Welcome to the
The central organizing tool of the YES! Coalition is the Guide to Welcoming Congregations. The online Guide lists over 250 faith communities, including their location, contact information, and a direct link to the congregations’ websites.
- Learn more about how your faith community can become a part of this list!
- It's not too late to join as a partner congregation for 2012!
- We welcome congregations and groups from Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, including Northern Delaware, South and Central New Jersey, Northeastern Maryland, Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania.
- Not a faith community? We also welcome listings from LGBTQQ/SGL affirming organizations that affirm and nurture spirituality as part of their mission.
Please join our email mailing list to keep up-to-date on the latest YES! Coalition news!
A special thank you to Tabernacle United Church, which has become the YES! Coalition's first sponsoring congregation.
The YES! Coalition presents the following event:
Bullying: Human Torment, Spiritual Healing
May 14, 2012
7:00 p.m.
at Mishkan Shalom
(4101 Freeland Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19128)
A panel of young adults will share their experiences and discuss how their spiritual lives have helped them survive and heal.
We will be joined by Michele Angello, Ph.D. who will provide additional insight and guide the discussion among panelists and the audience.
Dr. Angello's primary interests include working with transgender adults and youth, as well as individuals who identify as genderqueer. She also welcomes people dealing with issues of sexual orientation, alternative lifestyles, adolescent sexuality questions, and general sexual enrichment through education. She is an adjunct faculty member at Widener University and at the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality.
Dr. Angello received her doctorate in human sexuality and her master's degree in psychological services. She is a certified clinical sexologist, and a member of the board of directors for both the Main Line Youth Alliance and the Renaissance Transgender Association.
Dinner is open to all and will be served from 6:00 to 7:00. There is a requested donation to cover the cost of dinner of $5-$8. Please rsvp to Shelley Rosenberg (rosenwrite@comcast.net) to attend the dinner. The program, from 7:00 to 9:00, is free and open to all. Come and bring a friend.
The YES! Coalition is proud to co-sponsor the following event:
Tara's Crossing
June 1, 2012
8:00 p.m.
Arch St. United Methodist Church
Philadelphia, PA
The 11th Annual Philadelphia Tran-Health Conference is proud to present TARA'S CROSSING, a play by Emmy nominated writer Jeffrey Solomon, in which a transgender woman flees Guyana for asylum in the United States, only to end up in a government detention center, where she faces an uphill battle to prove her claims of persecution. The performance is FREE and open to the public.
www.trans-health.org/content/taras-crossing-0
The Off-Broadway run of TARA'S CROSSING at the Tenement Theatre in Manhattan was universally lauded by critics and called “Revealing and Tender” by the Village Voice, "Powerful and Impressive!" by OUTfm and "Remarkable, Moving and Captivating" by NYTheatre.com.
This performance will be followed by a talk-back with the playwright and cast, plus a very special appearance by the transgender woman who inspired the play. Caitlin Barry of the Nationalities Service Center will provide additional insight into the legal plight of LGBT asylum seekers and local activists from hotpot! will be on hand to raise awareness about local efforts to increase support for LGBT asylees and refugees.
Hosted by Arch St United Methodist Church (55 North Broad St, Center City Philadelphia), the performance will be held at 8pm on Friday, June 1, 2012 and is made possible by the sponsorship of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, with additional support from the United Church of Christ Office for Health and Wholeness Advocacy, as well as other co-sponsors.
The play is one of the first ever to deal with the subject of political asylum for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender refugees, a remedy that has been available in the United States only since 1994 and was inspired by dozens of interviews with sexual minority asylum seekers from around the world conducted in New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco.
"TARA'S CROSSING puts a human face on the struggles faced by people who face such extreme forms of persecution that they need to flee from their home countries," says Max Niedzwiecki of ORAM International, an agency that advocates on behalf LGBT refugees and asylees. "These events are unfolding every day, and in every part of the world, as people struggle to build new lives in safer places."
The Friday night performance of TARA'S CROSSING punctuates a three-day (May 31-June 2, 2012) series of ground-breaking workshops at the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (PTHC), addressing issues of transgender health and wellness around the world. PTHC is the largest transgender-specific conference in the world, with an anticipated attendance of over 2,000 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (N. 12th and Arch St). Registration for the conference is also FREE.
www.trans-health.org/content/international-programming
"It's inspiring to see people of faith, immigration activists, legal advocates, and the transgender and same-gender-loving community all coming together around the critical needs of LGBT asylees and refugees," says Chris Paige, convener of PTHC's first international planning group. "It just shows what is possible when we work together."
Love Free or Die
June 4 and 5, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 North American Street
Philadelphia, PA
www.christchurchphila.org/lovefreeordie/
The media too often represents the Church and gay communities at odds with one another, ignoring the witness of those like Bishop Robinson who are able to create lives that are true to their identity and their religious commitments. Working with the Groundswell of Courage campaign (www.groundswell-movement.org), we hope to inspire the faithful of every tradition to stand with Robinson for the full inclusion of dignity of LGBT people in our religious communities. There will be an opportunity after the film for viewers to share reactions and ideas in a forum moderated by one of Groundswell’s producers. Will you join us and add your voice to the conversation? RSVP for June 4th or June 5th
YES! News
Check out our News page for past newsletter content. And don't miss our Outreach page for a list of upcoming outreach opportunities.
Upcoming Public Events
CALL FOR EVENT LISTINGS!
Does your congregation have an upcoming event?
To list and event, copy the form below into an email, fill out the information, and send to lcalizo@gmail.com.
- Name of Event:
- What will be happening (maximum 5 sentences):
- When it will be (date and time):
- Where it will be (include address):
- Intended audience (ex. open to all, for allies/family, etc):
- Other considerations (cost of participation, donation, RSVP, etc):
- Who is sponsoring:
- Contact information:
- Website link:
Event listings are posted and sent to our News list on the 1st and 15th of the month.
*Please note that we give priority to events of relevance to the LGBT community and sponsored by welcoming congregations.
April
Building Capacity: HIV and HPV Outreach Seminar for Faith Based Organizations
- This event intended for faith-based leaders, nurses, and social workers. Participants will learn the basics of HIV and HPV as well as how to better serves this population.
- Tuesday, April 24th
- Holiday Inn Philadelphia-Historic District at 400 Arch Street
- For more information and to register: BuildingPreRegistrationFlyer
May
Al-Jama'ah -- Building a Community: 2012 Retreat for LGBT Muslims and their Partners
- To gather together as a community of individuals who identify as Muslim culturally, religiously, ideologically and/or politically and also as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT), while reconnecting with our faith, our community and with ourselves.
- SPACE IS LIMITED REGISTER SOON!
- May 25-28, 2012
- Philadelphia, PA
- For more information, visit: www.lgbtmuslimretreat.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/LGBTMuslimsAndAllies
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