Affirmation: Gay & Lesbian Mormons

How We Made the Yuletide Gay: Reports from the Chapters

Phoenix Chapter

Hawaii Chapter

Wasatch Chapter

The Phoenix Chapter of Affirmation has been working diligently to rebuild membership and get the word out to potential new members of the existence and activities of the local chapter. Our first activity was a Thanksgiving dinner held in November. We had two December activities--this photo was a Christmas party held on the 15th. Several new faces were greeted by several Phoenix Affirmation alumni. We are excited about the interest in our chapter. Our first support group meeting will be held January 5th, and we are expecting as good a turnout for the support group meeting as we have seen in our activities. For further information and more pictures of other activities, please see www.phxaffirmation.com. --Bobby

Greetings from the Aloha State! Members of Affirmation Hawaii gathered at the historic, century old, Moana Surfrider Hotel,Waikiki Beach's first resort hotel. We all enjoyed an evening sunset with its flash of green just before the sun vanished over the ocean horizon. The buffet dinner was a fabulous assortment of eastern and western dishes, with meats, poultry, fish, and shellfish for the carnivores and vegetables for the vegetarians, followed by a delicious assortment of decadent desserts. Sitting in our wicker chairs on the veranda, we enjoyed great food, great friends, and great atmosphere. --James Kent

The Washington, DC Chapter carried on a long standing tradition (at least 18 continuous years), and held a Thanksgiving Potluck dinner November 24 at the home of Olin Thomas. On December 19 the Chapter will gather at the home of David Reichmann to celebrate Christmas with deserts (hey, we ARE Mormon ;) and fellowship, as well as another long standing local tradition--the White Elephant gift exchange. Members re-gift or otherwise rid their homes of various items they have been eager to part with by wrapping them and bringing them to the party. We take turns selecting gifts and unwrapping them. The next person can take any previously unwrapped gift or a yet to be unwrapped one. The competition for hot items can be fierce! Many hilarious gifts have been given over the years, adding to the oral history of the Chapter. --Olin Thomas

In the Portland Chapter we had a fantastic Thanksgiving activity. A small group of our Affirmation folk planned and hosted an entire Thanksgiving feast for all of Portland Affirmation. We ended up with a turn-out of over 20 people, and it was a terrific evening. --Jason Giles

Even though the Affirmation gang in Seattle didn't gather for a holiday celebration this year, several members of the group did find time to provide some valuable and rewarding community service. For the past few years, many members of Affirmation have been actively volunteering with a local non-profit AIDS service organization called Multifaith Works. On Tuesday, December 17, the agency provided a full turkey dinner for their clients and Affirmation provided support through donating money, food and time to that effort. Almost 100 people living with AIDS and their caregivers enjoyed an evening of great food and entertainment. The organizers of the event were so impressed (as always) with the hard work, generosity and positive energy displayed by the guys and gals from Affirmation. --Drew Smith

During the Christmas season, we had three special activities in the Wasatch Chapter of Affirmation. On December 15, we had a Christmas party at the home of Terry O'Brien in Provo. On December 22 we had a fireside in Salt Lake City, at the home of Troy and Ryan. This was a combined activity with Reconciliation, and some 50 people attended this event, which included caroling, a Christmas video produced by the Church, and food. Finally, on December 29, we had a "between the holidays" party at the home of Duane Jennings. We ate food and watched Moulin Rouge. As part of the activity, we collected toiletries and non-perishable food items for the Utah AIDS Foundation. -Hugo Salinas

Members of the LA Chapter of Affirmation enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at the home of Glenn and a Christmas dinner at the home of Mike Miner. Affirmation provided the turkey and all the members helped with the potluck. For our Christmas party we also made white elephant gift exchange, which is a tradition in our chapter. Some 25-30 people attended this event. --Reported by Dan Cash

In Afirmación México we closed the year with a party. We have friends who, though not Mormon, enjoy coming to our meetings, and we invited them to the event. We had an animated dinner and we broke a piñata. Three new members came to our party. It's amazing how productive our meeting are--just by meeting together, our members feel support and have their burdens lightened. We talked about the importance of our group and its objectives. This was a good year, and we hope that we'll grow a lot more during 2003. Reciban un abrazo, Carlos A. Peralta