Annotated Links (Blogroll)
This blog was started in August 2007, with a few posts prepared in advance with earlier dates. It is hoped that the subject list is of interest to LGBT Christians, and that it expands as time goes forward.
Below are links which are important to me, or have been set up by me for the edification of anyone who cares about these issues:
www.danhooper.info – my own web site for personal, pastoral and theological materials.
http://www.hollywoodlutheran.org – my own parish’s general web page, with churchly stuff.
www.hollywoodwedding.org – Hollywood’s Wedding Chapel. Are you looking to hold a “big fat gay church wedding?” Look no further.
www.hollywoodcallback.org – A new venture to bring together those who work in, or are trying to work in, the entertainment industry: actors, musicians, techies, writers, and support industries.
www.WorldAIDSHollywood.org – A Vespers/Concert with original music, combined choirs, guests, panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and more — the Hollywood event to observe World AIDS Day 2007. To be held December 2, 2007 at Hollywood Lutheran Church. Check this site for full information.
www.lutheranslove.org – the web site of Lutherans Concerned/Los Angeles, which has been serving the LGBT community for 32 years.
These sites are connected with the issues important to this site:
http://www.elm.org — Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, the love-child of Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries and the Extraordinary Candidacy Project, born on Reofrmation Day 2007.
http://www.goodsoil.org/ – Good Soil is the “umbrella” organization for a number of expressions of the LGBT-positive movement in the Lutheran church.
http://www.lcna.org/ — Lutherans Concerned/North America — the U.S.-Canadian organization working for the full participation of sexual minorities in the Lutheran church.
http://www.welcomingresources.org/ — The Institute for Welcoming Resources, an ecumenical expression of various LGBT-positive organizations promoting the full participation of sexual minorities in the Christian church. Now sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (see below).
These sites are helpful in understanding the issues written about in this blog, including faith and public policy:
http://www.au.org/ — Americans United for the Separation of Church and State - ”a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.”
Especially see their pages and Q&A on the Religious Right and the Federal Marriage Amendment, and what it would do to take away rights we already have.
http://www.faithinamerica.info – “… to end bigotry disguised as religious truth and in doing so, ensure full and equal civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in America. The world’s great religious traditions … emphasize the love of neighbor as well as the love of God. Compassion, justice, freedom, and respect for the dignity of all people are their most authentic and noble expressions.”
http://www.pewforum.org/ - The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Includes publications, transcripts, news, RSS feeds.
http://www.waynebesen.com/ — Wayne Besen is a commentator, author and speaker whose book Anything But Straight reveals the secrets and failures of the so-called “Ex-Gay Ministry phenomenon. Besen also operates the Truth Wins Out site (www.two.org) which counters the Love Won Out fundamentalist campaign.
http://www.whosoever.org/ — An LGBT / Christian e-zine edited by Candace Chellew-Hodge, since July 2005. An excellent site. See for example its section on the “Clobber Passages” of the Bible at http://whosoever.org/bible.
COMMUNITIES, EVENTS, IDEAS and ORGANIZATIONS IN LOS ANGELES
http://www.wakeupcampaign.org – An interfaith effort to use love as the common thread to unite people from all communities of faith with the message of love, acceptance and tolerance.
EX-GAY MINISTRIES
http://www.beyondexgay.com/ — a personal testimony (with a lot of flip humor!) of two individual survivors of ex-gay therapies, and a major player in the Ex-Gay Survivors Conference held this past summer in Irvine, California. A lot of useful resources.
FAITH, LAW and PUBLIC POLICY
Some of our strongest and oldest organizations are fully involved with religious issues because they know the importance of religion to many people and the role of religious prejudice in the control of LGBT rights.
Here are some important links to larger organizations with an interest in faith issues:
http://www.eqca.org — Equality California, working for the full equality of all California residents regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation. Supports the legislation to equalize marriage rights, AB 43, which has now been passed for the second year in a row by the California Legislature. Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed the identical bill last year, and has threatened to do so again in 2007.
http://www.hrc.org — Human Rights Campaign
http://www.lutheranpublicpolicyca.org – Lutheran Office of Public Policy-California, provides analysis, education and advocacy on public policy issues afftecting California. Provides information regarding ballot propositions, intiatives and referenda. Current concerns and issues include health care, LGBT rights, employment and economic issues, environment, immigration, homelessness, AIDS, etc.
http://signab43.blogspot.com/ – A blog devoted to Govern Schwarzenegger signing California’s AB 43, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act. Thanks to JTW’s Comment for pointing us to this site.
http://www.thetaskforce.org — National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
NEWS
http://www.365gay.com/ — a commercial news site but with daily breaking news items of interest to the LGBT community; frequent religious news coverage; publishes a daily update e-mail synopsis.
http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/ – Gay News Blog claims to have 15,000 LGBT-related news stories in the archives. (But its Google-driven search mechanism seems a little clunky.)
Also see: Gay Religion Blog at http://religion.gaynewsblog.net/