the vastness of what we did not know. Education is an essential component of the PFLAG mission—the education of ourselves first, and then to help others along the journey. Learning cannot be undone—there is no turning back once we know the truth about something. The vastness of what I do not know still exists, but it doesn’t frighten or upset me…it has helped me to more fully embrace this incredibly diverse world we live in…and in doing that I find I am loving with a greater capacity than I thought I was capable of.
My wish for us all this new year is that we embrace all who come to us without reservation…we might just learn something.
Country Club Congregational Church will be hosting the OutFront conference
February 9-11, 2007. The meeting is sponsored by The Center for Lesbian and
Gay studies in Religion and Ministry and the UCC Coalition for LGBT
Concerns.
Presenters will include Jimmy Creech, a former United Methodist Minister who
was censured for performing same sex union ceremonies. Dr. Robert (Bob)
Minor will present The Bible and Homosexuality. Several workshops will also
be taking place: making a congregation welcoming to LGBT people, youth
groups and LGBT, trans issues and Faith communities, Media skills, and
strategy session for local leaders: next steps in organizing in Kansas City.
For further information, please see ucccoalition.org.
$45 for registration by February 2
$55 for registration after February 2
$20 for low income
Saturday lunch included
For more information call 816-523-4813
Annual Report of Chapter Activities
Randy Fowler has just completed the annual report of activities of the
Kansas City Chapter of PFLAG which is in turn reported to the National
Office. The Board has been busy doing speaking engagements, attending
meetings for other local related organizations, and providing information
and support via the website and telephone hotline. In preparing the report,
it was determined that the events listed were mainly those provided by the
Board members or actively supported by the Board. Many of the members of the
Kansas City Chapter are actively doing their own things related to our joint
missions of support, education, and advocacy. Randy would like to begin
putting together a quarterly list of activities that all of our members are
involved in so that next December, when the next report is due, the
information will already be accumulated. Please bring your information from
Oct 2006 through Dec 2006 to the January meeting or email
.
Thanks for your assistance.
HEARTLAND MEN’S CHORUS PROJECTS 2007 SCHEDULE
Heartland Men's Chorus invites us to join them for two upcoming concerts in
the first half of 2007. Prepare for an amazing journey! On March 24-25, the
Chorus will travel to the corners of the earth for Global Destinations, a
round-trip ticket to exotic sounds and driving rhythms. This salute to world
music promises to be the trip of a lifetime.
Their journey winds up in Hollywood, with The Pink Carpet (June 9-10). Based
on the book and documentary The Celluloid Closet, this concert examines the
roles of gays and lesbians in film. This multi-media event is sure to be a
highlight of the season.
Can’t wait for all the excitement? Join our family of season subscribers for
the very best seats at the very best price. Call “travel agent” Rick Fisher
at 816-931-3338 to book your ticket for the trip of a lifetime.
PFLAG SUPPORTS REAL FAMILY VALUES