Christian Gays: Philips Many Thoughts Blogspot

We met a lot of people at Pride this year as we sat at the booth of PFLAG Twin Cities. As a result we have a few recommendations to pass along. The author of Philips Many Thoughts Blogspot is devoted to writing about Christian gays and shares a perspective to consider. The blog address is http://philipsmanythougths.blogspot.com. Many people have been taught that you can't believe in the Bible and accept our gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender men and women. There are a lot of publications and opinions written about this topic which we have studied over the years. This blogspot might be a good start if you are interested in hearing more on this particular issue. Another great resource is the BlueBook which can be found at http://www.pcmk.org. It is published by the First Presbyterian Church of Mt. Kisco, NY. You may read it online (http://www.pcmk.org/blue_book.pdf)or order a hard copy (Info@PCMK.org) This publication answers a lot of questions about being gay and includes a section on Bible verses and their context. Good luck on your personal journey of understanding about how God and Jesus view our gay and lesbian sons and daughters through the written word and actions found in the Bible. Let us know if you want other resources on this topic because we have quite a list!

A Stranger Among Friends by David Mixner

I just finished reading "A Stranger Among Friends" with tears in my eyes and a grateful heart. I was humbled by his work on behalf of all our gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders and those who love them. David was a political activist during the Viet Nam war and eventually became known as a leading gay activist. I am so proud of David Mixner and others who have given so much of themselves to help others. David has lived a selfless life so others can have the rights and acceptance that some of us enjoy without a thought. I wrote to David on Facebook and he was kind enough to respond. I love Facebook for those kind of opportunities.

My next read is Former WI Representative Steve Gunderson's book entitled House and Home. That is going to be my Las Vegas book while Ziggy, our granddog, and I keep each other company while Jaysen and Andrew vacation in Wisconsin! I also ordered a book recommended by an Eau Claire resident entitled Love Is an Orientation: Elevating the Conversation With the Gay Community. I'll give you an update on those two titles when I'm done.

2010 Pride Twin Cities Everyday Hero Award

We were nominated and accepted for the 2010 Pride Twin Cities Everyday Hero Award which is designed for unsung heroes. There have been five other winners of this award in past years. We were one of four awards this year from Pride Twin Cities: their Grand Marshal was given to Dr. Stan Hill, Artistic Director for Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus, Target received their Cooperate Achievement Award and PFUND Foundation received their Community Award.

The awards were given at a reception in Minneapolis. They had a display of original artwork for viewing with winners announced that evening. They also had a silent auction - I tried to win but was outbid several times on several items! All four of the award winners were introduced, given their award, and were given a few minutes to share a few thoughts with the attendees.

The second honor bestowed on us from Pride Twin Cities was to ride in the Pride Parade in Minneapolis. Brad and Jay drove us in their convertible and took many photos along the way. They estimate 150,000 people attended the parade with up to 1/2 million attending the various events throughout the weekend. It is the 3rd largest PRIDE parade in the United States and the largest in the Midwest. It was a special moment for us and it reminded us once again that our work is appreciated. You can see photos of the parade on our Ready or Not Facebook Fan Page.

Throughout the weekend we promoted PFLAG Twin Cities at Loring Park. PFLAG was marketing their new webpage and the ground-breaking discussion forum. Paul and I are monitoring the Parent Discussion Group and are members of several other groups. Imagehaus designed some clever cards in the form of a ticket to help get people engaged in the website - 2,000 were distributed throughout the weekend. The good people from PFLAG were on hand to discuss PFLAG, the website, and talk with others about their individual questions or concerns. We were happy to be a part of the PFLAG family. We contributed a portion of our book sales to PFLAG.

It was a PRIDEFUL weekend!

Press Release of PRIDE Award Winners: http://www.tcpride.org/index.php/get-involved/pride-awards

Lavender Magazine Pride Award 2010

June is PRIDE month and is designated as a time to honor our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender men and women. As a parent of two gay sons and advocate, we take every opportunity to do so, especially this month. Lavender Magazine has been incredibly generous to us over the past year and once again showed their ongoing commitment to their mission by issuing their annual Pride Awards. We were in the company of some incredible people and organizations who also shared the Awards stage: Comcast Corporate Award, Bruce Meyers and Gordon Severson for their feature length documentary - It Doesn't Define Us, MN Red Ribbon Ride, Park Tavern for their welcoming business, The Whelihan Experience for artistic expression, and us for our book and the work we do. That evening was especially special because we were in a room with over 200 people with one of our favorites, Bradley Traynor - better known as Wanda, introducing us. The crowd was definitely in its celebration mode but it quieted down for our short speech of acceptance. We talked to several people after the ceremony and went away convinced yet again that our book and our work is important. We were a symbol for some in the room of the support they yearn for in their families, workplace, church and society at large. It is for all of those people and others we have never met that we continue our message of love and acceptance.