Affirming PIE Day- hold March 14, 2019!

Do you like PIE? Hold the date: March 14, 2019

Public. Intentional. Explicit. Those are the standards we hold ourselves and our welcome to when we become Affirming or affirming.

On International Pi Day 2019 (3.14- get it?)  we invite you to serve up some pie and PIE in your ministry and community.

Get together and:

Show AUSE’s new video-to-be featuring your stories about being PIE. 

Tell your own PIE stories: examples of your LGBTQ+ welcome that are and have been public, intentional, and explicit. Host a community open mic/ coffeehouse for all stories. Eat lots of delish church pie (and everything else you consider delicious). Together, spend, say, a half hour talking about how LGBTQIA+ and Two Spirit rights and dignity could be advanced in your context and community.

Come up with some bite sized ideas and note them down for ongoing action.  Fundraise/ awareness raise for your local Pride and LGBTQ groups. Put the proceeds wherever you want. Put in a good word for Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble and Calgary’s awesome Affirming Connections, our partner.

Whatever you do: don’t give up PIE for Lent, hold the date, and watch www.ause.ca for more information and materials.  Contact the communications coordinator at communications@ause.ca with your ideas, questions, and recipes.

Reflection- Kamloops United Church, Orange Shirt Day 2018

Reflection: Kamloops United Church, Orange Shirt Day 2018, by Christine Dolson. She explains, “Our Affirming Sunday coincided with Orange Shirt Day. Reconciliation and being Affirming arise from the same Source.

The artists and the Affirming chair. (Left to right) Barb Hollingshead, Heather Mewhort, Christine Dolson, Marie Allen (project’s leader), and Marcia Skaarup.

It is colourful here today isn’t it? Orange shirts, and rainbows. So many colours, so

many symbols. Colours and symbols have power. Colours and symbols can make us feel something. Colours and symbols serve to celebrate and to remind us about things that are important.

Today we are celebrating and remembering.

Today we celebrate a special remembrance that over 22 years ago, this community of faith, Kamloops United Church, committed to being an Affirming congregation, and officially became a member of the national organization, Affirm United.

We are also a community of faith committed to Reconciliation. Today, September 30, is Orange Shirt Day, as part of the ‘Every Child Matters’ campaign. Continue reading “Reflection- Kamloops United Church, Orange Shirt Day 2018”

AUSE thanks Meewasin Valley United Church for their legacy donation

 

A group of about 20 people receiving their Affirming certificate.
The people of Meewasin Valley UC receiving their certificate at their April 2016 Affirming celebration.

AUSE is deeply humbled and grateful to have received a generous legacy donation from Meewasin Valley United Church, an Affirming ministry in Saskatoon. Thank you to the community of Meewasin Valley United Church for thinking of Affirm United as you journey towards closure. We are honoured that you have blessed us with this opportunity to live out part of your legacy in the areas of education and social justice. We at Affirm United are inspired by Meewasin Valley’s support, which has shown us that there are many ways in which a community of faith can live out a commitment to being an Affirming ministry. (Photo: the people of Meewasin Valley UC receiving their certificate at their April 2016 Affirming celebration.)

AUSE annual conference 2018 reflections

By Julie McGonegal. Check our Facebook album for some photos!

A big maple tree hung with rainbow ribbons and a quilt, with people sitting under it talking.
The Rainbow Tree: a lovely old maple, made into a rainbow space by Susie Henderson as the heat inside the church grew more intense.

Many Voices–One Song. That was the theme of Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble’s Annual Meeting and National Conference. It encapsulated the vibrant diversity of the

over 85 participants who gathered together from July 13–15, united by a Spirit-led call to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the church and wider society.

We may be in different places on the Affirming journey and we each arrived at the meeting, held at Royal York Road United Church in Toronto, from different locations; participants hailed from all corners of the country and represented a colourful rainbow of experiences and identities. Yet we came together to sing a heart song that heals, uplifts, and supports all gender and sexual identities in our church.  As always, people of all identities were welcome to join our weekend-long community.

The diversity of our perspectives, and the common cause that unites our vision for the future, was evident during the business portion of the meeting. Often the mandated annual general meeting is a minor part of the weekend. However, this year our usual sharing of Affirming stories from across the church was preceded by intense discussion about the changes currently facing the United Church, and how these changes affect the Affirming movement. Continue reading “AUSE annual conference 2018 reflections”

Sherwood Park United Church Affirming Celebration Weekend

What a celebration it was Saturday, April 14th & Sunday, April 15th 2018! The sanctuary was a rainbow of colors with a beautiful rainbow banner leading up to the altar. The Fellowship Hall was bedecked in rainbow tissue flowers and the congregation was invited to add rainbow stickers to their name tags. The Affirm United banner stood front and center for all to see.

Saturday night kicked off the celebration with a chili supper followed by a screening of the Camp fYrefly documentary, “Over the Rainbow.” This documentary raises awareness about the complex needs and concerns of LGBTQ youth. The positive impact on the youth who attended Camp fYrefly was dramatically portrayed. Guests Carmen Gerrard, her daughter Marissa, Michael the director and Bryan Mortensen (Institute of MinorityStudies and Services) were available to answer questions afterwards. This event was well attended and capped a yearlong educational journey for the congregation in our Affirming process. Continue reading “Sherwood Park United Church Affirming Celebration Weekend”

Quebec Presbytery LGBTQ training

People often comment to AUSE that they appreciate ideas about how to live out being Affirming. Et voilà: Mount Royal United Church in Québec writes with an update about their Affirming work.

“…thanks to the thoughtful leadership of member Cindy Casey, MRUC put forward a motion to Presbytery (which successfully passed) re: training for ministers in LGBTQ issues similar to training about sexism and racism.”  Have a look at the motion wording, and consider whether this is something to bring forward in your new Region when the time is right.

Mount Royal’s work goes even wider: “We have a committee working very hard to obtain the necessary funding to be able to construct a main-floor, gender neutral, handicap-accessible bathroom facility. We are cautiously optimistic! We also contribute ongoing financial support to Beaconsfield LGBTQ Youth Centre. We are working on making our Affirming status more visible for visitors; our new mission statement is printed on a regular basis in our order of service; the LGTBQ community is quite regularly included in the pastoral prayers.”

Islington United’s town hall on being Affirming

Islington United Church in Toronto is in the Affirming process, and will vote April 2018. Here’s a nifty resource: a PDF version of the PowerPoint they used in an open discussion on where their Affirming process is at as they prepare for that vote.

Transparency is key to a good Affirming process, and is crucial throughout. It’s natural that questions and fears may surface during the process. The transparency and clarity shown in this this resource is a great example of one way to ensure that all in the ministry know exactly where the Affirming process is at, and who to contact for conversation and questions. Thanks for sharing this, friends at Islington.

Clarity on being Affirming in new Regions

In late February 2018, an important letter was sent to all Affirming and in-process presbyteries and Conferences, in light of the 2019 amalgamation of these two key

Celebrations of becoming Affirming are always public, and almost always include cake. Agassiz Presbytery, MB, celebrates becoming Affirming, February 2017.

United Church of Canada structures. The letter clarifies the status of Affirming Conferences and presbyteries. Please download the letter here and feel free to share it.

One of the most significant gifts AUSE has experienced over the past decade is the rapidly increasing number of Affirming presbyteries and Conferences. Commitments like these have helped our movement grow beyond congregations, while continuing to honour the vital place of congregations in our movement. Continue reading “Clarity on being Affirming in new Regions”