Bridge of Light

Greg DiStefano endorses Bridge of Light

Got this e-mail today from Greg DiStefano:

Thanks again for thinking of me in regards to your newest endeavor. I so admire your enthusiasm, creativity, and determination, and hope this meaningful tradition finds its wings. Bridge of Light is a wonderful way to add a greater depth of spiritual meaning to the New Years occassion. For GLBT people, their supporters, and the wider global culture, the Bridge of Light celebration will help keep focus on universal spiritual values while honoring diversity, unity and equality -- a terrific ritual and message to combine with the New Year's occassion.

Greg DiStefano is a spiritual explorer, integral philosophy enthusiast, and national book award-winning author of the gay spiritual memoir Breakdown, Diamonds, Death, and Second Chances   www.BreakdownBook.com

Carolyn Baker endorses Bridge of Light

Carolyn: "Yes, I will endorse Bridge Of Light!"

Carolyn Baker, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor of history, author, and former psychotherapist whose book in process COMING OUT FROM CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISM: Affirming, Life, Love and The Sacred, will be released in the spring of 2007.

David Rappaport endorses Bridge of Light

David Rappaport of Bowdoinham, Maine has joined the roster of endorsers for Bridge of Light, the new cultural tradition. David is not only the Senior Program Officer of a healthcare foundation, but he's also a mystical seeker. He writes:

In these post-postmodern if not exactly post-Biblical times in which Christian and other fundamentalists seem to seek to create separation--spirituality from religion, reason from belief, individual from community--I believe it is important to counterbalance by working towards integration. Bridge of Light is a welcome step towards wholeness. I will disseminate information about Bridge of Light, and practice its rituals.

Glad you're joining us!

Andrew Ramer endorses Bridge of Light

I am very excited to announce that Andrew Ramer has written a letter of endorsement of Bridge of Light. I know that Andrew considered his decision carefully, because his initial response to my request for an endorsement was No. His letter explaining the No contained several important points. Andrew also mentioned that he had at one point tried to generate the momentum for a holiday to celebrate gay spirituality, though it didn't quite take off. He wished me luck, even as he declined to endorse the specific idea.

Fortunately, I received great feedback from folks like Andrew and in early January 2005 reformulated the proposal for the holiday. The result was a new Vision Statement that succeeded in getting a much more enthusiastic response from endorsers. Andrew's objections having been handled, Andrew sent me a letter of endorsement in early 2005. (I would have posted Andrew's endorsement earlier, but I've been on hiatus from posting on Bridge of Light, and am just now returning to active duty.)

Andrew Ramer is the author of the gay spirituality classic Two Flutes Playing, available from Lethe Press' White Crane's Spirituality Series. Ramer is a mythologist for gay men, providing evidence to the harmony of gender, love and sex. He lives in San Franscisco. He writes the "Praxis" column for White Crane Journal, the journal of gay men's spirituality.

Kip Dollar endorses Bridge of Light

Kip Dollar offers endorsement #18 for Bridge of Light. He writes: "I think this is a beautiful concept and hope it catches on."

Kip, born in San Antonio in 1959, is the partner of Toby Johnson Together they operated Liberty Books, a gay and lesbian community bookstore. They have also ran gay B&Bs in Colorado and Texas. He resides in San Antonio, Texas.

Kip and Toby were among the couples featured in Merle Yost's "When Love Lasts Forever: Male Couples Celebrate Commitment." They were the first male couple registered as domestic partners in Travis County, Texas. An account of their first 14 years together appears in Merle Yost's book on long-term gay relationships: When Love Lasts Forever.

Jim Toevs endorses Bridge of Light

The seventeenth endorsement for Bridge of Light comes from Jim Toevs of Tucson, Arizona. Jim's background includes involvement with the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. We met at the Gay Spirit Culture Summit in April/May 2004. I'll add more detail to this profile for Jim in the near future.

Jacob Staub endorses Bridge of Light

I am pleased to announce that Jacob Staub is an endorser of the Bridge of Light cultural tradition. Jacob's is the sixteenth endorsement received to date. Here's his statement:

I endorse the new Bridge of Light celebration as an opportunity for queer people and their allies to focus on their values and their spiritual lives.

all the best,
Jacob

Jacob Staub is a Reconstructionist rabbi, a member of the faculty of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the co-author of Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach.

Jim Marion endorses Bridge of Light

Jim Marion, author of Putting on the Mind of Christ and Death of the Mythic God, has endorsed the Bridge of Light tradition.

Jim Marion is a Christian mystic and public policy lawyer. A contemporary American mystic who has followed the Christian spiritual path since childhood, Marion spent eight years studying for the priesthood and pursued divinity studies at Hartford Seminary Foundation. After leaving monastic life, he was active in political arenas and received a law degree from Boston University. Since then, Marion has pursued a public policy career in Washington, D.C., where he now lives.

Fenton Johnson endorses Bridge of Light

Fenton Johnson joins the ranks of endorsers of a new cultural tradition called Bridge of Light. Fenton acknowledged that he is a little mystified about the idea of taking on yet another holiday, but acknowledged that the Bridge of Light doesn't have to be another all-too-conventional holiday. He writes: "Sign me up..." and "Thanks for thinking along these (affirmative and affirming) lines in a discouraging time."

Fenton Johnson is the author of two novels, Crossing the River and Scissors, Paper, Rock as well as Geography of the Heart: A Memoir and Keeping Faith: A Skeptic's Journey.  He is the recipient of a number of literary awards, and is a regular contributor to Harper's Magazine.

Johnson's short fiction, essays, and features have been widely published and anthologized.  He is on the faculty of the creative writing program at the University of Arizona.

Daniel Helminiak endorses Bridge of Light

I am pleased to announce that Daniel Helminiak has joined the ranks of endorsers for Bridge of Light. Many blessings to you, Daniel!

By the way, Daniel's own role in the formation of the idea for Bridge of Light is significant, though he may not have been aware of it. His pioneering effort at the Gay Spirit Culture Summit to spearhead a working group to define spirituality really helped me to draw the connections that led to my own vision statement for this holiday.

Dear Joe,

Many thanks for your work on the Bridge of Light. Yes, I would certainly endorse the project.

I had thought about the endorsement for a while since I had some considerations. For example, since I am not a "joiner" by nature, I don't see myself actually celebrating the feast, and, I thought, if I'm not going to do it, should I add my name to it? Then I also thought that traditions don't arise because someone just declared them; they spring up rather spontaneously, and, once they catch on, people start to keep them.

But then again, if no one ever starts anything, how will anything catch on? And I do think it useful that there be such a celebration and a format available so people who are interested could make the celebration.... I am glad to endorse it.

All the best,

Daniel

Daniel Helminiak is an Associate Professor and teaches psychology and spirituality in the Department of Psychology at the State University of West Georgia. He is also a psychotherapist, theologian, and author. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology from The University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Boston College and Andover Newton Theological School. He is licensed as a Professional Counselor in the State of Georgia and is certified as a Fellow of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. His book, What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality (Alamo Square Press, 1994, 2000), is a national best-seller. His two more recent studies about psychology and spirituality are The Human Core of Spirituality: Mind as Psyche and Spirit (State University of New York Press, 1996) and Religion and the Human Sciences: An Approach via Spirituality (State University of New York Press, 1998).