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Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons—Serving Gay & Lesbian Mormons and Their Family and Friends Since 1977
Phoenix Holds Successful Cornerstone Conference
Family Dynamics, Personal Affirmation Experiences Discussed
by David Melson, Executive Director
They came, they laughed, they cried, they learned, and they showed that the Cornerstone Conference is back, and in a big way. The Affirmation Southwest Cornerstone Conference was held in Phoenix, April 17 and 18. Taking place in conjunction with the quarterly meeting of the Affirmation Executive Committee and the Phoenix Pride Festival, the weekend was packed from the Friday night opening reception to the final session on Saturday and the “earliest in the nation” Pride celebrations on Sunday.
One of the highlights of the conference was a panel discussion with four adult children of gay parents. Three were still active members of the LDS Church, one was not; their Affirmation-member gay parents were in attendance. We often hear about coming out experiences and the events that follow from our own perspective as gay men and women, as well as from (ex)spouses, but to hear candidly from the children involved is rare. Many of the reactions and feelings involved were being verbalized for the first time, and while many were light-hearted, others were very emotional and very moving. Other sessions focused upon building stronger chapters and upon enhancing the personal Affirmation experience.
Conference Director David Douglass, Assistant Director Tony Gale, and host Jim Betz are to be commended for an excellent weekend, and appreciation as well as those who traveled from several states to attend. A Cornerstone Conference may focus on members from a particular area (the Southwest United States in this case, or the 2004 Mexico City Cornerstone), or on a single topic or on a particular portion of Affirmation’s membership, such as recent conferences on transgender issues or women’s issues.
Our next Cornerstone event will be the Young Adult Cornerstone in San Francisco on July 17 and 18. This is an event that no one in Affirmation age thirty and under will want to miss. You can read all about it below.
Also in Phoenix, in meetings of the Executive Committee of Affirmation, Robert Moore was named as Affirmation’s Young Adult Director, Chey Martineau as Communication Coordinator for Europe, Asia, and Africa, and Carlos Mitchell as Promotion Specialist for the Affirmation Writing Awards.
Affirmation Calendar 2009
May 1-17
“Dottie Dixon” staged in Salt Lake City
June
Pride celebrations held across the world
June 8
Anniversary of the revelation that lifted the ban on African-Americans males holding the priesthood (1978)
June 11
Anniversary. Affirmation was organized on this day in Salt Lake City (1977).
July 17-18
Young Adult Cornerstone in San Francisco
July 24
Pioneer Day
August 3
Deadline for submissions to the Affirmation Writing Awards
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August 16
Deadline to reserve hotel rooms for the annual conference
August 21
Deadline to register for the annual conference at reduced rate of $159
September 5
Deadline to register for the annual conference at reduced rate of $179
September 18-20
Affirmation's Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, UT
October 11
National Coming Out Day
December 1
World AIDS Day
December 8-9
Anniversary. Affirmation was organized nationally in Los Angeles (1979).
December 25
Christmas
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GLBT Mormons 18-30 to Gather in San Francisco
Young Adult Cornerstone to Be Held July 17-18
Affirmation is very pleased to invite everyone 18 to 30 years old to our Young Adult Cornerstone, “What Is Right.” The Cornerstone will start on Friday, July 17th at 7:30pm, with a social activity and light refreshments. Afterward, get out and enjoy an evening in San Francisco.
The Cornerstone resumes the morning of Saturday, July 18th over breakfast, then discussions and action-oriented workshops. We're developing great topics with a group of energetic activists—dating and sex, working for your equal rights wherever you live, family, and more. We'll break for lunch then take a walk through the Castro and see where the queer community gained so much ground.
The low-cost registration and other details are forthcoming, so keep watch at affirmation.org and in the Affirmation Messenger. Anything you need to know right now, or anything you really want to see happen at the Cornerstone, contact Young Adults Director Robert Moore via youngadults affirmation.org. We can't wait to see you in San Francisco this summer!
David Nielson’s Top 8 Reasons to Attend the
2009 Affirmation Conference
May 2009
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David Nielson
Jason & deMarco
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Chad Hardy, Creator of Men on a Mission Calendar:
Hardy's bold move not only cost him his place in the
Mormon Church, but it has now cost him his BA degree in Communication Studies at BYU. He will share his journey and you won’t want to miss the runway/fashion show. |
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INEXPENSIVE Hotel rates at the University Guest House on the campus of the University of Utah. Reserve your room today. For additional information, go to www.affirmation2009.com/hotel.shtml. |
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Music and the Spoken Word--From within the shadow of the everlasting hills: For many, no visit to Salt Lake City would be complete without attending a Sunday morning live broadcast from Temple Square of “Music and the Spoken Word,” featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. |
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Voicings: A much anticipated highlight of the Conference is the first showing of this new film by Stephen Williams. |
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The Affirmation Chorus: Composer David Naylor has accepted a commission to write an original choral work for this years Affirmation Devotional. If you would like to participate in this chorus please email Scott Mills for details at greenmills987comcast.net. |
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Food, Glorious Food! Your conference registration includes Friday and Saturday evening meals and Saturday and Sunday lunch. If you are staying at the University Guest House, breakfast is included. |
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“Jason & deMarco” - Gay pop/folk singing duo has performed internationally and at events like the HRC Gala in 2006. Promoting spirituality through song, they will be our opening social event at the Libby Gardner Hall and a seat at the concert is included when you register for the Conference. |
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We can’t wait to spring the surprises that await you by attending this years Affirmation Conference.
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Check our website for ongoing updates at www.affirmation2009.com.
See you in September at the 2009 Affirmation Conference!!
David Nielson |
Mass. Rep. Carl Sciortino
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Massachusetts Representative Carl Sciortino to Speak at Affirmation Conference
Sciortino had Leadership role in defeating the anti-marriage constitutional amendment
Massachusetts Representative Carl Sciortino will be addressing the 2009 Affirmation Conference, as well as conducting a small group session. Carl is one of the significant members of the rising generation of gay political leaders in the United States.
Carl Sciortino is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing Somerville and Medford in the Boston metropolitan area. After defeating an anti-marriage incumbent in 2004 at 26 years old, he is now one of the few out GLBT members of the legislature. Carl took a leadership role in defeating the anti-marriage constitutional amendment, and has filed transgender civil rights legislation for the first time in Massachusetts’ history.
Rep. Sciortino is deeply committed to working for the families in his community, and has been a tireless advocate for issues of social and economic justice. He passed amendments to the state budget which resulted in increased funding for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) and Hepatitis-C prevention and treatment programs. Rep. Sciortino also helped pass and override the governor's veto on legislation which resulted in an increase to the minimum wage to $8.00/hour, the highest in the nation. He supported an amendment to the state's constitution which would make health care for all a constitutionally guaranteed right and he helped pass a landmark bill that makes affordable, quality insurance accessible to 95% to the state's 500,000 uninsured residents.
Carl is the Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, and serves on the House Committee on Way & Means and the Joint Committee on Health Care Finance. He has taken leadership roles in raising the minimum wage, improving finances for public transportation, passing Massachusetts’ landmark universal healthcare law, and pushing for improvements in education & testing policies.
Prior to the legislature, Carl worked in the public health field, working on HIV/AIDS clinical research. He graduated with a degree in Biology from Tufts University and is Vice Chair of the Medford Democratic City Committee and a member of the Progressive Democrats of Somerville, along with many other local community organizations.
Community activist Jacob Whipple |
General Service Weekend Successful
“This weekend reaffirms the need for Christian acts of kindness in our society”
Joselle Vanderhooft
From a story in QSaltLake
Despite a rescheduling thanks to a snowy spring, General Service Weekend went off without a hitch on Easter weekend, April 11 and 12. As its name suggests, the project was initially supposed to take place during LDS General Conference on April 4 and 5.
Initially, organizer Jacob Whipple wanted to schedule the service project on the same weekend as LDS Conference to turn anger at the LDS Church’s support for Proposition 8, which re-banned gay marriage in California, into “something positive.”
“You have one segment of our community in General Conference learning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and another segment of our community out performing the Gospel,” he told QSaltLake in March “[The weekend] reaffirms the need for Christian acts of kindness in our society.”
In total, approximately 50 people in Salt Lake City performed over 500 hours of service sorting medical supplies, cleaning parks, and even helping a refugee family move into a new apartment. Although organizer Jacob Whipple said he would have liked to have seen a bigger turn out, he noted that the project had “really good participation and everything got done.”
Over the weekend, volunteers visited the homes of five refugee families from Bhutan, Iraq, Liberia and Nepal to assess their needs and to deliver them basic supplies such as quilts and toiletries.
“The main goal with doing that is that way they’re not wasting their money on toothpaste, towels and soap and such, and can spend their money on food and rent,” said Whipple., noting that refugees must work for their government money and are only paid $2.15 an hour.
“They have it really hard, he said. “Three of the families we went to visit had their houses up for sale.”
One such family headed by an elderly woman waiting for a liver and kidney transplant also needed help moving their belongings to an apartment fifty yards away in the same complex. Volunteers, said Whipple, obliged.
A number of volunteers also assisted Utah G.A.R.D.E.N.S., Inc., a sustainable community gardens project which is geared towards helping families produce their own food and become self-reliant. They assisted with such activities as creating a weed barrier on one of the organization’s plots. Other volunteers also drove to a warehouse owned by Globus International Resource Corp. where they sorted packages of medical supplies for use during natural disasters.
Volunteers also picked up trash in Dimple Dell and Wasatch Parks.
“It was a really nice walk in the park, basically,” said Whipple. “Both days were pretty sunny and warm so coats weren’t necessary.” While the parks were mainly clean already, Whipple said that volunteers were able to clean up debris around campfires and some temporary encampments built by homeless people.
Volunteers in Ogden also participated in park clean up and built a wheelchair ramp for the Weber Housing Authority.
When asked if General Service Weekend would continue, Whipple said one could be planned for September or October.
“It was a lot of work to put together, so I think it would just be a bi-annual event,” he said. “Doing it any more often would just be a little too much effort for the limited outcome.”
Whipple noted, however, that such a weekend would not likely be scheduled opposite the LDS Church’s fall General Conference in October.
“Now that we’ve done it once I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary that it be tied to the weekend of Conference,” he said. “For the most part, the general public will know it’s the gays out there doing service again, and that’s the major goal of the whole thing.”
However, Whipple added that gay and transgender people should help better the broader communities in which they live at every chance.
“I think it’s necessary that we as a community try and find ways in our every day lives to show society that we can be a positive and productive component,” he said. “Whether it be organized or us doing something in our spare time I think it’s necessary in order for us to sway public opinion and win [equal rights] in the end.”
Santiago Event |
Pre-Easter Activity
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May 18 Gathering
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Afirmación Chile Holds Activities, Issues Statement
“We all have the right to be respected as human beings. No one has the right to discriminate.”
The two chapters of Affirmation in Chile held activities during April. In a social event organized by Esteban and Pablo, Afirmación Santiago celebrated the Academy Award won by Dustin Lance Black, a gay man of LDS background. “Besides celebrating Dustin’s ‘Oscar,’ the chapter continued to strengthen bonds of friendship and siblinghood,” they wrote in a report.
Afirmación Gran Valparaíso gathered on Holy Saturday for a pre-Easter spiritual activity at the home of Brus Leguás Contreras, where the group reflected on the meaning of that special day. One week later, they gathered at the home of Marco Antonio, who is recovering after a serious car accident. The gathering included food and an animated conversation which lasted until the wee hours of the morning.
Also in April, Afirmación Chile issued a statement in response to Chilean Evangelical groups who are mobilizing against a proposed equal rights law which, they fear, would allow same-sex marriage.
“The proposed law only refers to discrimination as suffered today by many minority groups in Chile, including immigrants, sexual minorities, religious minorities, the disabled, and ethnic minorities,” wrote the president of Afirmación Chile, Brus Leguás Contreras, in the 750-word document.
“Since 1925, there is in Chile separation between church and state,” the document continues. “We all have the right to live according to what we are. We all have the right to be respected as human beings. No one has the right to discriminate.”
“Evangelical leaders are forgetting that God is Love, God’s Love is unconditional, and God is no respecter of persons.”
 Read the full statement in Spanish
Just Call Me Greg: A Novel by Jeff Laver
Reviewed by Alan Blodgett
Recommended reading. This is a story of a Salt Lake City youth who comes to the realization that he is gay and the struggles he goes through trying to do what is right and to please his devout Mormon family and his church leaders. The author is successful in capturing the deep and troubled feelings that so many of us have experienced when we realize we are gay and no matter how much we would have it otherwise, we are not going to change. Even so, happiness can be ours once we accept who we are.
Just Call me Greg is an interesting story and well written. Once I started the book it was difficult to put it down until I finished it. Copies can be purchased on Amazon.com, for $14.99.
Jeff is not new to Affirmation. He entered the Writing Awards Contest and his excellent essay, “Mormon and Gay” is posted under “Personal Voices” on the Affirmation website.
Jeff grew up in a devout Mormon home in Salt Lake City. He served a mission in Colombia and majored in Spanish literature at the University of Utah. He also did graduate work in Spanish at the University of Utah and BYU. He reports that he now lives happily in Utah.
Family Fellowship Founders Gary and Millie Watts Spoke During the Event |
PFLAG, Family Fellowship Supporters Hold Event at SUU
“Love your enemies and do good unto those who do not do good unto you. Be the best people you can be.”
May 2009
With the participation of renowned LDS poet Carol Lynn Pearson and Family Fellowship founders Millie and Gary Watts, PFLAG of St. George held a series of events May 2 at Cedar City as counterpoint to a Southern Utah University commencement featuring LDS President Thomas S. Monson.
PFLAG and supporters of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer rights chose the SUU commencement to urge Monson to support Utah legislation towards expanded health care, fair housing and employment, and removal of inheritance and insurance barriers for GLBTQ families.
“Elder L. Whitney Clayton stated the LDS Church ‘does not oppose civil unions or domestic partnerships,’” the PFLAG group wrote on their website. “The SUU commencement is a perfect time to remind Monson his support will help GLBT graduates obtain employment, housing, and medical care long after they graduate with their SUU diplomas.”
In the morning, the group demonstrated “love and support” for the Southern Utah University graduates with a 30-minute peaceful picket in protest of Saturday's 2009 commencement. The group shouted repeatedly, "Congratulations." They were answered with cheers, applause, and expressions of gratitude from some students marching in cap and gown - a few wearing hot pink ribbons and scarves signifying PFLAG support - on their way to the Centrum Arena for the morning graduation ceremony.
Dixie State College PFLAG member Brandon Jarvis held a poster mounted on a stick that displayed two symbols: the LDS green shield with the letters CTR, which stand for “choose the right,” and the equal rights sign that has two yellow equal bars on a blue background. He said his picket sign meant, “Choose the right. Support equal rights.”
“We're just trying to be peaceful and send out a message of equality and let everyone know we love them, and we just believe that humankind means kindness to humans and we just want everyone to love each other,” Jarvis said. “Graduation is an opportunity where everyone is going out into the world and leaving the safety and shelter of a university campus, and there has been some division through this graduation, and so instead of sending a message of hatred, or us vs. them, we just wanted to send a message of cohesion.”
In the afternoon the group held an event at Heritage Theater. SUU Vice President of Student Services Donna Edlemann, Millie and Gary Watts, and Carol Lynn Pearson were among the speakers. Millie and Gary Watts spoke about the experience they had when one of their children, a returned missionary, came out to them as a gay man. After studying the subject in depth, Millie and Gary decided to support their gay son and start Family Fellowship, an organization that provides education and support for hundreds of families with gay and lesbian members.
Carol Lynn Pearson made reference to the civil rights movement and read a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. about loving our enemies. “Go into the world and shine and stun everyone with the wonderful contributions you make,” she told the audience. “Love your enemies and do good unto those who do not do good unto you. Be the best people you can be.”
Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons
P.O. Box 1435
Palm Springs, CA 92263-1435
National Phone Line: (661) 367-2421
To see a directory of current Affirmation chapters, visit www.affirmation.org/chapters
Executive Director: Dave Melson
Senior Assistant Director: Micah Bisson
Assistant Director: George Cole
Associate Director & Affinity Editor: Hugo Salinas www.affirmation.org/contact/affinity
Send Us Your Submission!
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.
Submissions are welcome and should be limited to 250 words. To contact us, visit www.affirmation.org/contact/affinity. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, national committee or publisher, but rather
the individual writers. The Editor reserves the right to edit any material
deemed offensive, libelous, grammatically incorrect or lengthy.
About AFFINITY
AFFINITY is available both as an email text and as a web-based document.
Although both versions are free of charge, we encourage you to become
a dues-paying member and thus help us advance Affirmation's important
mission.
If you wish to receive a text version of AFFINITY by email, simply send a request to Hugo Salinas by visiting www.affirmation.org/contact/affinity. If you are a dues-paying member and do not have Internet
access, you may request a printed version that will be sent to you by
mail.
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