Rev. Elder Ken Martin Contact Us:
Rev. Ken Martin
Email:
RevKenMartin@
MCCchurch.net
Skype:
revkenmartin
Phone:
971-344-2181
Stedney Phillips
Executive Assistant
Email:
StedneyPhillips@
MCCchurch.net
Skype:
stedneyphillips
Phone:
562-619-2032
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| | | Dear Friends,
I was traveling when I heard the result of the referendum
in the US state of Maine revoking the right to same-sex marriage. I was filled with disappointment and frustration and anger.
When I returned home two days later, two of Tom's and my best friends had arrived for an extended visit. We met through MCC
35 years ago and have been the closest of friends ever since. They are both retired nurses and when Tom had a heart attack
two years ago they dropped everything and came and cared for him every day for three months. Even more remarkable than that
quality of friendship that lasts that long is that these two women, Sue and Judy, have been in a loving committed relationship
for 50 years! The next day I went to my files to find the letter Gore Vidal wrote to British writer Christopher Isherwood
in 1948 in which he said, "The success of a (same-sex) relationship is revolutionary in the best sense of the word. Because
it demonstrates the power of human affection over fear and prejudice and taboo, it is actually beneficial to society as a
whole-as all demonstrations of faith and courage must be: they raise our collective morale."
The truth is,
there has been a carefully orchestrated conspiracy of silence that has denied us our own history and culture about same-sex
relationships, For example, when I studied literature, why didn't someone tell me that Romaine Brooks and Natalie Barney were
together for 53 years, or Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy for 32 years. When I was majoring in music why didn't I know
that Tchaikovsky's sixth symphony, The Pathetique, was dedicated to Vladimir Davidov who, according to Tchaikovsky's brother,
Modest, he was madly in love with. History might not have been quite so tedious if I had known that T.E. Lawrence, the subject
of Lawrence of Arabia, when asked why he mounted the dangerous military campaign to drive the Turks out of Arabia, answered
that he did it because he was in love with an Arab man named Salim Ahmed, and hoped that freedom for Ahmed's entire nation
might be an adequate expression of that love, or that Alexander the Great was so in love with Haphaestion that he spent the
equivalent of 60 million dollars on his funeral and made arrangements for Mount Athos-the entire mountain-to be carved into
a likeness of Haphaestion so large a city of 10,000 would fit into the palm of one of his hands. We stand in a long, noble
and admirable tradition of relationships that have changed and improved the world!
We must remain frustrated-and
yes, even angry-but as Gore Vidal realized in 1948, the most revolutionary thing we can do is just to continue to love our
partners, our friends and our families. Just because others may not recognize the sacredness of that love is all the more
reason why we must. Faithfully,
Ken Rev.
Elder Ken Martin
Metropolitan Community Churches |
 Care and Connection
Just
a reminder...as we are tranisitioning from a Regional CommunityShare to the Cluster CommunityShare, if you wish
to continue to receive information, please follow the guidelines below. We have received some requests, so thank you
to those who have responded.
How to Subscribe
to a Cluster Newsletter
Write an email to StedneyPhillips@MCCchurch.net
In the Subject line, indicate which newsletter(s) you would like to receive [Asia Pacific Cluster, Pacific Northwest Cluster,
Valley Bay Area Cluster]. In the body of the email, provide your name and with which church you are affiliated with,
if any. You may subscribe more than one person in your email only if the other person(s) want to receive the same Cluster
Newsletter(s).
E-mail Example 1:
Subject: Pacific Northwest
Cluster Newsletter
Name: Stedney Phillips
Preferred Email Address: StedneyPhillips@MCCChurch.net
Church: Name of Church MCC
E-mail Example 2:
Subject: 1. Asia Pacific
Cluster; 2. Pacific Northwest Cluster; 3. Valley Bay Area Cluster
Name: Stedney Phillips
Preferred
Email: StedneyPhillips@MCCchurch.net
Church: MCC Name of Church
In case you are unsure of which churches
are in Cluster, I have provided listing of the churches, groups, and ministries within each Cluster that we serve.
Asia Pacific Cluster
Churches/Ministries in Cluster
CRAVE MCC, Paddington, AUS
MCC
Brisbane, Brisbane, AUS
MCC Good Shepherd, Parramatta, AUS
MCC Melbourne, Melbourne, AUS
Ment4All, Melbourne,
AUS
MCC Sydney, Sydney, AUS
New Coast MCC, Coorangbong, AUS
CRAVE MCC at Christchurch, Christchurch, NZ
MCC Auckland, Auckland, NZ
MCC Philippines, Makati, PH
MCC Quezon City, Quezon City, PH
Pacific
Northwest Cluster
Churches/Ministries in Cluster
MCC Anchorage, Anchorage, AK
Open Arms MCC,
Pahoa, HI
Treasure Valley MCC, Boise, ID
MCC Montana, Great Falls, MT
MCC Portland, Portland, OR
SisterSpirit,
Portland, OR
MCC Sioux Falls Vision of Hope, Sioux Falls, SD
Emmanuel MCC, Spokane, WA
MCC of the Gentle Shepherd,
Vancouver, WA
MCC Seattle, Seattle, WA
New Heart MCC/UCC, Tacoma, WA
Rainbow Cathedral MCC, Yakima, WA
River
of Life MCC, Tri-Cities, WA
Valley Bay Area Cluster
Churches/Ministries in Cluster
MCC of the Redwood Empire, Guerneville, CA
A Church for All MCC, Sacramento, CA
Rev. Elder Freda Smith - Evangelist,
Sacramento, CA
MCC San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
MCC San Jose, San Jose, CA
MCC Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa,
CA
New Spirit Community Church, Berkeley, CA
Peninsula MCC, San Mateo, CA
Valley Ministries MCC, Stockton,
CA
Sacred Light of Christ MCC, Salt Lake City, UT |
General Conference 2010 Acapulco, Mexico June 28-July 2 Fairmont Acapulco
Princess Hotel |
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