Reflections on pride ...

OK ... so being something of a 'late developer', Saturday's Brighton Pride was my first Pride Parade, even though I've been in the UK now for 5 years. I've normally been working for every other Pride Parade (in every other city in the UK).

I knew it'd be fun, which it was, but it had such a warm community feel to it, as well. It felt like an entire town, and it's residents and businesses and institutions, gathering to celebrate the diversity of life. People came out with their kids, their babies in push-chairs, their parents and grandparents.

In the parade, there were commercial floats, community floats, religious community floats (from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, the Quakers and the Salvation Army), floats by the forces and the emergency services ... and it was a wonderful celebration of the diversity of life and of acknowledging each other's differences, yes, but it was more than that ... it was celebrating similarities ... we're all in this together. It was great.

Although few, it was particularly great to witness some religious input into the parade. Well done to the Salvation Army, Metropolitan Community Church, the Quakers and the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement. I'm glad that at least some people have realised that the Gospel is 'Good News'. There are way too many organisations and movements that are focused on belittling people, undermining their humanity and mocking the wonder and diversity of God's creation, by trying to force people to comply to their limited understanding of religion, and not enough people attempting to include people in the spreading of 'Good News'! We are, after all, called to share the Love of Jesus Christ with the world, not to exclude and judge.

So, hats off to all those from religious communities that marched in Brighton on Saturday, and to those that march in other parades world-wide. I really should look at joining them.
I'll include a selection of photographs.

Taraaa, and stay fabulous!

Look at all the people in Preston Park!

And some very theological accessories

How long did he collect feathers for?

I love the fruity hat!

The fire brigade ... fabulous!

It says, "We feel that the quality and depth of feeling between two people is the most important part of a loving relationship, not their gender or sexual orientation. http://www.quaker.org.uk/ " Hooray for the Quakers! ;)

The Metropolitan Community Church float

The Lesbian and Gay Christians and their friends. Praying for an inclusive Church, indeed!

Free gifts?!

I got into work this morning, to discover some 'kind' soul had sent me a free book. My own view is that items that are given to you for free are often worth the money you paid for them, and that people who give you free books are generally the type of people who believe that they have something worth saying, not necessarily the type of people who actually have something worth saying.

Well ... the book came in an unmarked envelope, with no return address, no letter ... nothing. We're off to a winning start. Then I opened the envelope, and discovered a book, titled, "Heaven. Close Encounters of the God kind," by Dr. Jesse Duplantis. Oh good ... someone sent me a comedy.

I took the book to a colleage, and we sat reading it, discovering it to indeed be a comedy ... we laughed so much, I couldn't speak and she was practically on the floor.

It's hilarious. Naturally, he's from the deep South, and naturally, whenever he sees God or goes to Heaven, there's never anyone else there to see it. But, there are some interesting undercurrents ... he's always visited by male figures, who are always tall and handsome and powerful, and often blonde, and a lot of the visitations happen at night. I think therein may lie some of the real reason for all his visions. A good laugh. LOL!

I'll put a few of the best opening snippets here.
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"Popcorn Came Flying Out of That Steering Wheel!"
Now it's an amazing thing the way God knows how to prove things. As the car flipped over, and the steering wheel broke in my hand, up out of that steering wheel, I saw popcorn coming! Then, Bam! That popcorn started hitting me! I said, "Ohhh, look at this popcorn," just flipping.
When I came to a stop, I tried to get out of the vehicle as best I could, but I was jammed inside it, hanging upside-down. Thank God there wasn't a fire during that wreck. I could have been burned alive!
People stopped to help.
The car had to be cut open with a welding torch before I could be pulled free from it. Then I was put into an ambulance and rushed to hospital.
I kept hollering, "There was popcorn in there! Popcorn!" I said, "Listen! Somebody grabbed me! Somebody's hand was on my shoulder! I would have died otherwise. I was flying."
My mom and dad were called from the hospital. When I got on the phone, I said, "Mama, I've been in this accident."
Amazingly, she had driven right by that accident, but she didn't know I was in the ambulance she saw going the other way. She had said to my dad, "There was a terrible accident. Let's pray to God no one died."
After finding out I was okay, she asked, "Did you feel anything in that car?"
I said, "Mama, popcorn came flying out of the steering wheel!"
That went right over her head, and she said, "Besides that."
"Mama, I felt like somebody had grabbed my shoulder."
Immediately she said, "That was the tidal wave of the blood covenant in the dream I had the other night! God was protecting you! He was holding you down in that car so you wouldn't die and go to hell! You had better thank God that I'm praying for you, boy!"

___________________________________________________________________

We were just about wetting ourselves. Who is this guy? Can someone from the Beeb interview him about that popcorn? Whatever substance he's on, I want some ... popcorn coming out the steering wheel ... brilliant!!

Or, how about this snippet ... he was asked to stop in at hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana, to pray for a guy's daughter, and he drove there from Monroe, Louisiana (oh yeah ... did I mention he's from the South in the States? Figures ... LOL!) ... a distance of about 180 miles.

___________________________________________________________________

I Had Been Translated!Then I started thinking about my trip, trying to figure out what happened. There I was in Lafayette! You can't get from Monroe, Louisiana, to Lafayette, Louisiana, in only thirty minutes. It can hardly be done by jet, much less by car.
"Listen, brother," I said, "I'll see you later. I've got to go."
He was crying, "Thank you, Brother Jesse!" (I found out afterward that he checked his little girl out of the hospital two hours later.)
Then it began to register on me what had happened, so I called my wife. I had talked with her right before I left my friend's office in Monroe. This time she said to me, "Hey, where are you?"
"Cathy, I'm at a pay phone in Lafayette. Look at your watch."
Then she said, "You really made good time, honey. Well, hurry on home."
I wanted to scream, "Listen, woman, and hear what I'm saying!" Then I wanted God to zap me again, so that before she could even hang up the phone, I would be home. (But He didn't do it!)
When it dawned on me that I had been translated, I thought, If I've been translated, then I didn't burn any gas. When I turned on the ignition switch, I watched as the fuel gauge went all the way to full! I just cried out, "Oh God!"

___________________________________________________________________

I wonder if this is a viable way of lowering our carbon footprint?

It's amazing, isn't it, how this guy is translated, visits heaven, speaks to God, has God visit him in his bedroom at night, but never with any eye-witnesses. He is yet another self-proclaimed prophet, claiming that his writing and account is valid, because he says it's valid.

He does repeatedly get to see really tall, handsome, blonde men, though. In fact, there's a lot of mention of men visiting him, and speaking about wonder and desire. I wonder if there's some message in that.

LOL ... so thank you to whomever sent me the book. I haven't laughed that much in a while.

Thought for the day?!

I've been asked to put together a thought for the day ... which in itself is no big deal.

The trick is, I've been asked to put together a thought for the day for a secular group on a staff away day. That's a little less straight forward, because I suddenly need to be aware of all sorts of policies about inclusivity and equality. I can't even poke fun at my faith, in case someone else takes offence at it. And so, here I sit, at 00h30 (after the pc crashed @ 00h10), none the wiser.

I thought perhaps I should say something briefly about the latest attempted bombings in Glasgow and London, addressing the dangers of extremists, using the name of religion to excuse their own violent agendas. But then thought that that was potentially rather meaty and depressing for 09h00 in the morning.

Then, I thought that perhaps I should address the issue of the whole rebalancing that the institution is undergoing, with several staff posts being designated as 'at risk', but that wouldn't be fair to them if they were there, and people would probably want to forget about it anyway.

There is, of course, the growing and desperately important problem of climate change and global warming, but as I have no answer - only tips - that's not that great an idea either.

Then I thought that perhaps those are all a bit dark and sombre first thing in the morning, anyway, and perhaps people need to relax and have a bit of a giggle, but as I mentioned above - it's difficult to know what you can joke about, without risking offending someone. I was going to read the opening chapter from 'The Bible According to Spike Milligan', but am not entirely convinced.

So, I'll mull it over a while longer, or maybe just head to bed, unconvinced and unprepared (I hate that).

What I did find, however, was a really nice blog or article from a reformed homophobe. Take a look at http://anitra.net/activism/glbt/sodom-essay.html . It's so refreshing to find someone that isn't gay, that acknowledges that they were wrong and helps promote the truth. It's a really good, thought-provoking and intelligent read, and I commend her. When it's not the middle of the night, I may write and thank her for her insights.

I give up ... if anyone has any suggestions on a "thought for the day" for a staff away day for people of mixed cultures and faiths in a secular institution, please comment below ... there are bound to be more (unless I make a royal cock-up of tomorrow, in which case I'm off the hook in the future).

Cohesion in the Community

Went on a cohesion conference, arranged by Southampton City Council, on Friday. The title of the conference was 'Developing cohesion in diverse communities'.

I do need to add that I wasn't that keen, having just spent two days out of the office, on Extenuating Circumstances panels, but I was glad I did go. Ted Cantle, the keynote speaker, was brilliant and informative regarding cohesion in communities as a whole, and also what was happening nationally.

I had chosen to attend the 'Understanding faith and cohesion' workshop in the morning, which was good, but I probably got more out of the afternoon session I had chosen, 'Cohesion and young people'.

The afternoon workshop was run by a group called Peacemakers, who started in Oldham, with a simple aim, "... to create opportunities for young people to meet and befriend other people from different communities and ethnicities. These youngsters used their informal networks and youth club contacts to try and promote a climate of multicultural growth in their hometown," (taken from their webpage). It helps young people to focus on commonalities, rather than differences, and encourages them to establish a common British identity ... something we don't often see nowadays, with so many people focusing on and promoting differences.

What they were doing was so simple and so refreshing and in line with what I've thought for ages: you can't force people to share personal information and hope that they will establish relationships as a result ... you need to provide people with the opportunities to establish relationships, and as a result they will share personal information, and eventually ... life. It was good to see how much of an impact they had made, and were making, and how that was being recognised and empowered.

One of the successes of their programme is that they empower the young people of the communities they get involved in to continue with the programme, and so the initiative continues to live on beyond when they leave.

Take a look at their website (although it may take a while if you don't have broadband, as a lot of it is flash with animation and video).

I did also have a brief chat with someone from the Royal South Hants hospital about their current and future building work, and offered some advice on the reordering of their chapel ... hopefully a resource we can keep in the area.

And so, all in all, although it was another day out of the office, it was useful and inspiring.

Nature provides more proof that being gay is natural and that gay parenting is good!!

Gay flamingos pick up chick
AFP - Monday, May 21 05:03 pm

LONDON (AFP) - A pair of gay flamingos have adopted an abandoned chick, becoming parents after being together for six years, a British conservation organisation said Monday.

Carlos and Fernando had been desperate to start a family, even chasing other flamingos from their nests to take over their eggs at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in Slimbridge near Bristol.

But their egg-sitting prowess made them the top choice for taking an unhatched egg under their wings when one of the Greater Flamingo nests was abandoned.

The couple, together for six years, can feed chicks by producing milk in their throats.

"Fernando and Carlos are a same sex couple who have been known to steal other flamingos' eggs by chasing them off their nest because they wanted to rear them themselves," said WWT spokeswoman Jane Waghorn.

"They were rather good at sitting on eggs and hatching them so last week, when a nest was abandoned, it seemed like a good idea to make them surrogate parents."

Gay flamingos are not uncommon, she added. "If there aren't enough females or they don't hit it off with them, they will pair off with other males," she said.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/afp/20070521/tod-britain-animals-gay-6058bda.html

Would Jesus Discriminate??

At last!! Someone with the courage to stand up and be counted, when there are so many boosting their image of self through the hatred of others, affirming their own self-righteousness, rather than affirming others and welcoming them into the Kingdom.


I found this online, at http://www.towleroad.com/2007/04/indianapolis_to.html

Now, before you grab your rosaries, and sharpen your wooden stakes, take a look at the website, even if just out of interest's sake.

My own answer to the question in the title is, "No, I don't believe He would. In a life that was all about accepting the unacceptable, loving those that society cast out, and standing side-by-side with the outcasts, I think Jesus would've loved and accepted gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transsexuals, transgenders and everyone in-between."

Oooooh ;o)

I've just been called a 'Liberal Satanist' by one Mr Jones (allegedly) who was too cowardly to accredit his comment with any contact details. LOL. He writes, "By supporting abortion and homosexual actifities you cannot honestly claim the title of Christian, why not be honest and claim the title of Liberal Satanist."

What exactly is a Liberal Satanist? Does it mean I can be a bit flexible on the human sacrifice issue? Or is it perhaps that I don't have to wear black? Perhaps I can add chocolate to my blood cocktails? While we're on it ... what are actifities? There's a cough syrup called 'Actifed' ... is an 'Actifity' someone who uses Actifed, and actifities the plural of that?

I'm glad he felt he had to help me towards self-actualisation. Or would that be confusion? I can't tell.

However, if Mr "Jones" had read the post (which, I know, given his eloquence and spelling, is a bit doubtful), he would have seen that I never once said I support abortion. I simply said it wasn't the greatest threat to face us, and that it wasn't a simple issue. You can't apply a set of absolute values to it, because circumstances can vary greatly - from the person who wants a termination because they're not ready for a baby (which, I think could be reconsidered), and the person who needs a termination to save their life, or because the life and quality of life of the foetus is in danger, to the person who is pregnant by rape. Vastly different cases, that each need to be considered individually.

As for the gay issue, and supporting homosexuals, hear hear. I think they need all the support they can get, surrounded by bigots that discriminate against them simply for being who they are. Perhaps Mr "Jones" is of the ill-informed school of thought that thinks that gay men are - in fact - straight men who decided in a weak moment to start shagging other straight blokes up the arse. That it was entirely a cognitive decision ... a giving in to weakness. LOL!!!

I wonder if he lies awake at night, worrying about whether or not he'll be strong enough to resist that first tender touch from a guy. Don't worry sweetie ... it's not an actual decision. It's just something gay people are. They're born gay, and they can't be anything but gay, because that's what they are, what they were made, and what they were created to be.

Perhaps Mr "Jones" would be more at home in Westboro Baptist Church, who can be seen in this photograph, spreading the good news about Jesus Christ to their community?
Of course, their method of communication is not educated, nor even Biblical, but it's important to let these people busy themselves with simple tasks, such as colouring in bright signs ... it keeps them happy.

Oh, and to another poster, who didn't leave any contact details, other than the name 'Chuck', whose offering to help make me straight ... no thanks. I'm happy just the way I am. I tried that whole 'make you straight' rubbish once ... was the most screwed up 3 years of my life, with people making me feel guilty for being who I was, telling me my parents were to blame for me being gay, and that I just had to unlearn to be me, and then relearn how to be a good little clone. No thanks. It screwed me up big time, until someone had the sense to tell me that I am as I was created to be, and that God loves me just as I am. He doesn't love us when we conform to a set of rules, He loves us as we are.

And there's nothing wrong with being gay. "If it aint broke, don't fix it." Gay people are not 'imperfect', 'broken' or 'outside the divine plan'. Consider, oh "straight" man, what you're implying by saying that gay people are imperfect and a deviation from God's created "norm". Are you suggesting that God makes mistakes? Or, are you suggesting that God is unfair and chooses to produce some people ok, and others all imperfect? Either is blasphemy. Consider, instead that the gay man is as God intended them to be, and that they need to be the best at being who they are, in order to honour their Creator.

I'm so grateful for the enlightenment ... I shall sleep much better tonight. And, for the record, don't expect me to reply to each I'll-help-you-be-just-like-me, or homophobic post. Much less posters that don't have contact details.

Fundamentalism ... a modern 'demon'?

Since starting in post, I've been receiving regular mailouts from LifeLeague, an organisation that seems to fancy themselves as the upholder of all things moral in the U.K. (another moral defender). Their publicity material is always calling for the reader to campaign their government about issues surrounding abortion and - more recently - to stop the government bill allowing same-sex couples equal adoption rights.

Their publicity is deliberately inflammatory and alarmist, for example using phrases such as, "Parliament launches unprecedented attack on our faith. Church faces biggest threat in years." Now, to my mind, statements like that are unhelpful and uneducated. Surely global warming, 3rd world debt, poverty, 'ethnic cleansing' policies by certain countries, AIDS and things like the abuse of power by tyrant politicians are greater threats ... endangering the lives of millions of people globally, and threatening the planet.

Besides, abortion is never a clear black-and-white decision. There can be extenuating circumstances, such as rape cases, or life-threatening issues. It's not always the comfortable financial decision that organisations like this would panic us into believing.

And the issue of same-sex couples being allowed to adopt ... surely the responsible thing to do would be to look at a couple's parenting ability, and make sure a child goes to the best home possible. Bearing in mind, of course, that statistically there are more cases of child abuse in 'straight' households, and that same-sex couples probably make a much more informed and prepared decision to adopt ... after careful consideration.

So, because I think their unsolicited mailouts are uninformed, unnecessarily alarmist, miss the point, and are not worth the paper they're printed on, I sent them a simple request that they stop sending them, as follows:

> Dear Sir / Madam
>
> The concerns and campaigns of LifeLeague do not reflect the concerns of this office.
>
> Please refrain from posting further correspondence to the address you currently have on file as ... [address supplied]

Their response was as follows:
> Well Andy, they SHOULD reflect the concerns of your office.
>
> Your address has been removed in accordance with your wishes.

I guess I ought to be really thankful that they educated me in what I should be doing. Or is it more of a case that they were trying to force their agenda on me. Hmmm ... unsolicited, inflammatory, alarmist mail (and while we're all focusing on the 'green' agenda ... a waste of trees), and now an attempt to force me to comply with their own agenda. Nice.

My reply to them was as follows:
> I would prefer not to end up in a slinging match, thank you. It was a simple request. Thank you for complying.
>
> Regards

Not heard a word since ... thankfully. Let them just try and bombard me with publicity, now that I have on file a request to stop it, as well as their acknowledgement of my request and agreement to comply.

The less you hear from people and organisations like that, the better!

Kinderen voor Kinderen song - Two Fathers

I stumbled across this yesterday, and just think it's awesome!

Can you imagine the outcry if something as open as this was allowed to air on a children's show in the U.K.?

It's a video of a kid singing about how he has two dads. If less people panicked, and encouraged this sort of openness and communication, the world would be much more fabulous!