Organizing for Soulforce on a Local Level

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by antonio

To Kara--Hi, I'm in BC (but a US citizen from US). I am RC but go to church at Rainbow Community in Vancouver's West end. I know nothing about organzing or about respect for "turfs," so excuse my pol-inco but --does Soul Force ever combine or integrate efforts with a church? Seems like it would enhance the pol-strrength of both and of course, bring different people together. I like the church and it is active and does good stuff but there doesn't seem to be any pol-involvement.


antonio

Hi Antonio: I am also RC. For 5 years we protested at the U.S. Catholic Bishop's conference. Go back to the home page and check out our protests from 2000 thru to 2005 in our archives. We did some fabulous stuff. We also protested at the Vatican in 2001 and again in 2006. You'll find a lot of excellent information on the Catholic pages. I particularly think that 2005 & 2006 were significant in the strategies we took.

Currently Soulforce is not focusing as much on the denominations, but building more networking with other organizations such as the Right to Marry folks, as well as BeyondExGay folks.

kara

[revtj]

Gays and lesbians should therefore learn to think of themselves as damaged in their very being. If they want to be good Catholics, they must learn to look upon themselves as wounded personalities, intrinsically disordered, ontically sick, merely tolerated in church and society, and forever excluded from the sharing their life with a person they love.

Wow, Antonio, this reads like the inquisition or anti-Jewish pogroms. Can you tell me the specific source? I have heard something similar came out in a papal encyclical of His Rottweilerness -- is this a full quote of that? It makes me very angry and sad because it seems medieval in its logic and potentially murderous to LGBT people.

[antonio]

REVTJ--I don't have the source but it was someone sort of rewriting the letter of the American Bishops who were supporting the Vaticans position. I looked it over and sure enough, you can rewrite those documents the same way. When you seperate out the pearls of hate and ignorance and put them all together without shrouding them in the double talk, it puts a different spin on it.
If I come across it, I'll let you know.
antonio

[antonio]

REVTJ---

Should homosexuals remain in the Catholic Church?
Catholic New Times, Jan 16, 2005 by Gregory Baum
Catholic homosexual people committed to the Gospel ask themselves whether they should leave the Catholic Church where they are spurned, to become members of the United Church of Canada where they

Google that and you'll get several sources of the story.
antonio

[revtj]

I have since read the encyclical and several commentaries on it and, sheesh, it is just so hard to believe this Pope followed John Paul II.

I am trying to look at it from a Jungian perspective. The whole world seems to be in a state of extreme regression now. It wasn't long ago (pre-9/11) that New Agers were predicting that humanity was on the verge of a giant spiritual leap. I had hoped; but I think that is very, very naive now.

When cultures rush back toward the mythic literal and renew tribal rivalries & re-ignite old hatreds it is not about astral projection, it's about psychological projection. Period.

There is a DNA - induced security factor in purifying the tribe by projecting onto & cleansing it of 'the other.' Religion always begins this process and sustains it. It is scary, especially if you find yourself on the list of 'the other.' It is strange if you are a believer who thinks the regression is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Of course, there is tremendous opportunity for people of goodwill, of non-violence and compassion to rise up and be heard. Can we save ourselves? Can we somehow show that the scapegoating is no longer required by the gods and isn't healthy for the tribes? Can we talk about global community and human respect for the dignity & worth of all people at such a time as this and be heard?

In the face of this kind of hate and regression, are not we who believe in nonviolence called to be the salt of the earth?

[Steven E. Webster]

Friends,

Yes, I was able to google the article "Should homosexuals remain in the Catholic church?" by Gregory Baum.

Baum is a liberal Roman Catholic theologian. The quote reported above is not Baum's opinion, but Baum's summation of Roman Catholic teaching. From my reading I would say that Baum is being accurate and is not exagerrating.

Baum, nevertheless, concludes that LGBT Catholics should remain in the Catholic church and dissent from the church's teaching as their consciences demand.

I'm sure one could argue to other conclusions than Baum's. From a Soulforce perspective one would not want to cooperate with the "evil" of the church's teaching--maybe that would be an argument to leave the church. One can also stay and make one's dissent known. Whatever one does, one needs to consider one's own spiritual well-being.

I feel I face much the same thing as a dissenter within the United Methodist Church. We now have a church ruling that allows pastors to deny membership or threaten church discipline to LGBT people who refuse to "repent" of the "sin of homosexuality." The situation is hardly any better than the Roman Catholic one.

Steven Webster

[SomervilleGuy]

Hi,
I got the information on the NYC group from Soulforce website and am very interested in the NYC group since I live in NJ, close to Manhattan. I called and emailed the guy who it says is in charge; Andrew Brewer. Did not get a return call or an email response! Is the contact info for the NYC group on here accurate? Please help me get in touch with the NYC group so I can be involved. Thanks.

Geoff

[SomervilleGuy]

Guess my post above went back to the original topic - local Soulforce groups. I read the first few posts on this thread and then responded. Didnt realize that the topic had totally shifted to "should gays stay in the Catholic church."

Antonio, no offense, man. You conversation is extremely valuable. I just was asking how to get in touch with my local Soulforce group. Please carry on.

Geoff

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by SomervilleGuy

Guess my post above went back to the original topic - local Soulforce groups. I read the first few posts on this thread and then responded. Didnt realize that the topic had totally shifted to "should gays stay in the Catholic church."

Antonio, no offense, man. You conversation is extremely valuable. I just was asking how to get in touch with my local Soulforce group. Please carry on.

Geoff

Geoff: We only have a few functioning local groups at this point and none in the Boston area. We're exploring different ideas around having state contact people, but that's still in the "idea" stage. The earlier posts in this thread do give ideas about how to promote Soulforce locally. Kara

[kara speltz]

Here's a way to promote Soulforce locally - contact your supportive heterosexuals and ask them to take part in the Seven Straight Nights campaign. You'll be doing them a favor - because as we teach in Soulforce, the first thing getting involved does is lift your own spirits. So spread the word. Wouldn't it be awesome if we had vigils in like 100 cities across the country

Kara

[Montanna]

It seems like months ago now that I thought and asked about doing a table for Soulforce at our local Pride event. Well, it was last weekend and we pulled it off. We also had a pickup truck in the parade with folks in the back (a minister, lesbians, straights, and anyone who got on during the parade) and signs on the side that read "Stop Spiritual Violence" and "The Debate is Over, The Verdict in In, Not a Sickness, Not a Sin!". When our truck went past groups of people, they cheered. At our booth, many different kinds of people came by to look at the literature from Soulforce and to talk. I was heartened to see many therapist getting literature and leaving their card for future contact. We met the people who are doing 7 Straight Nights. I say "we" because as word got out that I would be at the Pride event with a Soulforce table, people started stepping forward to help. It was wonderful. Too many people didn't know anything about Soulforce but were greatful for the work once they did know. I put a box out on the table that was labeled a "Suggestion Box" and also said "What can Soulforce do to help in your community." I got one response. I could use some help with this. Any ideas. The comment was "Pay attention to when hating preachers come to schools. - - follow up afterward." The overall feeling I came away with is that my community is desperate for what Soulforce offers. It was a great experience. Montanna

[kara speltz]

Originally Posted by Montanna

It seems like months ago now that I thought and asked about doing a table for Soulforce at our local Pride event. Well, it was last weekend and we pulled it off. We also had a pickup truck in the parade with folks in the back (a minister, lesbians, straights, and anyone who got on during the parade) and signs on the side that read "Stop Spiritual Violence" and "The Debate is Over, The Verdict in In, Not a Sickness, Not a Sin!". When our truck went past groups of people, they cheered. At our booth, many different kinds of people came by to look at the literature from Soulforce and to talk. I was heartened to see many therapist getting literature and leaving their card for future contact. We met the people who are doing 7 Straight Nights. I say "we" because as word got out that I would be at the Pride event with a Soulforce table, people started stepping forward to help. It was wonderful. Too many people didn't know anything about Soulforce but were greatful for the work once they did know. I put a box out on the table that was labeled a "Suggestion Box" and also said "What can Soulforce do to help in your community." I got one response. I could use some help with this. Any ideas. The comment was "Pay attention to when hating preachers come to schools. - - follow up afterward." The overall feeling I came away with is that my community is desperate for what Soulforce offers. It was a great experience. Montanna

Bless you Montana, for taking the initiative. Hopefully, with 7 Straight Nights coming up, I would think you could create a core group of people who are committed to continuing the work you've begun. Kara

[cartierobert]

I live in Atlanta, GA. I would be interested in seeking out likminded people in my area.

[NathanATX]

I've been avoiding this thread because I didn't want to take on the responsibility for starting a local chapter... and we really, really need one here in Oklahoma.

So, I'm going to get the ball rolling and pray for someone to take the leadership...

I believe the local MCC would let us host a webpage on their servers. Or... soulforce could host it... it might be oklahoma.soulforce.org or something.

I've already created a Soulforce in Oklahoma Google Group to facilitate conversation among people about this initiative.
http://groups.google.com/group/soulforce-in-oklahoma

[kara speltz]

This year's Seven Straight Nights, is a perfect way to organize for Soulforce on a local basis. Check it out, http://www.sevenstraightnights.org/

Kara

[Vanessa White]

I am thinking that I want to try to organize a local event here in Northeastern PA; I hope to get some support to do it and have some help putting it together........

[Jennifer5]

http://www.soulforce.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5558

[BrianB]

Methinks you are on the wrong forum. This is not a World of Warcraft forum.