Articles From Our April, 2007 Newsletter
Glen Dove and Carolyn Finken-Dove, along with their daughter, Sarah, have been regular attenders of our local PFLAG chapter for nigh unto a year, and have become a significant part of our community.
They will be our program at our April meeting on the 15th, and will share their story with us.
Let’s all turn out and wish them a life full of joy and happiness as they continue their marvelous journey.
The following is a quote from Glen and Carolyn.
“We're a blended family. We were married in June of 2004, but dated for several years before taking the plunge. I have two daughters, Sarah, 27, and Emily, 24. Glen's daughter, Addie (Adrienne) is 22. When Sarah came out to me in her sophomore year in college, Glen and I had been dating for awhile, so we have taken this journey together. While we embraced her, we didn't know about the expanding circle we would find in supporting her. And although frustrating and scary at times, we are grateful for the many amazing people and experiences thus far, and look forward to many more.
(Sarah and her partner, Maria, are also planning to attend to present "the rest of the story").”
Glen Dove and Carolyn Finken-Dove
From Our President
Well, gang. The good news—we collected $90 at our March meeting for the
AIDS WALK in April. The bad news—that’s still quite a bit shy of our goal of
$250. We can do this. I have faith in this group. So, bring your checkbooks
and your wads of cash. We’ll see that it gets to the right folks.
Thanks to all the folks that helped feed the Soulforce Equality Riders as
they made their way through Kansas City. I’d also like to thank Mark Holmes
for allowing us to use his beautiful establishment (Coffee Break) for this
event. The riders were immensely grateful for the wonderful food and for the
care we took to see that the vegetarians and the vegans had something they
could munch on. One young man had this to say in his blog from the road:
“As a person who has struggled with his relationship with his mother and
family since coming out, it was refreshing to have the parents of PFLAG
prepare lunch for us. They welcomed us, affirmed us, and were eager to hear
stories of our experiences thus far on the Ride and of our lives outside the
Ride. It was simply a nice, warm place to be—to be reminded that there are
people who will love us, care for us, feed us, and be parents to us when our
own parents reject us.”
That same day, I had a speaking engagement at UMKC. It was a lively
undergraduate psychology class. They were very inquisitive about the work we
do and wanted to know more about the advocacy component. It was great to
share with them that being an advocate doesn’t always mean that you have to
carry a protest sign. Sometimes it’s as simple as fixing a meal for those
that are doing the hard work—or writing a check for a great cause (wink
wink).
Much will be happening over the next few months so be sure to peruse the
newsletter and make a note of the events you don’t want to miss!
Jamie
Picnic
Mark your calendar now to attend the LGBT Community Wide Picnic on
Saturday, May 12, 12 noon, at Swope Park.
Bring your own picnic food or coordinate food items with others in your
organization. We hope to share food as much as possible, so bring a group
dish along if you can. LGCC will provide grills and paper goods.
We'll have games for all ages. Please tell your friends, families,
organizations, etc. about this event so we can have a great turn-out to show
unity in our community.
We'll be wanting to get a rough headcount, so please RSVP by April 15 to
Randy Fowler (913) 894-5748 or
Be sure to have the subject line read community picnic.
Look forward to seeing you at noon on May 12 at Swope!
FROM NATIONAL PFLAG
By Carolyn Wagner
On September 27, 2002 the National PFLAG Board of Directors adopted the following Public Policy Resolution:
"That PFLAG can only support legislation that provides explicit inclusion of all who are included in our mission statement and ENDS."
Although few words compose this Policy Statement, the message it contains is historical and powerful. In 1998, PFLAG became the first national organization to include transgender people in its mission statement; we also became the first national organization to develop a public policy that reflects this commitment in our mission statement.
My son is gay so I quickly came to understand the basis for the discrimination and the violence that he faced. The very fact that he was gay violated the social norms our culture has placed on what defines gender. To admit to being gay, lesbian or bisexual is to violate the gender rules under which our social climate has historically functioned – and transgender people face the same issues.
Another PFLAG mom, Gabi Clayton, used a very helpful analogy to explain why such a public policy statement from PFLAG on transgender inclusion in our work is so crucial. She suggested the following: Suppose you live in a community where there is a community bomb shelter. As the bomb sirens begin to roar and the citizens file into the shelter, the community leaders begin to bar admission to a few. They tell those that they refuse admission to "Maybe next time. And if you survive you can work with us to be sure the larger community will allow you shelter the next time we are under attack."
For more on this issue go to www.PFLAG.org
PFLAG SUPPORTS REAL FAMILY VALUES