DinnerOUT 1/24/10, 630pm Thai Thai Wilkes-Barre.

Please send announcements/events to prideofnepaorg@yahoo.com

1. Dinner OUT 10/18 (this Sunday) 6pm Amber Inn restaurant in Moosic..next to 12 Penny..rsvp to jeng1969@verizon.net by Friday please so we can make reservations.

2. Hey Gang,

OK Here it goes. I’m looking at the my schedule and surrounding holidays and it seems like Third Sundays are sort of a good idea if we want a movie day. That would be November 15th & December 20th to start with. I say let us try this out to begin with and see where it goes. I’m thinking of making this an early event. Perhaps a matinee or early afternoon so we can all go home early. Maybe we can meet for coffee before or brunch afterwards. We could choose a few movies, something fresh and new, and then vote on-line perhaps a week ahead of time. Let me know what you think. I treasure my time with you and look forward to expanding our moments together. Movies 14 on Northampton Street works best for me unless I can get a ride.

Love,

Bill Browne

If interested in Movie OUT Please rsvp to brownewilliam@optonline.net

3. Evening of stunts, escapes, and spooky magic
Come see Prideofnepa member Micheal Kattner perform at the Hazleton Art League Broad St Hazleton 7pm $13
For more info check out www.professorfountain.com

4. Rainbow Scranton Halloween Party
10/17 Rodeway Inn Birney Ave Moosic $5

5. Rocky Horror Picture Show
Music Box Playhouse
Oct 16,17,23,24,30,31 at 730pm (Buffet at 630pm)
Midnight shows on Oct 23,24,30,31 show only no buffet
Show only $15
Show and Buffet $25
call 800-698- PLAY or 570-283-2195

I hope that you will join me on Friday evening as the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allied (GLBTA) communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) celebrate the fifth anniversary of opening of the 12 Penny Saloon.

During the past five years, the 12 Penny Saloon has sponsored and supported nearly every venture and program of the NEPA Rainbow Alliance including our newsletter, website, e-news, special events, etc. in the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre areas.

The 12 Penny Management and Staff have invited the community to celebrate its fifth anniversary with a special party starting at 10 p.m on Friday, January 23, 2009.

Enjoy no cover charge, a complimentary buffet, and anniversary drink specials.

Warm regards,

John Dawe
Executive Director
GayNEPA.com

A cash bar and music will be provided. Cost is $26.00 per person. See above for menu selection. Reservations must be made by December 8.

The maximum capacity of Really Cooking is 75 persons so reservations will be on a first come first served basis. For more information and to make reservations please e-mail Jen at Jen G.

If this describes you, consider making Dignity Of The Lehigh Valley your spiritual home.

This will be a wine and cheese social and initial planning meeting.

If you plan on attending, please let us know by sending email to: dignitylehighvalley@yahoo.com

We believe that God created us, Christ died for us, and the Holy Spirit sanctified us in Baptism. As GLBT Catholics, it is our right, our privilege, and our duty to live the sacramental life of the Church. We believe that we can express our sexuality in a loving, life-affirming manner that is in keeping with Christ’s teaching.

Creemos que Dios nos creó, que Cristo murió por nosotros, y que el Espíritu Santo nos santificó en bautismo. Como Católicos Homosexuales, Lesbianas, Bisexuales y Transgéneros, es nuestro derecho, nuestro privilegio y nuestro deber vivir la vida sacramental de la iglesia. Creemos que podemos expresar nuestra sexualidad en una manera amorosa y afirmadora de la vida que está en armonía con la enseñanza de Cristo.

Dignity Of The Lehigh Valley will gather for the first time on:
Sunday, February 10th at 7:00 PM
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
1900 E. Pennsylvania Ave.
Allentown, PA

For more information: dignitylehighvalley@yahoo.com

Call for Artists: Pride of Northeast PA is looking for members who would like to showcase their artistic talents at Pride Place. Artists of all kinds have decorated Pride Place during the past year, and we need your help for 2008. Each artist will display their artwork for one month and has the distinct opportunity to be present for Third Friday Artswalk, where the Stegmaier Mansion/Arts YOUniverse is open to a vast number of visitors. If interested, please contact bod@prideofnepa.org

Pride Place: Be sure to check out our home and free lending library at Pride Place in the Arts Youniverse Building, 156 South Franklin Street Wilkes-Barre.

Spread the word! You do not need to be a member to attend our events or use our library.  So don’t sit home, come on “OUT” and bring a friend.

Schedule of PRIDE of NEPA Events:
Sunday, February  10,  1st show
Movie Out at Cinemark. – Movie suggestions are welcome. The snow date for the event will be February 24th.  To reserve your seat  email reservations to: jeng1969@verizon.net

Tuesday, February 12, 6:30 pm
Monthly Membership Meeting  – Tony Di’s
Tony Di’s Pizza Buffet is located on South Main Street in downtown Wilkes-Barre across from the Post Office.  Tony Di’s is a gay owned and operated establishment so even if you can’t make the meeting stop by and say Hi.
Friday,  February 15, 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Third Friday Arts Walk – Wilkes-Barre
Stop by and check out our gay artist of the month. For more information about the Third Friday Arts Walk Events click on the following link www.artsyouniverse.com/7.html

Thursday, February  21, 6:30 pm
Monthly Dinner    “OUT” – Thai Thai
We are trying our Wilkes-Barre’s newest resturant the Thai Thai this month.    Don’t forget to RSVP to   Subject: Dinner Out

Dignity’s mission is to provide a safe, affirming environment for GLBTQA Catholics to worship together with a gay-affirming priest, to celebrate fellowship and to provide support for one another in their Christian faith while embracing a Catholic spirituality.

Dignity has been blessed over the years with the support of significant leaders in the gay Christian movement, such as Fr. Mychal Judge, who was the first official recorded death at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001.

If you are interested in being a part of this new ministry in the Lehigh Valley, please send email to: dignitylehighvalley@yahoo.com. Tentative plans are underway for an initial meeting in Bethlehem in mid February.

Tuesday, November 6, 6:30 pm
Monthly Board Meeting at Pride Place.

Wednesday, November 7, 6:30 pm
Bi-Monthly Book Club at Pride Place.

The book for this meeting is “Significant Others” (The Tales of the City Series, V. 5) by Armisted Maupin

Readers familiar with Maupin’s Tales of the City series will greet this latest installment like a welcome visit from old friends. Once again, the action focuses on the misadventures of a cross-section of San Franciscans, who this time take to the country for a late summer weekend in three separate gender-segregated retreats: a gay resort, a lesbian music festival and the infamous encampment of privilege at Bohemian Grove. While the trio of settings couldn’t be farther apart in spirit at least on the surface they all are within shouting distance of each other on the banks of the Russian River, and the three worlds, inevitably, collide.

RSVP to events@prideofnepa.org Subject: Book Club

Tuesday, November 13, 6:30 pm
Monthly Membership Meeting – Tony Di’s

The votes are in and the choice is Tony Di’s. Tony Di’s is a gay owned and operated establishment so even if you can’t make the meeting stop by and say hi.
RSVP to events@prideofnepa.org Subject: Membership Meeting

Thursday, November 15, 6:30 pm
Monthly Dinner “OUT”

Join us for our monthly dinner “OUT” at Konefal’s at 458 Main Street, Edwardsville, Pa.
After dinner, we will go across the street to Micheal’s Lounge for night cap.
RSVP to events@prideofnepa.org Subject: Dinner Out

Friday, November 16, 5:00 – 8:00 PM
Third Friday Arts Walk – Wilkes-Barre

Stop by and check out our gay artist of the month. For more information about the Third Friday Arts Walk Events click on the following link www.artsyouniverse.com/7.html

Sunday, November 18, 1st show
Movie and Dinner with Jen.

The group reported back that they thought “The Brave One” was a great movie and so was Jodie Foster. Jen is soliciting suggestions for this months movie at the Cinemark in Moosic. So send in you suggestions and reservations by.

RSVP to jeng1969@verizon.net

Wednesday, November 21, 6:30 pm
Bi-Monthly Womens Mixer Night at Pride Place

The format of the meeting and activities is set by the group.
The mixer will be held at Pride Place, 156 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre
RSVP to events@prideofnepa.org Subject: Womens Mixer
Be sure to check out our home and free lending library at Pride Place in the Arts Youniverse Building, 156 South Franklin Street Wilkes-Barre.

You do not need to be a member to attend our events or use our library. So don’t sit home, come on “OUT” and bring a friend.

The Sermon
I’m Peter D’Angio and I’m priest in charge at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scranton. My partner and I arrived in Northeastern Pennsylvania seven months ago; it’s a joy to connect with the Rainbow Alliance and to be part of this day.

After you leave here you’ll be going to watch “The Saint of 9/11″ which tells the story of Father Mychal Judge, the New York City fire department chaplain who died at Ground Zero on September 11th. As you’ll see in the film, queer people like Father Judge struggle in the church, just like they struggle in life. But that does not mean that the church does not have a place for sexual minorities, as Jesus makes clear in the story of the wedding banquet that we hear today from Luke’s gospel.

How can imagine the story in modern day terms? Well, I’m a big fan of the Style Channel (who would have guessed?) and I sometimes watch “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” which tells stories of wedding planners and brides locking horns. So here’s Jesus’ story as told on “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?”

The father of the bride has hired the best venue for the wedding reception, and we see the camera lovingly hovering over the beautiful table settings, the gorgeous flowers, and all the rest of the details. The father barges into the scene and demands that the wedding planner do something about the fact that none of the guests have shown up for the wedding.

Ever resourceful the (gay) wedding planner goes the immigration office and gets all the people waiting in line there. He hires a bus to go to a local nursing home to get all the residents, some of whom are in wheelchairs, some on walkers. He goes to some place like the 12 Penny which just happens to be having drag night and brings all the drag kings and queens, as well as all the other patrons. Finally, when all these people have assembled and sit down at the lovely tables the father of the bride says, “Now the party can begin!” Of course, it is a fabulous party as only queer folk can pull off!

More…
What Jesus tells us in this story this morning is that we have a place at that party with him. He reverses the societal expectation that we are outcasts and he tells us, and all the rest of the marginalized, that we are honored guests to him, contrary to what the church often says in word and deed.

We find Jesus’ attitude reflected in the letter of John which says: “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth…” (1 John 3:18-19a). What I hear in this is that as queer folk, we have to speak the truth in love about our own lives. We have to come out and in coming out we will know ourselves as both truthful and whole. In this call to come out, and I would add to come out in the church, we start from the belief that God created and continues to create us as who we are: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, intersexed and yes even straight, and that that is GOOD. God did not create LGBTI folk as second class citizens, any more than God did women or people of color, despite what some denominations have outwardly taught at times or at least implied. When we tell the truth of our lives we can integrate the social, erotic, and spiritual; we speak the truth to power, which empowers not only us but those around us. And the place to do this is not only in our families and in the workplace but in the church as well because the church needs to hear our voices as the beloved people of God.

I get the question “Why bother with the church?” all the time, and not just from queer folk. The argument goes something like this: God is everywhere not just in the church and I have my own spirituality even though I’m not really religious. So why should I come to the church which is so messed up about human sexuality anyway? But there’s a flaw in this stance: being spiritual alone is kind of like being queer alone; it’s possible, but not very rewarding. Spirituality practiced in the closet tends to produce a similar thing to sexuality practiced in the closet: the elements of being a spiritual person are all there just like the elements of being a member of a sexual minority. But they just haven’t been allowed to grow or to see the light of day. We all know what happens when someone comes out as queer; they undergo a process of growth and transformation, but it takes a community to help make that happen, and that’s why we’re here today to help to continue to make a community which we and others like us can be a part of.

The same thing happens when we come out to Jesus; our spiritual lives grow and blossom. But we need the love and support of other people on the same journey and that’s what the church is all about, just like what the queer community is all about. There are churches out there like Saint Stephen’s and like Saint Luke’s that welcome you and where you will hear the truth of our lives proclaimed from the pulpit. One young man said he was electrified the first time he heard me use the word “gay” in a sermon, and he began a journey with us at Saint Luke’s. Just after his twenty-first birthday he stood in the pulpit at Saint Luke’s and preached a sermon about diversity, acceptance, and the truth of his life. People’s attention was riveted on him throughout the sermon and in the line at the back of church after the service people commented glowingly on his message.

Often hidden inside stone walls like these are places of warmth, acceptance and community. But churches Saint Stephen’s and Saint Luke’s have to struggle to come out in a queer culture that equates Christianity with homophobia, judgmentalism, and narrow-minded prudishness. All the parties involved: queer folk, our straight allies, and the church are engaged in the process of coming out, not only to each other but also to God. And with all us all stands Jesus who says to one and all alike, “Come and join my party.”

The Readings

First reading: 1 John 3:16-23
We know love by this, that Jesus laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God; and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment –  that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Second reading: Luke 14:15b-24
While attending a banquet with the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’ Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner.”

Preached at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 30 September 2007.
All Bible quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), unless noted otherwise.