Nairobi, Kenya.
Rev. Steve Parelli reporting March 17, 2011 Bronx, New York In an email addressed to Other Sheep, Metropolitan Community Churches, Reconciling Ministries Network and Changing Attitude, Rev. Kimindu announced the formation of Other Sheep Afrika-Kenya. The new organization came into existence largely due to qualifications stipulated In his email announcing the formation of OSA-K, Rev. Kimindu, president of the newly formed organization, writes that OSA-K "wishes to retain our relationship with you as it has been, i.e., at the level of spiritual, intellectual and information sharing." The new organization will work for all the marginalized - "orphans and vulnerable children, people living with HIV/AIDS, women [and] any person we feel is marginalized" - throughout all of Africa. The mission includes bringing "educational awareness on human rights, sexual identity and gender equality." A new board of seven distinguished members (not including the president and the CEO) was formed. The board hired Rev. John Makokha as the Chief Executive Officer and Anne Baraza Makokha as Counseling Consultant. Rev. John Makokha was appointed Regional Representative for Eastern and Northern Africa, Rev. Elie Gasana as Regional Representative for Central and Southern Africa, and Rev. Kimindu as Acting Regional Representative for West Africa. The OSA-K board "approved that Other Sheep Afrika-Kenya shall be independent, autonomous and distinct in terms of management and operations [with] Other Sheep(USA)" and that "this should be reflected in the . . . website and leadership." Rev. Steve Parelli, executive director of Other Sheep, in an email to Rev. Kimindu, president of Other Sheep Afrika-Kenya, recognized the newly formed organization and expressed his sincere desire to continue the friendship between the two organizations. Rev. Michael Kimindu can be reached at mnk240@yahoo.com |
Friday, March 25, 2011
Rev. Kimindu announces newly formed Other Sheep Afrika-Kenya (OSA-K) organization.
INTERFAITH COALITION FOR TRANSGENDER EQUALITY SETS TRANSGENDER FAITH ACTION WEEK FOR APRIL 3rd – 10th
Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality has set Transgender Faith Action Week to run from Sunday, April 3 to Sunday, April 10, 2011.
Founded in 2007, the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality is a gathering of clergy and lay leaders that organizes the Massachusetts faith community in support of transgender social justice. As the interfaith partner of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC), ICTE focuses on faith-based work in support of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill.
The Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality is organizing Transgender Faith Action Week to demonstrate that the Massachusetts faith community largely supports transgender equal rights, and that many transgender people and allies are people of faith and members of faith communities.
Transgender Faith Action Week comes as a continuation of the campaign “An Act of Faith: Massachusetts Communities of Faith Speak Out for Transgender Equality”, which has included participation in lobby days, public hearings and press conferences in the Statehouse, and faith voices in MTPC’s I AM: Trans People Speak multi-media public education campaign.
Events planned for Transgender Faith Action Week include postcard and letter writing parties, phone banking, educational presentations, and a press conference at the State House on Monday, April 4th, featuring key faith leaders. Over twenty congregations have already signed on to participate in Transgender Faith Action Week, including the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, the seat of the Episcopal diocese of Massachusetts, Temple Israel, the largest Reform congregation in New England; and Dignity Boston, the Roman Catholic community.
Mycroft Masada Holmes, Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, said, “The Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality and its partners are very proud to announce this historic week of action. We’re grateful to the many faith communities across the state who are voicing their support for the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. This sends a powerful message to the legislature—the faith community wants to see this vital legislation passed this session.”
Gunner Scott, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, said, “Faith and spirituality are integral parts in the lives of many transgender individuals. I’m pleased to see faith communities standing up for transgender youth, adults, and families in Massachusetts and supporting our community and this legislation.”
For more information on Transgender Faith Action Week and how to get involved please visithttp://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America seek candidates for Legislative Representative for International Issues
Based in Washington, DC
Working jointly for common interests and concerns, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) together are seeking a staff person for the position of Legislative Representative for International Issues to be located in Washington, DC.
“This unique partnership of ministries and resources between the Episcopal Church and the ELCA provides an opportunity for our denominations to focus jointly on issues of mutual importance,” commented Toni Daniels, Co-Director of Mission for the Episcopal Church. “This exciting endeavor will address shared international-policy positions of both churches to Congress and the Administration.”
The Legislative Representative for International Issues will serve jointly on the staffs of both the Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations and the ELCA Washington Office, and will be responsible for the federal legislative and policy advocacy of both churches on U.S. foreign policy and international issues, representing the shared positions of the churches to Congress and the Administration; conducting legislative research and analysis; producing legislative correspondence and communications; and building and leading advocacy coalitions.
The complete job posting, along with details for applying, is located here: Legislative Representative. No telephone inquiries will be accepted for this position.
The deadline for submitting applications is April 5, 2011.
The Episcopal Church values diversity of culture and thought and seeks talented, qualified employees regardless of race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, age or any other protected classification under Federal, State or Municipal law. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA): www.elca.org
The Episcopal Church: www.episcopalchurch.org
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
First Bill in Nation to Include Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation and Same-Sex Relationship Status in State Government Surveys Passes Legislative Co
Authored by Senator Christine Kehoe and sponsored by Equality California, the bill would enable the state to gather vital data about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community
Sacramento – Today the Survey Data Inclusion Act (SB 416), which would require the state to add questions about sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, domestic partnership status and the gender of a spouse as voluntary demographic information collected in California's government surveys, passed the Senate Governmental Organization committee in a 7-5 vote. Such data is already collected for other groups. The bill is authored by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) and sponsored by Equality California.
“The vast majority of government sponsored surveys that ask for demographic information do not collect data for the LGBT community, which has significant consequences for the community,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California. “With limited resources to spend on health and social services, it is essential that the state has data on LGBT Californians so that money can be targeted where it is most needed and community members can receive the resources they most need.”
“If California is to meet the needs of the LGBT community, then government agencies, non-profit organizations, and researchers will need more data about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents,” said Senator Kehoe. “This information will be collected voluntarily and will help Californians better understand the lives and concerns of the LGBT community.”
Currently, the state administers a number of statewide surveys that collect data such as the California Health Information Survey (CHIS), the nation's largest state health survey that gives a detailed picture of the health and healthcare needs of California's large and diverse population, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, a federal survey administered by the state that tracks health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States since 1984. These and other statewide surveys collect demographic information such as race/ethnic identity, age, family size, health and safety information, and other data from the Californians. However, data relating to California’s LGBT population is not currently consistently collected by the state or federal government.
For more information on Equality California sponsored legislation, please visit: www.eqca.org/legislation
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed more than 70 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
Sacramento – Today the Survey Data Inclusion Act (SB 416), which would require the state to add questions about sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, domestic partnership status and the gender of a spouse as voluntary demographic information collected in California's government surveys, passed the Senate Governmental Organization committee in a 7-5 vote. Such data is already collected for other groups. The bill is authored by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) and sponsored by Equality California.
“The vast majority of government sponsored surveys that ask for demographic information do not collect data for the LGBT community, which has significant consequences for the community,” said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California. “With limited resources to spend on health and social services, it is essential that the state has data on LGBT Californians so that money can be targeted where it is most needed and community members can receive the resources they most need.”
“If California is to meet the needs of the LGBT community, then government agencies, non-profit organizations, and researchers will need more data about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents,” said Senator Kehoe. “This information will be collected voluntarily and will help Californians better understand the lives and concerns of the LGBT community.”
Currently, the state administers a number of statewide surveys that collect data such as the California Health Information Survey (CHIS), the nation's largest state health survey that gives a detailed picture of the health and healthcare needs of California's large and diverse population, and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, a federal survey administered by the state that tracks health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States since 1984. These and other statewide surveys collect demographic information such as race/ethnic identity, age, family size, health and safety information, and other data from the Californians. However, data relating to California’s LGBT population is not currently consistently collected by the state or federal government.
For more information on Equality California sponsored legislation, please visit: www.eqca.org/legislation
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed more than 70 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
Equal Benefits Law for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Workers Advances in Legislature
Sacramento – Today the Equal Benefits Bill (SB 117), which strengthens the state’s current equal benefits law, passed the Senate Governmental Organization committee in a 7-5 vote. Authored by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) and sponsored by Equality California, the bill adds a provision barring the state from entering into contracts with businesses and other entities that do not provide equal benefits to same-sex spouses of employees.
In 2003, the State Legislature passed a bill authored by then-Assemblymember Kehoe and sponsored by Equality California that prohibited discrimination in benefits between employees with spouses and employees with registered domestic partners.
“This bill will prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to buy goods or services from entities that discriminate against their same-sex married employees,” said Geoff Kors, Equality California Executive Director. “California has the led the way in equal benefits and this bill will help make certain that all legally recognized couples are treated equally under California law.”
Beginning in 1996 in San Francisco, Equality California leadership has been working with city councils and the California legislature to pass equal benefits ordinances. Since then, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Berkeley, San Mateo County and San Diego have adopted such ordinances, as did the State of California in 2003 when Equality California sponsored a bill introduced by then-Assemblymember Christine Kehoe. Other cities with similar ordinances, include Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Miami Beach.
“SB117 is in keeping with California’s long tradition of providing equal benefits for all,” said Senator Kehoe. “It levels the playing field for companies that do business with the state. The bill ensures that employees who work for businesses that contract with the state are not discriminated against because they are married to a same-sex spouse.”
It is estimated that thousands of businesses and other entities now offer equal benefits as a direct result of these laws, including automobile companies, most airlines and many Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed more than 70 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
In 2003, the State Legislature passed a bill authored by then-Assemblymember Kehoe and sponsored by Equality California that prohibited discrimination in benefits between employees with spouses and employees with registered domestic partners.
“This bill will prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to buy goods or services from entities that discriminate against their same-sex married employees,” said Geoff Kors, Equality California Executive Director. “California has the led the way in equal benefits and this bill will help make certain that all legally recognized couples are treated equally under California law.”
Beginning in 1996 in San Francisco, Equality California leadership has been working with city councils and the California legislature to pass equal benefits ordinances. Since then, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Berkeley, San Mateo County and San Diego have adopted such ordinances, as did the State of California in 2003 when Equality California sponsored a bill introduced by then-Assemblymember Christine Kehoe. Other cities with similar ordinances, include Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Minneapolis, and Miami Beach.
“SB117 is in keeping with California’s long tradition of providing equal benefits for all,” said Senator Kehoe. “It levels the playing field for companies that do business with the state. The bill ensures that employees who work for businesses that contract with the state are not discriminated against because they are married to a same-sex spouse.”
It is estimated that thousands of businesses and other entities now offer equal benefits as a direct result of these laws, including automobile companies, most airlines and many Fortune 500 companies and small businesses.
Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights advocacy organization in California. Over the past decade, Equality California has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil rights protections in the nation. Equality California has passed more than 70 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, electoral work, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
Marine Dad Not Done Fighting Anti-Gay Church: Albert Snyder thanks The American Legion for support, urges them to push for legislation to control West
lbert Snyder says he is not done fighting the Westboro Baptist Church and the emotional strain its anti-gay, anti-military protests cause families at private funerals. The Maryland man who lost his 20-year-old Marine son Matthew in Iraq in 2006 has fought the church in the court system after Westboro members picketed the fallen lance corporal's funeral five years ago. The case ended early this month in the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It's been a long battle, but I'm not about to give up just because some people on the Supreme Court said (the church) could do it," Snyder told hundreds of American Legion members gathered Tuesday for the 51st Annual Washington Conference at the Downtown Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in the nation's capital. "I will continue to press for legislation to make the picketing and protesting at funerals a little bit harder for members of the Westboro Baptist Church."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on March 2 that the church is constitutionally protected when it demonstrates at military funerals. Church members typically hold up signs with slogans like "God Hates You" and "Fags Doom Nations" to impart its belief that military deaths are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.
Snyder's case included a lower-court verdict in his favor that included $5 million in damages, but the case was later thrown out in a federal appeals court. The case drew national attention, pitting the First Amendment against a family's right to grieve in private.
Snyder's legal team has worked on a pro-bono basis, but costs mounted. "Adding insult to injury, Mr. Snyder is responsible for paying Westboro Church's court cost and legal fees," American Legion National Commander Jimmie Foster told the crowd in Washington. "This is simply an outrage."
To a standing ovation, Foster presented Snyder a check for $26,458.58 onstage at the conference to help cover his costs throughout the process. The majority of that money was raised online through The American Legion's Burn Pit blog site.
"Veterans have probably been my biggest supporters over the past four and a half years," Snyder explained. "I don't think I could have done what I have done without the support of all of you and all of our active-duty soldiers and Marines. I know one person who has been with me through this whole time; Matt was a very loyal son; he was a very loyal friend and brother. And I know Matt would be supporting this 100 percent because he wouldn't want to see another family go through what we went through."
Snyder asked Legionnaires to contact their lawmakers and ask them to introduce legislation that would legally restrict the church from disrupting funerals. American Legion Riders and members of the Patriot Guard commonly provide security at funerals the church plans to picket.
"It's been a long battle, but I'm not about to give up just because some people on the Supreme Court said (the church) could do it," Snyder told hundreds of American Legion members gathered Tuesday for the 51st Annual Washington Conference at the Downtown Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in the nation's capital. "I will continue to press for legislation to make the picketing and protesting at funerals a little bit harder for members of the Westboro Baptist Church."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on March 2 that the church is constitutionally protected when it demonstrates at military funerals. Church members typically hold up signs with slogans like "God Hates You" and "Fags Doom Nations" to impart its belief that military deaths are God's punishment for America's tolerance of homosexuality.
Snyder's case included a lower-court verdict in his favor that included $5 million in damages, but the case was later thrown out in a federal appeals court. The case drew national attention, pitting the First Amendment against a family's right to grieve in private.
Snyder's legal team has worked on a pro-bono basis, but costs mounted. "Adding insult to injury, Mr. Snyder is responsible for paying Westboro Church's court cost and legal fees," American Legion National Commander Jimmie Foster told the crowd in Washington. "This is simply an outrage."
To a standing ovation, Foster presented Snyder a check for $26,458.58 onstage at the conference to help cover his costs throughout the process. The majority of that money was raised online through The American Legion's Burn Pit blog site.
"Veterans have probably been my biggest supporters over the past four and a half years," Snyder explained. "I don't think I could have done what I have done without the support of all of you and all of our active-duty soldiers and Marines. I know one person who has been with me through this whole time; Matt was a very loyal son; he was a very loyal friend and brother. And I know Matt would be supporting this 100 percent because he wouldn't want to see another family go through what we went through."
Snyder asked Legionnaires to contact their lawmakers and ask them to introduce legislation that would legally restrict the church from disrupting funerals. American Legion Riders and members of the Patriot Guard commonly provide security at funerals the church plans to picket.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Next Steps on the SCLM "Blessings Project"
by the Reverend Canon Susan Russell
Past-president, Integrity USA
Co-chair of the SCLM Task Force on Teaching & Pastoral Care Resources
Readers of Integrity's blog will know that the SCLM (Standing Commission on Liturgy & Music) has just finished a Church-wide Consultation in Atlanta on the implementation of General Convention Resolution C056 calling "for an open process for the consideration of theological and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships."
You can watch webcasts of the plenary sessions of the historic gathering of deputies from 98 dioceses for theological reflection and consultation here.
You can read ENS reports on the gathering here and here.
You can also review the Reverend Dr. Caro Hall's excellent overview and analysis of the consultation here and here.
And then you can be part of what the resolution describes as "an open process for the conduct of its work inviting participation from provinces, dioceses, congregations, and individuals who are engaged in such theological work."
As members and friends of Integrity, you have an important role to play as the work of the SCLM Task Forces complete the process of creating their report, submitting it to the Commission and then having it sent on to General Convention for discussion, debate and -- ultimately -- as a resolution that will move the Episcopal Church another step closer to the full inclusion of all the baptized in all the sacraments.
The theme of the Atlanta Consultation was "Inform, Engage & Equip."
•To Inform the deputies about the history of the work we've been charged to do and about what we've done so far in response to that charge.And your job is to help your deputies and bishops live up to the charge of C056 ... to make this truly an "open" process and to see to it that your dioceses and congregations RSVP to the invitation to participate in this historic opportunity for church-wide theological reflection in preparation for the deliberations those elected to represent you will undertake in Indianapolis.
•To Engage the deputies in dialogue and discussion about not only the work we've been doing but the resources they need in their contexts.
•To Equip them to go back to their deputations and to their dioceses and bring their colleagues and constituents -- as fully as possible -- into this church wide process of discussion and discernment.
It is an historic opportunity -- not only because the issue is the blessing of same-gender relationships but because the process offers a new vision for accountability and transparency in how we do the work of the Episcopal Church. Dean Nicholas Knisely put it this way in his reflection on Episcopal Cafe:
I don't think I'm alone in the Episcopal Church in feeling a sense of frustration over the disconnect between the process and the reception of the process' results. I think the disconnect has led to a feeling of alienation on the part of the large majority of Episcopalians who don't have a chance to participate in the process and subsequently have little buy-in to the decisions that are made by Conventions as the national, diocesan and parish levels.
The Atlanta Consultation was one important step in breaking those old patterns and establishing a new standard of the whole church being informed, engaged and equipped about the work we are doing together as the Episcopal Church.
So visit the links posted above and get informed. Contact your bishop(s) and deputies and get engaged. And together let's get equipped to finish the work of securing authorized rites for the blessing of same-gender relationships in Indianapolis in 2012!
The Reverend Canon Susan Russell is Integrity's immediate past-president and the co-chair of the SCLM Task Force on Teaching and Pastoral Care Resources. She serves as a Senior Associate at All Saints Church in Pasadena and chairs the Program Group for LGBT Ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles.
Scientist Calls on Apple to Remove 'Ex-Gay' App That Distorts His Research
Doctor Says His Work Was Misrepresented By Exodus International and Misleads App Users
BURLINGTON, Vt., The following is being issued by Truth Wins Out:
University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Gary Remafedi wrote a letter today asking Apple founder Steve Jobs and interim CEOTim Cook to remove a controversial "ex-gay" app from its online store. The scientist claimed that Exodus International distorted his work in an effort to misrepresent homosexuality and confuse the app's users.
When one clicks the Exodus app, it directs the viewer to a webpage that answers questions about homosexuality. One of the question sequences is, "If people are same-sex attracted but don't ever act on it, does that make them homosexual? What if they do engage in same-sex physical intimacy? Are they homosexual then?"
In answering these questions, Exodus twists the findings of Dr. Remafedi to make it appear as if homosexuality is just a transitory phase in youth.
"Exodus depends on distorting the work of legitimate researchers and using junk science to trick its vulnerable clients into believing they can go from gay to straight," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director for Truth Wins Out. "Apple should not aid and abet the spread of deliberate scientific misinformation, nor should they create a pernicious platform for anti-gay lies."
Dr. Gary Remafedi sent the following letter to Steve Jobs and Tim Cook this morning:
Dear Messrs. Jobs and Cook,
This message serves as a request to remove the Exodus International application from Apple's iPhone offerings because the website content is objectionable. It erroneously cites my research (Remafedi 1992) in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed.
Various professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental or physical condition. Programs which aim to change sexual orientation have been opposed because they are unwarranted, ineffective, unethical, and harmful.
Exodus's website features an article (Buchanan 2010) which makes erroneous statements and conclusions and attributes them to Remafedi (1992). Statements were made to the effect to that many teens are confused about their sexual orientation and that sexual orientation is amenable to change. Further, associating my work with that of the ex-gay ministry and other unfounded treatments is professionally injurious and grievous.
As a savvy consumer, I understand that corporations market phones both by offering a wide array of applications and by appealing to niche audiences like Exodus's. In turn, Exodus applies the Apple "4+" smartphone application rating to its own website as an imprimatur (see http://exodusinternational.
From my perspective, the risk of offending and harming consumers by providing a platform for erroneous information about an important health and social topic far outweighs the potential financial gain. Arguably, corporations have no affirmative responsibility to vendors under the First Amendment of the Constitution, but they are accountable for the quality and consequences of their products.
For the aforementioned reasons, I ask Apple to revoke the 4+ rating and delete the Exodus application from the iPhone's menu of applications.
Respectfully,
Gary Remafedi, M.D., M.P.H.
References:
Remafedi G, Resnick M, Blum R, Harris L. Demography of sexual orientation in adolescents. Pediatrics. 89(4):714-721, 1992.
Buchanan J. If people are same-sex attracted but don't ever act on it, does that make them homosexual? What if they do engage in same-sex physical intimacy? Are they homosexual then? January 11, 2010 (Available at http://exodusinternational.
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism and the "ex-gay" myth. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.
'Gay Cure' iPhone App Controversy Goes Viral; 135,000 Sign Petition to Apple as FOX, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC Cover Story
Truth Wins Out petition on Change.org demands Apple remove "Exodus International" app from iTunes; Top researcher blasts "Ex-Gay" app as misrepresenting data
NEW YORK, NY -- More than 135,000 people have signed a petition started by Truth Wins Out demanding that Apple remove an offensive iPhone app launched by an organization that attempts to "cure" gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Truth Wins Out launched the petition on Change.org, a leading platform for social change, to highlight the outrage caused by the "Exodus International" app, and is now organizing protests and petition deliveries to Apple stores on Saturday.
"This app is a slap in the face to Apple's customer base and serves as a platform to spread misinformation and blatant anti-gay bigotry," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out and author of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. "We call on Apple to remove this scientifically bankrupt product that causes significant psychological harm to LGBT people worldwide. It is particularly troublesome because the app focuses on exploiting the fears of desperate and vulnerable gay and lesbian youth."
Eden James, Director of Organizing at Change.org, said that promoting "cures" for LGBT people is not consistent with Apple's own editorial standards.
"More than 135,000 people have sent a loud and clear message that 'ex-gay therapy' has no legitimate place on the Apple platform," said James. "We're not sure why Apple has not responded. Apple has been a supporter of LGBT rights in the past and stated that offensive content will not be tolerated by their editorial standards. In fact, Apple removed a similar homophobic application from iTunes a few months ago."
In November, Apple removed the anti-gay "Manhattan Declaration" app from iTunes, after the LGBT community strongly reacted against it, including more than 7,000 people signing a Change.org petition to Apple. At the time, Apple said in a statement that the app violated its developer guidelines by "being offensive to large groups of people."
On Monday, a researcher from the University of Minnesota asked Apple to remove Exodus International's app from its online store because he claimed it grossly distorted his research in an effort to misrepresent LGBT people.
"This message serves as a request to remove the Exodus International application from Apple's iPhone offerings because the website content is objectionable. It erroneously cites my research (Remafedi 1992) in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed," University of Minnesota researcher Gary Remafedi wrote in a letter to Apple founder Steve Jobs and Interim CEO Tim Cook.
NEW YORK, NY -- More than 135,000 people have signed a petition started by Truth Wins Out demanding that Apple remove an offensive iPhone app launched by an organization that attempts to "cure" gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Truth Wins Out launched the petition on Change.org, a leading platform for social change, to highlight the outrage caused by the "Exodus International" app, and is now organizing protests and petition deliveries to Apple stores on Saturday.
"This app is a slap in the face to Apple's customer base and serves as a platform to spread misinformation and blatant anti-gay bigotry," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out and author of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. "We call on Apple to remove this scientifically bankrupt product that causes significant psychological harm to LGBT people worldwide. It is particularly troublesome because the app focuses on exploiting the fears of desperate and vulnerable gay and lesbian youth."
Eden James, Director of Organizing at Change.org, said that promoting "cures" for LGBT people is not consistent with Apple's own editorial standards.
"More than 135,000 people have sent a loud and clear message that 'ex-gay therapy' has no legitimate place on the Apple platform," said James. "We're not sure why Apple has not responded. Apple has been a supporter of LGBT rights in the past and stated that offensive content will not be tolerated by their editorial standards. In fact, Apple removed a similar homophobic application from iTunes a few months ago."
In November, Apple removed the anti-gay "Manhattan Declaration" app from iTunes, after the LGBT community strongly reacted against it, including more than 7,000 people signing a Change.org petition to Apple. At the time, Apple said in a statement that the app violated its developer guidelines by "being offensive to large groups of people."
On Monday, a researcher from the University of Minnesota asked Apple to remove Exodus International's app from its online store because he claimed it grossly distorted his research in an effort to misrepresent LGBT people.
"This message serves as a request to remove the Exodus International application from Apple's iPhone offerings because the website content is objectionable. It erroneously cites my research (Remafedi 1992) in support of claims that homosexuality can be changed," University of Minnesota researcher Gary Remafedi wrote in a letter to Apple founder Steve Jobs and Interim CEO Tim Cook.
Give Up Inequality for Lent!
As many of us find ways to sacrifice for the upcoming weeks through Easter, California Faith for Equality would like to suggest we all give up the following for lent...and forever!
Give up Bullying- In February CFE’s Los Angeles Cluster presented in front on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board on bullying of LGBTQ youth and adults. We were recognized as a community partner of the district’s Department of Human Relations. http://cafaithforequality.org/
Give up DOMA- On Wednesday CFE stood with Congressional Representatives at a press conference to repeal DOMA. CFE was recognized as one of the nation’s leading LGBT advocacy organizations.http://polis.house.gov/News/
Give up Inequality- Last weekend the Human Rights Campaign honored CFE Board Member Rabbi Denise Eger and CFE Sponsoring Committee Board Member Reverend Susan Russell with the Community Equality Award. Rabbi Eger and Reverend Russell are true champions of the LGBT community and we are proud to have them as part of the CFE family.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Deputies leave historic meeting eager to discuss same-gender blessings with wider church
[Episcopal News Service – Atlanta] Nearly 200 members of the Episcopal Church House of Deputies left a historic March 18-19 churchwide consultation on same-gender blessings here promising to tell their colleagues and their dioceses about the work they did in preparation for the 2012 General Convention.The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music invited one lay and one clergy deputy from each of the church's 109 dioceses and three regional areas to hear about and reflect on its work to date on the mandate given to it in General Convention 2009 Resolution C056.
The resolution, passed in 2009, directed the SCLM to work with the House of Bishops to collect and develop theological resources and liturgies for blessing same-gender relationships. The commission is to report to the 77th General Convention in 2012 in Indianapolis. SCLM members have already reported to the House of Bishops on the commission's work and the three bishops who serve on the SCLM (Tom Ely of the Diocese of Vermont, Pierre Whalon of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe and John McKee Sloan of the Diocese of Alabama) said they will discuss the consultation with their colleagues during the house's March 25-30 meeting.
House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson and the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers, SCLM chair, stressed during the gathering that the participating deputies had not been asked to debate whether the church should gather resources about same-gender blessings or whether the church should bless such relationships. Meyers said that C056 asked the SCLM to gather resources and that the bishops and deputies who gather for the 2012 meeting of General Convention "will decide the status of those resources in the church."
At its October 2011 meeting, the SCLM is due to decide on the substance of its C056 report that will be included in the so-called Blue Book collection of reports to 2012 General Convention.
Anderson told the deputies as they prepared to depart Atlanta March 19 that "we don't agree on every single word and every single approach and on all of the theology. Some deputies didn't agree on C056. They said so then and they say so now and that's okay."
"Some of us did agree and we have moved together in a common rhythm," she said. "We have learned from each other and it reinforces the fact that we are the holy people of God brought together by God in holy and Christian community."
Anderson had told the gathering's opening session that the consultation was historic both for its topic and because a large group of deputies have never before gathered together outside of General Convention for church business and to discuss a topic due to be taken up the next meeting of convention. One hundred ninety-five clergy and lay deputies from 98 dioceses registered for the gathering.
Nine deputies spoke to the consultation's final session on March 19 about how they planned to use their experience when they returned home. Athena Hahn, Diocese of Southern Virginia, echoed an often-expressed plan to ask people with whom she talks "to just be open and think about this and reflect about this as we have for the last two days."
Vermont Bishop Ely said during a post-consultation press conference that if the participating deputies carry through on their promises to engage their deputy colleagues in such a process between now and the 2010 convention "the general convention is going to benefit so much from that engagement."
At the same press conference, Anderson predicted that relationships made and renewed among the deputies at the consultation, 51 of whom are new, will aid the convention's work on C056. "And it will really be of great benefit to us in all the things we do at convention," she added.
The participating deputies came with varying attitudes about same-gender blessings but many who spoke with Episcopal News Service praised the consultation's process.
The Rev. Canon Emily Morales, the vicar general of the Diocese of Puerto Rico and chair of the diocese deputation, told ENS that the combination of plenary sessions and small-group discussion provided "an opportunity to be exposed to the thoughts of people from all over the Episcopal Church and how they have been dealing with this issue."
Morales later told the gathering that she anticipated "a great struggle within Province IX" over the issue of same-gender blessings due to the conservative nature of many of its dioceses and the fact that the countries in which the dioceses operate have differing laws about marriage.
Sandy Williams, a lay deputy from the Diocese of Montana who will be a sixth-time deputy in 2012, told ENS that a member of her small group spoke of his opposition to efforts to have the Episcopal Church agree to bless same-gender relationships. "People in the group were touched by his honesty," she said.
Williams said she favors approval of same-gender blessings because "we need to offer our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters the same opportunity that the rest of us have on an equal footing," including an expectation of counseling similar to the pre-marital counseling required for heterosexual couples and a liturgical rite that is like the marriage rite.
The Very Rev. David W.T. Thurlow, of St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Summerton in the Diocese of South Carolina, is one of those who opposed what he called the Episcopal Church's "agenda" to approve same-gender blessings during the 2012 convention. "But that doesn't stop me from heralding what I believe is scriptural truth," he said
In his small group, he told ENS, he was "the only voice that does not concur with the trajectory of the national church on this issue and I've been able to voice that and have been heard."
Thurlow said he felt that the atmosphere during the consultation was far different from what he said he experienced during the 2009 General Convention, during which he was a first-time deputy. The Atlanta gathering, he said, felt "incarnational," explaining that here "they see that people who have a different viewpoint are human beings to be respected and treated with dignity."
Thurlow added that would be "prudent" for the 2012 convention to address questions that people assume have been asked and answered when they have not. "Are we blessing a friendship? Are we blessing a sexually intimate relationship? ... There's been no mention of homoerotic behavior. Is that what we're blessing?" he asked, citing examples.
"We've got these questions that no one wants to touch," Thurlow said. "They're almost like taboo topics and no one wants to broach them but if we're truly to solicit honest debate, I think these issues need to come to the forefront."
Ian Hallas, a three-time lay deputy from the Diocese of Chicago, told ENS he felt some frustration with the small-group process because he and others thought that many of the discussion questions were "vague." He was left feeling "inconclusive" after the group sessions ended, he said.
Acknowledging that the commission still has a lot of work to do before it reports to the 2012 convention, Hallas said he hopes "we get something definitive by Indianapolis, but we have to do it right and not throw something together just to have something to present."
The Rev. Shawn Sheiner, Hallas' deputy colleague from Chicago, told ENS that the consultation process was an opportunity for "really embracing that we can be a body that has some difference of opinion, but do it very amazingly respectfully."
"If we can take what we've done here and continue that between now and General Convention, there's great hope for what convention can look like no matter the outcome," she said, adding the caveat that she is concerned that she will lose members at Grace Episcopal Church in Oak Park "if we continue down a road that doesn't do something formally" about affirming same-gender blessings.
Resolution C056 also asked the SCLM to invite theological reflection and dialogue about its work from around the Anglican Communion. Episcopal Church bishops are being asked to discuss the church's work on C056 with the bishops of any companion diocese relationships they may have and with the members of their so-called "indaba groups" from the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Bishops.
In addition, the theological principles and principles for evaluating rites for blessing same-gender relationships (summaries available here) that the SCLM developed for its C056 work have been turned into a survey that Anglican Communion bishops are being asked to respond to, either electronically or on paper or during conversation with commission members or other bishops.
Meyers and Ely recently met in England with the steering committee of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation in preparation for a half-day session that will be devoted to their report on the SCLM's work during the IALC's August 1-6 meeting in Canterbury, England.
The liturgy and music commission is also preparing a response to an IALC working document on marriage. The international group's goals for that document are outlined in a communiqué issued after its last meeting in August 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand. The working document and its appendices are downloadable here. A list of questions to which provinces were asked to respond is on page 21 of the working document.
In the document, the IALC also asks the provinces of the Anglican Communion to provide it with "theological perspectives" on gender-related issues including "the meaning of 'male' and 'female', 'masculine' and 'feminine', gender complementarity, the cultural construction of gender, same-gender attraction, and gender hierarchy." That section also notes that the consultation also wants to work on issues of marriage and polygamy, and divorce and remarriage.
ENS coverage of the Atlanta consultation's March 18 sessions is here. The plenary sessions were webcast live, as well a post-gathering press conference and can be viewed here.
The commission met for nearly three days before the consultation. During those sessions it also:
Reviewed "Daily Prayer for all Seasons," which is meant to supplement the Daily Office of morning, noonday and evening prayer provided in the Book of Common Prayer. The final text of "Daily Prayer" is expected be include in the commission's report to the 2012 General Convention in the Blue Book.
Heard an interim report from a sub-committee that is reviewing the trial use of "Holy Women, Holy Men," the 2009 General Convention-approved revision to its calendar of commemorations of saints. The trial use period began July 1, 2010, and ends June 30. Holy Women, Holy Men's prayers and propers for each saint are posted daily here, where an opportunity for feedback is provided.
Reviewed a sub-committee's work on a creation season, or cycle, of liturgies, and prayers for the loss of companion animals.
Heard a preliminary report on the results on a feasibility study for a possible revision of The Hymnal 1982. Responses are being taken until April 30. Links to various versions of the survey are here. Additional phases of the study are planned with an aim toward supplying complete results to the SCLM by the summer.
Agreed to plan before its next meeting in October how to develop possible Spanish additions to the Book of Common Prayer or the church's Enriching Our Worship series that would expand the rites and versions of prayers beyond the current Spanish translation of the prayer book.
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