| Dear Friends
Welcome to 2010 and our February e-newsletter.
The year has started off quite dramatically with deep snow covering large parts of the UK and Europe and as always it brought everything to a grinding halt! As beautiful as it looks when it first falls, I for one, am glad that it has now all thawed and that we can look forward to warmer times.
I hope that you found the time to relax and reflect as well as to enjoy the celebrations of Christmas and New Year. I would like to thank all of you who joined us for the Carol Service at St. Botolph’s for making it a truly blessed and joyous occasion. As always, a lot of hard work and preparation went into the event and I’d like to thank everyone for their time and efforts but especially Matt who performed a solo of ‘O Holy Night’ during communion. If you were unfortunate enough to have missed the service, make sure you join us this year!
As always there are a few things that I’d particularly like to bring to your attention.
I’m really looking forward to our AGM and Annual Conference this year. We are holding it on Saturday 15th May 2010 and returning to The Drill Hall, Chenies Street, London. The title and theme is "Love Hurts! The effects of discrimination in the name of the God of love.’ The workshops will be looking at the very real consequences of faith based homophobia and transphobia and the positive steps that people have taken to overcome these. We are hoping to have speakers from the Gay and Lesbian Black Fellowship, LMO Youth Group, and Cutting Edge Consortium, as well as others who can explore this topic from many different perspectives. We have already confirmed two wonderful performers for the afternoon who will share the stories, poetry and music of their journeys as young, black, LGBT, Christians. Look out for the next magazine which will contain more information and booking forms will be in the post soon!
February is LGBT History Month and there are lots of different activities and events taking place around the country. Why not try something different or take the opportunity to learn something new about our history as LGBT Christians. We have a number of interesting books available on Amazon Marketplace.
Deadline for news for the next e-newsletter is 15 March 2010!
Many Blessings,
Rev Sharon Ferguson
Chief Executive
Please click on the links below.
Worship
Learn
Contribute
Take Action
Worship
In this section we will inform you of any services that are organised/supported by LGCM or specifically designed for the lgbt faith community (or section thereof).
Friday 5 March at 7.30pm
Women’s World Day of Prayer
Lumen URC, 88 Tavistock Place, LONDON, WC1H 9RS
A special ecumenical service is being held. It will be led by Rev Dr Uta Blohm and Rev Sharon Ferguson. All are welcome.
The Soho Masses
Church of Our Lady of the Assumption & St. Gregory,
Warwick Street, Soho,
LONDON W1B 5NB.
The Soho Masses welcomes LGBT Catholics, parents, families and friends at their services on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month at 5pm.
Please contact us for more details.
Learn
In this section we will inform you of any courses, lectures or workshops that are organised / supported by LGCM or specifically designed for the lgbt faith community (or section thereof).
Friday 19 – Sunday 21 February 2010
Living it out – SCM Friends gathering
Alongside the 2010 Student Christian Movement conference
Swanwick, Derbyshire
Join other SCM Friends alongside today’s students for a weekend exploring spirituality, vocation, activism and mission
- Help to build today’s student movement. Meet students, and share your skills to support them as they run ecumenical student groups in today’s universities and colleges.
- Build a community of Friends Share your stories and help to build a stronger network of SCM Friends, with help from Michael Taylor and Kathy Galloway
- Reflect on mission and vocation There will be inspiring keynote talks, interactive workshop sessions and time for Bible study and reflection – both as a community of SCM Friends and alongside current students.
Find out more and book online
Saturday 27 February 2010, 10.30am – 1.30pm
Marriage Equality Day
Newington Green Unitarian Church
39a Newington Green, Stoke Newington
LONDON, N16 9PR. More details.
a public meeting to explore the issues surrounding the inequality of marriage and Civil Partnership rights in the UK.
Confirmed speaksers include:
Sharon Ferguson, Chief Executive of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, and interim pastor of Metropolitan Community Church North London.
Peter Tatchell, winner of Observer’s Campaigner of the Year 2009 Human Rights Campaigner
Professor Robert Wintemute, School of Law, King’s College London
James Welch, Legal Director at Liberty
Saturday 27 February 2010
The Lisieux Trust for Women’s Ministry
St Andrew’s, Waterloo, London.
If you would like to attend please contact: Dorothea McEwan, 0208 883 5408, daily from 5 to 9 pm or email her. Those who have an interest in developing Liturgy will find this a highly interesting day.
Thursday 18 March 2010 at 7pm
‘Open Table’
St. Martin- in- the Fields Church, Trafalger Square.
Suggested donation £3.
The speaker is Nicola Slee on "Poetry and Passion" Folk are welcome to meet at 6pm to eat together in the crypt Cafe.
Friday 21 – Sunday 23 May 2010
Gay Men’s Retreat
Emmaus House,
Clifton,
Bristol
A Retreat offering an opportunity for gay Christian men to share their stories in a spirit of mutual respect. As we reflect together on the fragility of life, and take time out to contemplate some of the characters in the biblical stories, participants will have ample time to nurture the gift of life that lies within each one of us in a relaxed, good humoured and friendly atmosphere.
In order to enrich the experience further, we are offering the option of staying on after lunch on Sunday until Monday mid-morning. Cost: £145 or £180. For more information please telephone 0117 907 9950, email here or visit their website.
Contribute
In this section we will inform you of opportunities to support LGCM with your tithes, time and/or talents.
Life Membership!
Why not save yourself the trouble of renewing your membership each year and take out life membership. For only £1000 you will receive all the benefits of membership for the rest of your life – no concerns about the bank getting your payment wrong, no fears of lapsed membership, no membership fee increases! For more details contact Sharon or Matt.
Vote for LGCM
The Pink Paper is currently running it’s annual survey to make its Awards. Why not vote for LGCM as best Gay Organisation(section 6:1)? or maybe I could be your hero (section 4:1)? It costs you nothing and you could win a £100 shopping spree! But the best bit is the free publicity we will receive so place your vote now
LOCAL GROUPS
Please click on your nearest local group for more details:
Birmingham LGCM
Brighton LGCM
Bristol LGCM
Coventry LGCM
Devon LGCM
Essex LGCM
CentralLondon LGCM (3F)
Nottingham LGCM
Portsmouth & Isle of Wight LGCM
Southampton LGCM
SouthWales LGCM
Staffordshire LGCM
Yorkshire & Cleveland LGCM
Take Action
In this section we will inform you of ways to support the work of LGCM or the lgbt faith community (or section thereof) in general, or the fight for equality.
THE POPE
Many of our members are Catholic and we recognise the importance of having the head of the denomination visiting Britain. However, there are a number of issues of concern about this visit especially in light of his recent interventions regarding the Single Equality Bill. The principal objections many have to the arrival of the Pope are:
- that the Pope’s visit to the UK is a State Visit;
- that public money will be used to fund the visit; current estimates suggest £20 million;
- that we deplore the Pope’s intolerant and harsh views on many important social issues (women’s rights, lgbt rights, the use of condoms etc) and the Pope’s role in enabling the cover up of child sex abuse in the Catholic church.
Consequently, a coalition has been formed to provide a focal point for organisations and individuals to register their disapproval of the State Visit to the UK by the Pope in September 2010. The coalition is setting up a web-site - protestthepope.org - which will be both a resource and a meeting place for organisations and individuals to promote their own events and activities.
If you believe that the Pope should not come to the UK without hearing from the millions of people who reject his harsh, intolerant views, please support the campaign.
The National Secular Society have set up a petition which can be signed here.
UGANDA
Our concerns for our brothers and sisters in Uganda are still very pertinent even though the President, Museveni, has stated he is unhappy with the Bill in its present format. We must continue to show support and express our deep concern at such a draconian law and the prospect of any person being subjected to this sort of treatment.
Please sign the e petition to express your concern and write to your MP, local Church and denomination asking them to speak out against this Bill regardless of their theological position on homosexuality.
GENERAL
Make a commitment to pray daily for LGBT around the world who continue to face ongoing threats to their freedom, safety, health and well-being for no other reason than their real or perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
Pray for God’s blessing and protection upon their lives, that they may find strength and hope in the midst of adversity, and that governments everywhere will treat their citizens with fairness, justice and compassion.
And pray that people of faith and leaders everywhere may become global allies with us in the work of advancing peace and goodwill among all God’s children. |
