Attention all gay and gray retirees (or those who can get away for lunch!!!)

We will be gathering on the 4th Wednesday of each month (This month it will be Wednesday, August 24th, 2011). This month we will meet at the LGBT Center at 411 Hillsborough Street at 12:30pm and walk to the Flying Saucer for lunch at 1:15 pm. (If you are running late, meet us at the restaurant).

Looking forward to meeting you. Open to ideas and questions! Click here for contact info.

Thanks.
Jeanne Kauss
LGBT Center of Raleigh Gay and Gray Initiative

RALEIGH – December 6, 2010 – The Governing Board of the North Carolina Council of Churches has elected Raleigh resident Stan Kimer as the organization’s president. As of January 2011, Kimer replaces Rev. Jean Rodenbough, a Presbyterian minister from Greensboro, who served as president for two years.

“Stan has faithfully progressed through leadership roles within the Council for more than a decade, and we welcome him as our new president,” said Council Executive Director George Reed. “We are also grateful to Jean for her thoughtful guidance and her commitment to the work of the Council as its president and for many years in other roles as well.”

Kimer said he was honored.

“After serving on the North Carolina Council of Churches board and experiencing firsthand how we bring together diverse churches to work on key justice issues in North Carolina, I am both excited and humbled to be elected president. I am looking forward to leading the Governing Board to furthering our positive impact on the lives of all North Carolinians,” he said.

A member of St. John’s Metropolitan Community Church since 1991, Kimer has represented Region 3 of the Metropolitan Community Churches on the Council’s board for 10 years and has been actively involved with the Council since 1995. At St. John’s MCC, he has worked as a leader in stewardship and small group Bible study. He currently chairs the Metropolitan Community Churches Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Team.

Kimer is a retired IBM executive who now runs his own consulting practice offering services and training in diversity management specializing in GLBT issues, career road mapping, and organizational effectiveness. He was recently appointed to a two-year term on the Raleigh Human Relations Commission and to the National Council of Churches Local and Regional Ecumenism Committee.

The North Carolina Council of Churches is a statewide organization representing 17 Christian denominations and committed to the twin goals of ecumenism and social justice. More than 1.5 million North Carolinians are members of congregations under the Council’s umbrella.

The Raleigh Human Relations Commission invites the public to take part in a series of community dialogues on how the City of Raleigh can ensure access and opportunity for all of the city’s diverse population.

The Commission is encouraging the public to participate in the dialogues, which will run throughout 2010 and culminate in recommendations to the Raleigh City Council.

You are specifically invited to the next dialogue which will focus on how the city can be a better place to live for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. It will take place from 3 pm to 5 pm on Sunday, September 19, at the Sertoma Arts Center, 1400 West Millbrook Road.

Everyone is welcome to join in, regardless of whether you attended previous dialogues. Click here for a PDF flyer about the event. (Please note that even though the flyer does not specify the time for the event, the Commission’s website confirms that it will be held from 3 pm to 5 pm. If you post the flyer, you may want to write the times on it.)

St. John’s MCC was founded upon the idea that all people deserve a welcome, affirming place to worship their Creator. In fact, the Metropolitan Community Church movement began when one gay man dared to say, “Yes! I can worship God too!”

But not all churches agree with us. There are very few who are as open and affirming as St. John’s. Our friends at the Gay Christian Network would like to change that. They have helped to organize a conference on Reclaiming Christianity that is set for Saturday, June 19th, in Raleigh. The details are posted on a special website: www.ChristiansWhoLove.com.

If you click on the flyer image (right), you can download a PDF flyer that you can give to any friend who wants to transform his or her church into a loving, inclusive congregation. You can also send your friend a link to the Conference website. When you do, you will be doing God’s work.