AGLBICAL

Wednesday, March 26 at UAB

The award-winning GLBT-themed movie by Daniel Karslake, "For The Bible Tells Me So," will be shown on the UAB campus on Wednesday, March 26, at 7:00 PM, in the Hill University Center's Alumni Auditorium. A panel discussion will take place after the film.

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?

Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.

COMMENTS:

"This film confronts, with whimsy and hellfire, the clash between religion and homosexuality.”
- New York Magazine

"Daniel G. Karslake's remarkable documentary boldly takes on a loaded topic — Christianity and homosexuality — and examines it both intellectually and emotionally; the result may well leave you blinking away a few tears.”
- Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times

“There’s nothing wrong with a fifth grade understanding of God, as long as you’re in the fifth grade.”

- Reverend Dr. Laurence Keene, Disciples of Christ

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FILM INFO

AGLBICAL AT FALL CONFERENCE
Members Participate and Celebrate at ALCA Conference

AGLBICAL members were on hand, November 14-16 at ALCA Fall Conference in Birmingham. AGLBICAL sponsored a reception during the ALCA Fall Conference in the President’s Suite in the Sheraton Hotel. Many thanks to our host, Ms. Jerri Lynn Morrow, ALCA President.

Among the content sessions that were presented at the ALCA Fall Conference, the following had GLBT themes:

Counseling GLBT Persons: Skill Building

Straight Spouses: When Your Client's Wife/Husband Comes Out

Hey I'm Not Just Gay, I'm Black

AGLBICAL Roundtable Discussion

Aging and End-of-Life Issues in the GLBT Community

Ethical & Legal Perspectives in Counseling Sexual Minority Youth in Our Schools

We are very proud of our AGLBICAL members who were among the award winners at the Awards Breakfast on Wednesday morning: Mark Leggett, Jamie Satcher, Anita Neuer, Kassie Doggett, Harriett Shaeffer, and Michael Lebeau.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ABOUT OUR AWARD WINNERS

Here are some photo highlights from the Fall Conference in Birmingham...

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMAGES

AGLBICAL PARTY
Member Celebration at ALCA Fall Conference

ALCA FALL CONFERENCE
AGLBICAL Activities / November 14-16

The ALCA Fall Conference will be held in Birmingham, from November 14 through 16. Among the content sessions being presented, the following have GLBT themes:

- Counseling GLBT Persons: Skill Building (WED)

- Straight Spouses: When Your Client's Wife/Husband Comes Out (THU)

- Hey I'm Not Just Gay, I'm Black (THU)

- AGLBICAL Roundtable Discussion (THU)

- Aging and End-of-Life Issues in the GLBT Community (THU)

- Ethical & Legal Perspectives in Counseling Sexual Minority Youth in Our Schools

For more information about ALCA's Fall Conference, visit:

www.alabamacounseling.org

DAY OF EQUALITY
Presented by Equality Alabama / Sept 15

Equality Alabama presents Day of Equality 2007.

Events begin FRIDAY September 14^th with a Meet the Speakers Reception at Parkside Home & Garden Shop, 4036 5^th Avenue South, Avondale, 6:30pm - 8:30 PM. ALL of the speakers below are scheduled to attend!

ALL events Saturday will be held at Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center, East Ballroom, 3^rd floor

Everyone is welcome, only paid members in good standing will be allowed to vote.

In 1994, in a jail cell in Virginia Beach, Mel White discovered the principles of relentless nonviolent resistance. These "Soulforce" guidelines were developed and demonstrated by M.K Gandhi in South Africa and India and by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the US. In 1999, Mel and his partner, Gary Nixon, founded Soulforce -(to help end religion based oppression of GLBT Americans) and in the last 8 years, tens of thousands of Soulforce volunteers have followed those principles in nonviolent direct actions in the US and at the Vatican. Using video and power point projection, Mel will demonstrate how the principles of persistent nonviolent resistance can inspire and inform our journey to justice and equality in Alabama.

With an emphasis on both the issues and opportunities for GLBT individuals related to aging, this workshop will cover the following topics: psychosocial and spiritual issues in aging, opportunities for continued growth in the aging process, needed resources, caring for an older partner and/or friends, and caring for aging parents. Lists of local and national resources related to these topics will be made available to participants and opportunity will be provided for the sharing of related personal experiences. Glenda Elliott, Ph.D., is a licensed professional counselor, currently serving as Vice Chair of the Equality Alabama Board of Directors. An associate professor emerita at UAB, she continues to serve as the coordinator of training of volunteers for the UAB Safe Zone program.

A native of Meridian, Mississippi, Roxanne now resides in Birmingham, Alabama. She attends Covenant Community Church. Roxanne is the creator, founder and Coordinator of "Roxy’s Room" a transgender empowerment group that discuss issues facing Alabama’s transgender citizens in all phases of transition as well as those that love them. Roxanne is partnered to John and they have been featured on National televisions shows.

This workshop is intended as an overview for beginning grant writers. The main content area will be covered: the writing of proposals. The class will include an overview of the grant writing process and the presenter will highlight some of the most common mistakes to avoid.

Karen Currently serves as Executive Director for Birmingham AIDS Outreach. Birmingham AIDS Outreach is the first non-profit agency in Alabama with the mission to serve HIV positive individuals. Ms. Musgrove has experience in case management, grant writing, grant administration, management of funding, program development and community collaboration. Ms Musgrove is a licensed professional counselor and has worked for various non-profits in the Birmingham community and honors include: American Red Cross Mental Health Volunteer, World Trade Center, 2001; Top 40 under 40, Birmingham Business Journal, 2001; Disaster Response Training, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Birmingham AIDS Outreach, Board Member.

11AM -12PM - Tupperware and Equality – they really do go hand in hand!
By Lynne Bowman

Are you a party planner? Do you like to welcome people into your home or greet them at your favorite hangout? Throwing a House Party for Equality is easy and enjoyable. This interactive session will focus on the tools, tips and tricks (and some of the pitfalls) that relate to throwing a House Party everyone will remember and want to duplicate. If Tupperware and Mary Kay can do it…we can too! Since its inception two years ago, Lynne Bowman has served as Executive Director of Equality Ohio. She comes to the role with 17 years of organizational leadership experience in the non-profit, for-profit and government sectors as well as 8 years of volunteer involvement with LGBT issues. Lynne was just elected as co-board chair of the Equality Federation. A graduate of Otterbein College with degrees in both Psychology and Music Theory and Composition, she later returned to study business and went on to receive a Master of Arts in Administration from Central Michigan University in 2001. Lynne lives outside of Columbus, Ohio with her partner of 14 years and their menagerie of animals.

11AM – 12PM Double Jeopardy: Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Being Gay & HIV Positive
By Nic Carlisle

Like momma always used to say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When it comes to protecting your legal rights, nothing could be truer. Considering the culturally conservative attitude that persists throughout Alabama, it should come as no surprise that the GLBT community experiences discrimination. Being HIV positive only compounds the problem. Whether it be avoiding will contests, ensuring that your partner can make your health care decisions, or keeping your job, being gay and positive creates distinct legal obstacles. This workshop will provide you with the tools you need to protect yourself. Although this workshop emphasizes the legal needs of people living with HIV/AIDS, a majority of the information will be applicable to the entire GLBT community, regardless of HIV status. Nic Carlisle founded “Aiding Alabama,” a legal project dedicated to protecting the legal rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in Alabama. The project is hosted by the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program and works in partnership with Alabama’s AIDS service organizations. Nic graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2006. Before graduating, Nic started the law school’s first gay-straight alliance.

1PM – 2PM Educating Potential Political Allies
By Pam Spaulding
Many progressives are under-informed about LGBT legal issues at stake. With so much pam's pic.jpg

disinformation being funneled out into the mainstream media by the religious right, accurate education is needed to help straight allies, and others who support LGBT rights to feel comfortable when challenged with disinformation so that they can be open advocates. A discussion about hate crimes laws, marriage equality vs. civil unions -- where they exist and what the differences are -- are just two of the issues that can confuse potential political allies.

2PM - 3PM Urban vs. Suburban vs. Rural and Perceptions of Rights and Community

By Pam Spaulding
LGBT citizens living in large metro Blue areas of the country are often blind to the every day struggles of out and closeted gays in suburban, exurban and rural areas. This is a discussion on how to make sure these voices are heard at the national level so that advocacy organizations and our "in-town" LGBT brothers and sisters don't forget that it's a much more difficult world out there in Red State America. Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of Pam's House Blend (pamshouseblend.com), honored as "Best LGBT Blog" in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards. The Blend, which averages 110,000 visitors a month, was launched in July 2004 as a personal response to the anti-gay state of the political landscape. With roots in North Carolina and the New York City, Pam considers herself to have "dual citizenship" status as a Southerner and a Yankee -- and brings that perspective and voice to her blog, which focuses on current political events, LGBT and women's rights, the influence of the far Right, and race relations. Pam has spoken at national forums, and performed the first-ever live-blogging event for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's annual dinner in May 2006. Spaulding has a B.A. in Media Studies from Fordham University and in the non-virtual world, serves as Information Technology Manager at Duke University Press. She lives Durham, NC with her wife Kate -- they legally married in Vancouver in 2004 -- and their two dogs.

1PM - 3PM SEX, SEXUALITY, AND SPRITUALITY FOR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
By Rev. Tommie Watkins, Jr.

Among people of color in faith communities, there seems to be no other topic that provokes such heated debate as homosexuality. It is a cultural taboo that dare not speak its name. Many people say that the case of homosexuality is closed-Scripture is clear on this subject-and the Church remains unyielding on its acceptance of homosexuals. Many more people claim the jury is still out and their belief of homosexuality and the Bible remains inconclusive. The goals and objectives of this workshop presentation are to do the following:

· Present a definition of sex, sexuality, and spirituality as functions of human beings

· Facilitate and open and frank discussion on sexuality, homophobia, and the Bible

· Introduce how societal definitions and perceptions of sexuality precipitate the rise of HIV/AIDS particularly in communities of color because of stigmas of fear, shame, and denial relating to sex, sexuality, and sexual behavior

· Introduce through personal stories how each participant can engage their social and spiritual circles to combat ageism, racism, sexism, and homophobia/heterosexism

Rev. Tommie Watkins, Jr. is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida and an Alumnus of the United States Naval Academy. He has been featured on BET Tonight to respond to the study that claims homosexuals can become straight. He was recently profiled in the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's “I'm Black and I'm Proud" book. He's been in The Advocate's special Trailblazer's edition discussing his legal victory against the U.S. Navy. He is the author of LIVING OUT LOUD.

1PM – 3PM Internal Equality is External Equality
By Christopher Lee Nutter

It would seem that for gay people to achieve equality the world has to change. But does it? Christopher Lee Nutter, author of The Way Out: The Gay Man’s Guide to Freedom, says that we do not need to wait for the world to change in order to feel what we long to feel. Using his own story as back drop – growing up a closeted gay boy in Birmingham in the 70s and 80s; coming out of the closet in 1994 in a now famous essay for Details magazine; and moving to New York City to chase the gay dream – Chris will talk about the power of sheer awareness to create the personal, and invulnerable, sense of equality that we truly desire. Christopher Lee Nutter is a Birmingham native and the author of The Way Out: The Gay Man’s Guide to Freedom, No Matter if You’re in Denial, Closeted, Half In, Half Out, Just Out, or Been Around the Block (HCI Books, May 2006). Endorsed by “Oprah’s guru” and The Seat of the Soul author Gary Zukav, as well as GLAAD, the Empire State Pride Agenda, and the American Psychiatric Association, The Way Out has received widespread acknowledgement. Called “a new player in the great American debate about values,” by The San Francisco Chronicle and the “gay Dr. Phil,” by Gay Wired Magazine, the author has become a recognized and respected voice in the fields of spirituality, creativity, and gay rights. Christopher has written for The New York Times, Details, Out, The Advocate, The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide, New York Magazine, Vibe, The Village Voice and many others. He has also appeared on VH-1, taught for The Learning Annex, and is currently an advisor on gay men’s health for the New York City Department of Health. To learn more, go to: www.christopherleenutter.com.

Evening events require a minimum of $50 donation you may purchase online at www.EqualityAlabama.org or by calling 205-445-4843 then mailing a check to PO Box 13733 Birmingham, Al 35202

At 5:30, we start our social/networking/silent auction fundraiser. Come talk to LGBT leaders from all over Alabama and bid on some FANTASTIC items ranging from vacations to jewelry to art to furniture. If you would like to make a donation to the silent auction, contact Russ at rwpbirmingham@bellsouth.net. Also, talk to our sponsors and vendors without whom we would not be able to provide this educational service. If you would like to become a sponsor or vendor, contact John at equalityalabama@equalityalabama.org of call 205-445-4843.

Starting at 7:00PM, we will honor achievements to advance LGBT inclusion in Alabama Lifetime Achievement Award: Simon Bovinett, Board Chair Award: Kevin Roberson, People of Faith: Frank Romanowicz and Bob Hill, Ally Award: Sally Smith, Elected Official: Valerie Abbott, Volunteer of the Year Award: Robert Janssen, Vanguard award: Jeff Key

Hear Rev. White give an uplifting inspirational speech. He and his partner, Gary Nixon founded SOUL FORCE, an organization dedicated to the freedom of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance, demonstrated by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. He is a prize-winning television producer and filmmaker, a best-selling author, a pastor and seminary professor.

GAY ISSUES & RELIGION For The Bible Tells Me So Film by Daniel Karslake

AGLBICAL AT FALL CONFERENCE Members Participate and Celebrate at ALCA Conference

AGLBICAL PARTY Member Celebration at ALCA Fall Conference

GAY ISSUES & RELIGION
For The Bible Tells Me So
Film by Daniel Karslake

AGLBICAL AT FALL CONFERENCE
Members Participate and Celebrate at ALCA Conference

AGLBICAL PARTY
Member Celebration at ALCA Fall Conference