Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Pride Events at St. George's: Maplewood

As a courtesy to a longtime Sponsoring Congregation of the OASIS, we are sharing word of the following events to take place at St. George's Episcopal Church in Maplewood to commemorate LGBT Pride Month:
  • On Sunday, June 3rd at 12:00 p.m. (following the 10:30 Eucharist service), noted civil rights leader Joan M. Garry will lead a forum entitled LGBT People, Bullying, and the Deeply Held Religious Belief Card.

    Ms. Garry is former Executive Director of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) and came to prominence in 1993 by successfully challenging New Jersey's second-parent adoption law to become the first lesbian in the state to adopt her partner's biological children. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School of Communications and writes a blog for The Huffington Post.
  • On Saturday, June 9th, members of St. George's will host a table at SOMA Pride at Memorial Park in Maplewood.
  • On Sunday, June 10th, IntegrityUSA Founder Dr. Louie Crew will be the guest preacher at both the 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Eucharist services. In addition to a lifetime of advocacy for LGBT people, Dr. Crew is a retired Professor of English, most recently of Rutgers University, an accomplished writer and poet, and a longtime member of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church.
  • On Sunday, June 24th, members of St. George's will be joining us marching in the annual Heritage of Pride in New York City.
Recently, St. George's Rector, The Rev. Bernie Poppe, was quoted in the Newark Star-Ledger in response to President Obama's personal endorsement of marriage equality for LGBT persons.

St. George's is located at 550 Ridgewood Road, Maplewood, NJ., a very short walk from the Maplewood train station.


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Episcopal Presence at NYC Pride 2012

Please see details below regarding the Episcopal presence in the Heritage of Pride March, which is organized by the LGBT Concerns Committee of the Diocese of New York.  Your congregation or group can march as part of the Episcopal group without registering separately or sending someone to the marshal training.  You may bring your own banners, t-shirts, etc. and walk together.


In a year that has had a lot of anti-LGBT messaging from the pulpit, it is more important than ever that we have a strong progressive presence at this very visible parade.   If your congregation has not marched in some years, please consider retuning... we'd love to see you there!  Details will be posted here as they arrive.
Dear Fellow Episcopalians,
For the past several years, the Committee on LGBT Concerns has organized a float in the annual LGBT Pride March, to be held this year on Sunday, June 24th, 2012. Several hundred Episcopalians, from parishes large and small, from Staten Island to Sullivan County, march down Fifth Avenue with the float under the slogan “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You”.  For the past two years we have been by far the largest religious contingent in the entire March!
The Episcopal Church has, for years, been in the forefront of the full inclusion of LGBT persons in all of the sacraments.  While we may not yet have attained all of our goals, we are well on our way.  The annual LGBT Pride March is one of the most visual and important ways that we have of reaching out to the LGBT Community, many of whom have given up on or been driven away from any organized religion.
In order to do this again in 2012, we need your help.  The LGBT Pride March is not a budgeted item.  We rely on donations from individuals, parishes and groups in order to make it possible.  The cost is between $5000.00 and $6000.00 and our suppliers (float, music, registration) require payment in advance. 
The Church of St. Luke in the Fields has agreed to act as our treasurer again this year.  Please make your checks payable to The Church of St. Luke in the Fields, note Pride March in the memo field and mail to:
                Paul J. Lane
                c/o The Church of St. Luke in the Fields
                487 Hudson Street
                New York, NY 10014

The March takes place on Sunday, June 24, 2012.  It will proceed down Fifth Avenue from the lower 30s to its usual end point on Christopher and Greenwich Streets in the West Village.  Our exact meeting  time and location won’t be known  until about two weeks prior to the actual March, but you are welcome to join us at 11 a.m. for Eucharist at the Church of the Transfiguration, 1 E 29 Street, and proceeding to the muster location from there.  

Anyone is welcome to join us.   You will not need to register your group separately.  We will take care of registration and marshals.  All you need to do to participate is show up.  We will post the information on the LGBT Concerns web-page:   and Facebook page  as soon as the March organizers let us know.
If you have any questions, please contact Paul Lane at 646-456-8705 or LGBTConcerns@dioceseny.org
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you there,
Paul J. Lane - LGBT Pride March Coordinator
The Committee on LGBT Concerns of the Episcopal Diocese of New York

Screening of "Love Free or Die" in Morristown Jun. 3

On Sunday, June 10 at 3 p.m., there will be a screening of Love Free or Die,  the award-winning biography of Bishop Gene Robinson, at the Church of the Redeemer in Morristown, N.J., an Integrity Proud Parish Partner.

The screening will be free.  A freewill offering will be taken to support further promotion of the film.  A discussion will follow the screening and refreshments will be available.   Redeemer is an easy walk from the Morristown train station (see map below).

Winner of a special jury prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Love Free or Die is "compelling storytelling, even for those familiar with the outlines of Robinson’s story: his 2003 consecration as a bishop, the backlash from conservatives within the U.S. and global church, and the Episcopal Church’s decision at its 2009 general convention to continue to ordain gay bishops and to develop blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples," as reviewed by Peter Montgomery in Religion Dispatch.

Others in the church - both for and against Bishop Robinson's ordination - are interviewed, including the Right Rev. Otis Charles, who came out and married his partner after retiring as bishop of Utah; the Right Rev. Barbara Harris, the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion; and a Ugandan woman living with HIV.

Footage from some of the major public events in Bishop Robinson's episcopacy are featured, including a dramatic confrontation with a heckler while preaching in England.

The first of a series of screenings around the Diocese of Newark, this event is co-sponsored by the Church of the Redeemer and St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in Parsippany, with assistance from The OASIS and Integrity NYC-Metro.

PLEASE HELP US spread the word about this event by sharing this flyer. Facebook users please RSVP and invite your friends here.

Reviews of Love Free or Die:
EVENT SNAPSHOT:
  • WHAT: Screening of Love Free or Die
  • WHEN:  Sun., Jun 10 at 3pm
  • WHERE: Church of the Redeemer, 36 South Street, Morristown, NJ
  • COST: Free (contributions welcome)