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by James Morris, Assistant Director During my 21 years of involvement with Affirmation I have seen chapters go through cycles of growth or dormancy and many lives impacted by their involvement. I owe much to the San Francisco Chapter for enriching my life and would like to pay tribute to Ron Kershaw for his vision and drive in shaping our chapter's past successes.
Ron wanted to involve everyone. He felt that everyone had something to contribute. All you had to do was attended your first chapter meeting and it didn't matter what a closet case wreck you might be Ron was already looking for ways to involve you and finding ways to orchestrate your transformation. In everything and everyone he saw potential. This spirit definitely rubbed off on the rest of the group, and each new person who nervously attended their first meeting was soon adopted by a regular who helped them through the often difficult and bumpy process of coming out. Often, long after our regular Affirmation meeting was over, Ron would be sit and listen to someone who was going through some challenging ordeal. He was patient. He was thoughtful. And he was generous with his time, wisdom, support and advice. He had a fatherly pride in seeing chapter members conquer their fears. Nothing delighted him more than to see chapter members overcome their personal challenges. To him this was the crux of Affirmation. Ron also knew how to have fun and engage everyone in the merriment. Every chapter task whether it was stuffing envelops for a massive mailing or constructing a booth for the Folsom Street Fair became a party. While others who were gently nudged into positions of leadership took active roles in many successful Pride Parade marches, information booths, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas socials, garages sales and other fundraising events, Ron was the strong guiding force in the background and the loudest and proudest cheerleader. We lost Ron in 1991 to AIDS but those life lessons he taught us live on.
The Irwin Phelps Fund provides assistance to Affirmation members who would like to attend the conference but may find it to be a financial burden. Donations earmarked to this fund are gladly accepted! Irwin Phelps was the executive Director of Affirmation in 1992. His calm and compassionate leadership carried Affirmation through a time of great turmoil. Shortly after the 1992 Conference, he was murdered in his home in Phoenix. The Irwin Phelps Fund was established in his memory. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need and contributions to Affirmation, such as activity or willingness to volunteer for service. Funds are limited and scholarships will be awarded on a "first-come, first-served" basis and only to those who establish a definite need for assistance. Past examples have included full-time students, unemployed or under-employed, retirees with limited income, international members and those living on disability payments. Assistance generally takes the form of a 50% reduction in conference registration fees. We do not provide assistance with hotel rooms or airfare. To apply for this scholarship, send an email with your name, address, contact information, and reason for your request. to olin  affirmation.org. If you do not have email, you may mail a request to Affirmation, P.O. Box 77504, Washington, DC 20013 Attn: Irwin Phelps Scholarship. For urgent or complex questions, you may call Olin Thomas directly at 703-864-5527. Feel free to call at any hour of the day and leave a message.Scholarships are available only for current Affirmation members, but we will accept a membership renewal and scholarship application simultaneously. Please don't wait until the last minute to inquire about scholarships! If you are interested, contact us now. We do allow you to change your mind, and feel free to contact us with questions.
Call for Nominations for the 2006 Mortensen Award The Deadline is September 15 It is time once again to call for nominations for Affirmation's highest honor, the Mortensen Award. The award is presented each year at our annual conference to an individual who has served Affirmation in outstanding leadership and service during the past year. The criteria for selecting a nominee should be:
Do not submit just a name. We need to know something about the individual since the committee may not know him/her well. The nominations must be received by September 15, 2006--no exceptions! E-mail them to the ; do not send copies to anyone else. Or mail them to the National Post Office Box: AffirmationThe award recipient will be announced at the Affirmation Conference in Portland on October 21, 2006. The selection committee is made up of past recipients of the award. Be sure to show this letter to everyone in your area. You may be the one who should be nominated and you may not want to nominate yourself. Please note that a past recipient of the award can be nominated again for this year's Mortensen Award recipient. If you have any questions, . We look forward to seeing you at the Portland conference, which is certainly going to be a great event. Please start thinking about this award today and get your nomination in tomorrow.
Affirmation Puebla Marches in Gay Pride Parade “Gay Pride Celebrations Are Gradually Influencing the Mexican People” by Seba Martinez June 2006 Six members of Affirmation Puebla participated in the 28th Gay Pride March held in Mexico's capital on June 17. "We participated in the march," reports Puebla Chapter director Nelson Cabrera. "There were six of us, and we marched from El Ángel to El Zócalo, which are the starting and finishing points of the march. It is rewarding to see how gay pride celebrations are gradually influencing the Mexican people." In Mexico the first openly gay demonstration took place October 2, 1978 when a gay group joined in solidarity a public demonstration in remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre. The first Gay Pride March was held in Mexico City in 1979. Affirmation Members Come Out to Their Wards They Bear a “Gay Mormon” Testimony in Sacrament Meeting Hugo Salinas July 2006 On Sunday, June 4, two members, Sam Wolfe and David Melson, accepted the challenge from the Seattle Chapter leader, Eduk, (Affinity, April, 2006) and came out to their wards during Fast and Testimony Meeting. Eduk did the same in his local singles ward in Seattle. Here's their report. Sam and David at Washington DC Third Ward Although Sunday dawned as a spectacularly beautiful day in the nation's capital, no one knew exactly what to expect from this most unusual kick-off to Capital Pride Month, but everyone involved was prepared for the worst. The Washington, D.C., Third Ward met at 9:30 in the morning with the sanctuary packed; there were chairs set up in the aisles, the hallway, and the foyer, and there were still people that ended up having to stand on the front steps and the sidewalk. Part of the crowd was there because this was the last Sunday for the Bishop, who was leaving to serve as a mission president. Part of the crowd was because of some extra visitors. After Sacrament and ward business (which included the reading of a letter from the First Presidency regarding the proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting same-gender marriage rights that was due for Senate debate that week), Sam stood before his home ward and bore a beautiful testimony of the Savior as our Advocate. He reflected on the comments made a couple of Sundays earlier, when a high counselor had spoken about everyone being welcome. "But some of us are not so sure that we are welcome here or belong here because of who we are; because of who we love; because we are different in one way. I am different in this way. I am gay. And I am thankful to God for this difference that has been a great blessing in my life. And I would like to say that I am thankful and have the greatest admiration, respect, and love for the countless gay and lesbian Mormon missionaries, who like me, have served, or are serving, out of selfless love for others and because of their belief in the potential of every person to progress toward greater understanding, light, and knowledge of God and reach for a happy and full life. This is a beautiful service by these missionaries. And I am profoundly thankful for my mission." The feeling of every heart in the room skipping a beat was almost palpable, but it was quickly followed by nods of approval and a great sense of peace and love, until a member of the bishopric stood to remind the congregation of the Church's stand against any form of same-gender sexual relations. Sam was followed shortly by Dave, who bore his testimony of the gospel and of the blessings of being a gay man. Before dismissing from Fast and Testimony Meeting, the ward moved directly into the opening exercises for Sunday School. As is the custom in the ward, this included the Bishop asking any visitors in the room to stand and introduce themselves. One person after another stood, introduced themselves with their name and their ward and the words "…and I am a gay Mormon." When the ward was finally dismissed to separate for classes, a large number of members went out of their way to shake hands with Sam and Dave and to praise them for their courage and to express their love and support. Three members, individually, also whispered that they were gay but had not come out. David at the Derwood Ward The Derwood, Maryland, Ward met in the Washington suburbs at 1:00 that day, and in front of his home ward and Affirmation supporters, David bore his testimony of the gospel, of his love for the Savior, and of the need to not depend upon the wisdom of men but, rather, to rely upon the Spirit to know truth. "The greatest blessing that the Lord has given me in my life is to be sent here to this earth as a gay man. Being gay has given me the greatest trials and the greatest blessings imaginable. It has enabled me to love and understand and reach out to others in a way that would not be possible otherwise. Brothers and sisters, we have been taught that we must seek to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent and virtuous, that we must seek to be doing good to all men. But as long as we teach and preach hatred and homophobia as family values, we have no promise and we have failed." The reaction of the congregation was similar to what had taken place hours before. At the end of the meeting, the first counselor in the Stake Presidency was given time to read the First Presidency letter. Instead, he went into a rather lengthy discourse about Dave and about the courage needed to come out and about the love that the ward and the stake felt for him. When he finally did read the letter, it was with a noticeable lump in his throat and fighting back a tear in his eye. “You Can Be That Light” Both Sam and David stated that the day's meetings were among the most spiritual and moving testimony meetings that they have ever attended. The sense of peace and calm that each felt was literally overwhelming, and each said that they clearly felt the affirmation of the Spirit that they said and done the right things. The support of Affirmation members, church members, friends, and total strangers was far beyond anything that had been expected. A great deal has happened to Sam and David in the days since, but in a month that represents our expression of pride in who we are, this was the perfect beginning. Both Sam and David have considered themselves to be out for several years, but just as each major step out of the closet brings with it a lifting of a burden and a new sense of peace and confidence, this final step, one that neither man had really thought about previously as even being necessary, provided those same feelings on an unprecedented magnitude. Any although each has faced condemnation from a few homophobic lost souls, each has also received huge outpourings of love and support for their actions. Sam and David thank Eduk and join with him in encouraging you "to share your story in some local ward. Do it for yourself and for those who need to know that everything will be OK-for those who can't see the light. I know you can be that light that so many need." Eduk at the Seattle Singles Ward
July 2006 On June 7 I attended a university singles ward near my home in Seattle. I bore my testimony and came out to the ward as a gay man. I talked about the last time I attended the temple, shortly before coming out, and how I knew that was going to be my last time in the House of Lord. I also told ward members that many things were taken away from me when I came out, but that I never forgot what my parents and the Church had taught me about the importance of prayer. I told them that through all the difficulties and trials I experienced I continued to pray, and that prayer help me survive. The response by the ward was remarkable. As I stepped away from the pulpit, the bishop and his first counselor smiled at me, extended their hands to shake mine, and they said, "thank you very much." People sitting next to me also thanked me for sharing my testimony. Others came to me after the service-some 25 all together! In Sunday School the teacher assigned me to do one of the readings. The person conducting priesthood also acknowledged my presence and said that my testimony had been an inspiration. I was very encouraged by this warm welcome. They really made me feel included. I told the bishop that I'm not planning to become active in the ward or transfer my record, but he encouraged me to come back, and since then I have returned one more time to visit. I have two suggestions for Affirmation members who may plan to come out to their wards in testimony meeting. The first one is: Be sincere, speak from your heart. Don't be preachy or bash the Church. The second suggestion is: Emphasize the positive things that you learned from the gospel. Tell the members how the Church's teachings helped you cope with your life challenges. Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons P.O. Box 46022 Los Angeles, CA 90046 National Phone Line: (661) 367-2421 To see a directory of current Affirmation chapters, visit www.affirmation.org/chapters Executive Director: Olin Thomas Senior Assistant Director: Alyson Bolles Assistant Director: James Morris Associate Director & Affinity Editor: (affirmationLDS  earthlink.net)
AFFIRMATION GAY & LESBIAN MORMONS is a non-profit support group serving
Gay and Lesbian Mormons, their families and friends since 1977. AFFINITY
is the official publication of the Affirmation National Executive Committee.
(affirmationLDS If you wish to receive a text version of AFFINITY by email, simply (affirmationLDS |
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