MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

MI: Together in Faith this Weekend

Together In Faith Collaborative - Registration Deadline Thursday 3pm! Together In Faith Collaborative - BECOME A PEACE BUILDER! Friday, May 15th 5pm - 9pm (Ann Arbor Friends Meeting House) & Saturday, May 16th 9am - 5pm (Detroit Cobo Hall) Become an Inclusive Justice Peace Builder! Actions that lead to problem solving or resolution of longstanding conflicts begin with constructive speech. Like any form of action, speech can be non-violent or violent. Dialogue that builds common ground is essential for peace and leads to healing, transformation and beloved community. In potentially violent or difficult situations, we are presented with an opportunity. We can give you the skills you need to deescalate and connect. By building on the C-LARA Method, (Center, Listen, Affirm, Respond and Add) utilized internationally in peace building and conflict resolution, the Inclusive Justice Program can assist your congregation, organization or school in building an environment where all are valued and peace is promoted. This year's Together In Faith Collaborative partners with Michigan Policy Summit to bring you a groundbreaking keynote speaker, Dean Baker, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research followed by a dynamic panel of Michigan experts moderated by our very own Charles Pugh, former anchor on Fox 2 News and radio host for FM 98 WJLB! Registration Includes: • Internationally recognized training that can be employed in schools, congregations, organizations and our personal relationships. • Friday Dinner & Saturday Lunch. • Entrance to the Michigan Policy Summit Keynote & Panel. • Updates on LGBT Legislative Initiatives state and nationa.l • Opportunity to change your life, your community and the world with other amazing indviduals! • People traveling over 30 miles will be provided shared housing. Registration Required. Who Should Come : • Clergy & Leaders • Activists & Teachers • Faith Action Network Participants & Leaders • Anyone interested in making Michigan a more peaceful state & a beloved community! TO REGISTER: Together In Faith Collaborative

Clergy Call lobbies for GLBT justice

Clergy Call for Justice and Equality -- two days of prayer and lobbying for GLBT rights -- begins tomorrow, May 4, in Washington, DC. May God be with them!

Clergy of all faith will gather from across the U.S. to worship together and get “tools for the journey,” including specific training on lobbying. Then Tuesday, May 5 is “Lobby Day,” when they make lobby visits to assigned politicians.

They will raise progressive religious voices in favor of important laws such as the Hate Crimes Bill and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. They will also support an end to the military’s Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

This looks huge. My partner looked over my shoulder as I was browsing through the announcement on my computer. “Are those all the attendees?” she asked.

“No, that’s only the SPEAKERS!”

The Clergy Call is sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign. I’m thrilled that the HRC is doing so much about spirituality these days. They are also joining with MyOutSpirit.com to sponsor this year’s National Coming Out Day on the theme “Coming Out Spiritually.”

P.S.  For first-hand reports by participants in Clergy Call 2009, click this link to the Jesus in Love Blog.

What Every Demonstrator Should Know Before Sat. the 15th

First and foremost, we are NOT a community of divisiveness—all races and religions are welcome. Mormons are NOT our enemy. Ignorance towards the Q* community is the enemy—ideas, not people. It is always the role of the informed to educate. It is always our role to persistently develop relationships and dialogue with those who are ignorant to our cause.

Tomorrow tens and tens of thousands of us will reach the city hall steps in solidarity and we will re-launch the movement of the Q community as the world looks on. Let’s do this right!

For many of you this may be your first march, rally, protest. For some pockets of America you will wish that you lived in Los Angeles or San Francisco, but please be strong, you are needed—from Alabama to Alaska, your voices, your hearts, and your truth need to be the brightest in the nation. Give your whole hearts to this.

Trust your gut.

I’ve trusted my gut in eight marches in eight days. When police tried to get us to keep moving, I sat down, and others followed. If you sit, or if you move, trust that others will follow.

I recently had an empowering experience with film producer JD Disalvatore as we marched down Beverly Blvd. and chose to sit down in the middle of the street when we came to restaurant that supported prop 8 but acted as if they were friends of the community. We sat, and others followed despite the leaders of the march urging us on. We only moved when we felt that arrest was a threat. These are the statements that ALSO need to be made. This is civil disobedience. Through our courage and conviction we will be heard.

I had the pleasure of speaking to some of the greatest activists in our generation and this is some of their wisdom for making the best out of your rally:

“Respect authority, but question it.” Haven Herrin-Soulforce Q National Director. "You do not always have to immediately do as the authorities, be it police or community leaders, say to do if you are personally convicted to make a statement."

·     To all those leading a demonstration, here is some advice from one of the major players in civil disobedience for the past two generations, ACT UP’s Ann Northrop:

“Think about the point of your demonstration. Who are you talking to? What are you trying to say? What are all your goals? Generally, the answer is that you're trying both to give the demonstrators a sense that they can work together safely and attain power, and you're trying to convince the public of the rightness of your opinion. We could all sit around forever debating how best to do any of that. I'd like to think that, instead of wasting our time on that debate, we can let those who want to get arrested, get arrested, those who want to demonstrate peacefully do that, and those who want to work in other ways do that. Let's stop criticizing each other and just get on with it.”

Police: They do NOT want to arrest anyone. Remember this. They are required by law to give a warning. For me, I will be civilly disobedient until there is a human to human confirmation, from police officer to me, that if I don’t do as they say I may be arrested.

        Media: if there are media at your rally, find the rally organizers to make initial comments. If you are asked to make statements by the media, make sure to focus on your individual experience. Stay clear of fact-giving, as this could turn against us, and feel free to decline any questions. This will prove to be most impactful and consistent with our overall statement of love and equality.

      Nonviolence:  The success of our movement depends on the idea that we must present our concerns in the same ways as Gandhi and MLK. We should never appear ill-composed, we should never aim to strike fear into the hearts of those we feel wronged us. We should always come at these situations with nonviolence of action, thought, and speech. We are on the side of goodness, let’s reflect that. Because the ultimate goal is to cause enough stir to be invited back to the negotiation table. And it is always your responsibility to remind your peers to engage non-violently.

·     Finally, we must remember that the long term success of these marches is dependent on our resilience and persistence. We MUST be out there weekly in order to keep the flame alive. Continue organizing even past the 15th, even past the overturn of Prop 8 and even past your own state’s formal recognition of same-sex marriages.

Thank you so much to all of you for getting out there. Thank you to Soulforce Q’s National Director Haven Herrin and legendary activist Ann Northrop for sharing your incredible wisdom. Be safe everyone and remember we are all in this together.

In solidarity,

Brandon Rolph Kneefel

* Note: Q represents all who do not include themselves in the constructs of a hetero-normative patriarch, i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex, ally, pansexual, polyamorous, and so on.

The Beginning: Equality Ride 2008

So, this is officially the beginning of me blogging for the Equality Ride. I'm honored to do so, and hope that my words and stories will depict what is needed to be shared.

We are less than two months away from loading the bus and confronting the fear that easily arises in people when they're about to encounter a opposite view from their own. I just hope the response from both sides will be that of love and acceptance. We are all God's children and we are all human beings. Not one of us is greater than the other. No one has all the answers, I don't claim that my opinion is 100% right and approved by God. God is mysterious, his ways are higher than our ways, and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.This is part of the conclusion both sides must come to.

I'm excited to be a part of this years Equality Ride. I've been able to meet and get to know my fellow "Riders" and they are absolutely amazing. I look forward to spending two months on the road with them. However, before we can even load the bus we must raise the money to go. That is why on August 31st in Nashville, TN you join me at Aerial for my fundraiser event. There will be a DJ to provide the dance music along with the guest celebrity, Sixpence None The Richer who will perform a acoustic song. For detailed information on this event visit, www.myspace.com/azariahsbenefit. If you can't attend but would like to help please go to www.soulforce.org/azariah_southworth to donate .

Thank you for reading and I look forward to bringing the Equality Ride to you through my blogs.

Before I go, remember that God loves you. As Paul states in Romans “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

It is only you that can ultimately separate yourself from the love of God. Don't allow people's opinions of who God is and what his word says determine whether you allow yourself to experience his love.

Take care,
Azariah Southworth

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EDITOR'S NOTE:  Popular Christian tv host, Azariah Southworth, was quickly fired when he came out as a gay Christian a few months ago (read our blog about it).  Among the many projects he is working on now, he is taking the time to go on Soulforce's Equality Ride 2008, which puts young LGBT and Ally people of faith on the road (literally) to changing hearts and minds for equal rights and recognition.  Each rider has a fundraising goal of $3,500 to cover the expense of the journey - donate to support them all at http://www.soulforce.org/2008riders!  Azariah will be sharing his notes from the journey with MyOutSpirit.com's Gay Spirituality Blog!

25% off Gay Spirit Camp at Easton Mountain

Gay Spirit Camp will celebrate brotherhood from August 1-7, 2008, at Easton Mountain Retreat Center in New York's Hudson Valley.

Gay Spirit Camp is a time of celebration, growth and community for men who love men.  If you are coming to Easton Mountain for the first time, type "BRING A FRIEND DISCOUNT - SUNFIRE" in the comments field to receive 25% off!

Rekindle your gay spirit in the splendor of Easton Mountain, as you connect with nature, yourself and a community of friends old and new.

This six day gathering will be jam packed with a variety of workshops and events including gay spirituality, yoga, meditation, massage, creativity, life drawing, erotic healing, nature walks, sweat lodge, body painting, movement and dance, dating and romance, talent show, evening fire rituals, small group sharing, dances and much, much more. You will experience the freedom to participate in as many or as few activities as you would like with the safety to explore your personal growing edge. Gay Spirit Camp offers men a chance to establish lasting friendships within a community of sacred brothers.

The theme this year is "Telling Our Stories," featuring a special keynote address by Steve Schwartzberg, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist with interests in meditation, spirituality, and gay men's emotional and erotic well-being.  As a practitioner in the healing arts, his professional role include psychotherapist, Sacred Intimate, and workshop facilitator.  He is an instructor with the Body Electric School and holds an attending faculty position at Harvard Medical School. He has written several books, including A Crisis of Meaning: How Gay Men are Making Sense of AIDS.

CLICK HERE to visit EastonMountain.com and to register for GAY SPIRIT CAMP at 25% off!

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Join me, Joe Perez, at panel discussion on Angels in America

Let's talk about sexuality, spirituality, and the AIDS epidemic. I'll be a member of a discussion panel of religious leaders, community leaders, activists, and authors meeting July 10th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Capitol Hill Library in Seattle. The forum is sponsored by the Absurd Reality Theatre, the group putting on "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches", the award-winning play by Tony Kushner. The panelists will use Kushner's "gay fantasia on social themes" as a springboard to discuss the place of the gay community and persons living with AIDS in contemporary American spirituality.

Deep Consciousness: A Weekend with Toby Johnson at Easton Mountain

DEEP CONSCIOUSNESS: A Gay Perspective

Easton Mountain Retreat Center, August 8-10, 2008

"There is a certain enlightenment that goes with being gay."

Gay spiritual-writer, MyOutSpirit Founding Member and former White Crane Journal editor, Toby Johnson, PhD will present a weekend of talks, introspective exercises and conversations about “Gay Perspective,” that is, gay men’s natural insights into the nature of myth, religion and the meaning of life.

An entertaining—and occasionally moving—speaker and storyteller, Johnson will relate “The Myth of Avalokiteshvara,” revealing the whimsical, but profound, answer to why gay men reincarnate; explain fellow writer Christian de la Huerta’s “Ten Roles Gay People Play in Society,” calling participants to locate their own vocation among these; and lead a Guided Meditation practice to achieve brain hemisphere synchrony and—hopefully—a direct insight experience of “seeing God” (based in Meister Eckhart’s aphorism: “The eye with which I see God is the eye with which God sees me).”

Lecture and brainstorming will be complemented with playful ritual, sacred singing (including familiar hymns, Hindu & Buddhist chants and just a little Gregorian Chant) and a round of Sufi Dancing.

Here's the link to register!

 

http://www.eastonmountain.com/programs/080808_deepconsciousness.html

If you inquire or go to the event, tell the folks at Easton Mountain you heard about it on MyOutSpirit!