Friday, October 17, 2008

Weekly Witness For October 17th



Action Alerts

Other Volunteer Opportunities

Neil Houghton, Volunteer Coordinator and
Northeast Regional Vice President
RochNYguy@mac.com
Home: 585-624-4225
Cell: 585-301-8256

Many of our members ask "What can I do for Integrity, beyond my membership and monetary contributions?" As the new Volunteer Coordinator it is my task to let you know what you can do and coordinate your efforts.

While our staff works hard, there is still more to do. Here are some things for you to consider. If any of these interest you and fall into your area of expertise, please contact me. These are our highest priority items...

  1. Set up a network hub in the Rochester office. We have a hard drive, server and Ethernet hub which were purchased for the Lambeth Conference. Contact me for details.
  2. Explore grant opportunities and write grants. We have identified The Carpenter Foundation as a potential donor and would like someone to pursue this. We are already working with Haas Jr. and Arcus. If any of you are aware of other sources, please let us know.
  3. Integrity Briefings will be a quarterly newsletter for our leaders and donors. We need articles about what we ARE doing and what we COULD BE doing from all corners of the organization.
  4. Integrity Reflections will provide sermon and adult discussion group topics. Our clergy members in particular have asked for this and if you have preached a sermon on a particular passage of scripture or lead a group discussion, here's a chance for you to spread the Good News!
  5. Upgrade our website to Web 2.0. This means making it more interactive and user-driven--like a Facebook page. We need someone knowledgeable to coordinate this effort.

Integrity works best when all work together!

Reviewing Last Week

  • Integrity agreed to partner with Family Diversity Projects to promote Love Makes a Family within the Episcopal Church. This is a museum-quality traveling exhibit including photographs and interviews with families that have LGBT members. Talk to your congregation about sponsoring an exhibition at your church. Considering showing the exhibit at your diocesan convention.
  • We learned that the Rt. Rev. Otis Charles--the former bishop of Utah who came out during retirement--legally married Felipe Sanchez Paris on September 29th. You can watch video of this blessed event at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFL8R4Uzs44. Congratulations Otis and Felipe!
  • We published an updated website for Voices of Witness, video-based educational program. A reminder that your financial assistance is needed to complete the latest DVD--Voices of Witness: Africa. Click here to donate!
  • The board held its monthly conference call on Thursday. The main agenda items was preparing for the November board meeting in Las Vegas.
Anticipating Next Week
  • Several Integrity staff and officers will be attending a gathering of the Chicago Consultation at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary.
  • Chapters will soon receive checks for their share of annual membership dues and gifts.
  • The transition to Groundspring's Donor Management Suite is due to be completed by November 1st. Staff will be testing the system.
Upcoming Events
  • Creating Change will take place January 28-February 1, 2009, in Denver. On January 29th the conference will include a day-long institute titled "Empowering and Working with People of Faith." Is is geared for people of faith and religious organizers who want to build a more powerful faith-based movement for LGBT equality and for secular activists who want to build stronger relationships with communities and leaders of faith. This year's Institute will emphasize the strength of multi-faith organizing and will explore sexual liberation, sexuality, and the ways in which religion and spirituality are resources. Conference registrations are now being accepted. The early bird registration rate of $250 is available until November 30, 2008. Integrity encourages all local leaders and inclusion activists to attend.
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