Pink Menno Press – Page 7 – Pink Menno Campaign

Communion

Posted on July 10, 2011 by StephanieKrehbiel Posted in MCUSA, Pittsburgh '11

Open Worship Communion Service, Thursday July 7, noon

On Thursday I arrived at the lobby in front of the exhibition hall about halfway through the daily Pink Menno noon worship service. For the most part, I’ve participated in any Pink Menno-led worship that I’ve attended, but this time I decided to sit on a bench outside the circle and observe that permeable boundary between the pink worship space and the rest of the convention. I’m never completely comfortable in this blatantly observatory role—it makes me feel creepy—but at that moment it seemed possible to do it somewhat inconspicuously, so I went for it.

I wish I could say I witnessed something truly revealing, but mostly I just watched passing teenagers watching Pink Menno. Some of them stopped to stare. Their faces told me nothing. I had to resist the urge to impose my own speculative narratives on them, which is always a temptation to anthropologists; when there is no clear story in what we’re studying, we long to make one up and then force it onto our evidence, for fear that otherwise no one will want to read what we write. I saw a lot of curiosity, but that’s all I can claim with confidence.

But then there were also the ones—and again, I’m mostly talking about youth here—who saw what was going on and headed straight for it, accepting the pink hymnals that Katie Hochstetler handed to them as they joined the circle. Read more ›

a week of many things

Posted on July 9, 2011 by philipkendall Posted in Pink Perspective, Pittsburgh '11

Our week in Pittsburgh has been many things: intense, exhausting, reviving, hopeful, infuriating, disappointing, healing. The range of emotion and experience is wide, but in the end, I have faith that we have fulfilled our purpose for this time and place.

We have made our pink selves seen and known as unarguably joyful, peaceful, loving, Christ-like people in the midst of our complicated church family.

We have honored the tradition of singing together with only our voices as instruments, powered by breath and spirit and heart.

We have agreed to enter into conversation spaces in which understanding and connection do happen, where walls of fear and distrust begin to crumble, where love is true and the Spirit is present, but also where power is distributed unequally, where emotional and spiritual boundaries are crossed, and where words inflict pain that go unaddressed.

We have, whenever possible, responded lovingly to unfair accusations, to stares from a distance, to hurtful words, and to the painful silencing of our voice as members of MCUSA and as fellow children of God.

And most importantly, we have shared our stories with one another, forming spiritual bonds that no imperfect, human church can break and that no statement or teaching position can invalidate.

This week has brought many things into focus for me. Read more ›

Workshop Reflections: “Putting the T in LGBT”

Posted on July 8, 2011 by CaitlinDesjardins Posted in Be a Bridge, Education, Pink Perspective, Pittsburgh '11, Take Action

Thursday was a full day for Pink Mennos! Workshops, Hymn Sings, Movie Screenings, Really BIG Hymn Sings, Coffeehouse and Conversations. I attended and particularly enjoyed the Brethren Mennonite Council sponsored workshop on “Putting the T in LGBT”–understanding transgender. Even as a member of the LGBT community, I confess a significant lack of education and understanding of transgendered people.

The workshop was extremely helpful, both in helping me to expand my vocabulary and understand better vocabulary like sex/gender (sex being physical, gender being identity–they don’t necessarily need to line up), cis-gendered (when sex and gender match up and feel connected in a person), genderqueer people and the differences between someone who may be transgendered or transsexual (not all transgendered people are transsexual, and most transgendered people have not actually physically transitioned to a different sex).

I also particularly appreciated the videos we were able to watch, hearing various experiences of transgendered and genderqueer people. One of the more powerful things I took away from those videos is the importance of never making someone’s gender identity or expression Read more ›

The Scarlet Letter

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Arthur K Posted in Pink, Pink Perspective, Pittsburgh '11

I felt it immediately. The ‘scarlet letter’, Chris Parks called it. When I first traded my yellow v-neck on Tuesday for a pink ‘How Will You Be a Bridge’ shirt, it was as if I had traded in my privilege as a heterosexual-enough-looking male for my new assumed identity as ‘one of them’.

As a bisexual, biracial individual, I’ve had a lifetime of experience trying to find intersections between two camps and negotiating my identity in that space. Some perceive my ability to identify with multiple contexts a privilege; to myself though, it has always felt like a curse that affected my capacity to feel as if I truly belonged anywhere.

Wearing pink, then, was just another experiment in ‘switching camps’.

“I’m praying for you,” said a middle-aged gentleman, in a ‘I’m praying for your soul’ kind of way, not an ‘I’m sending good energy towards you’ kind of way. Only the day before, he had smiled at me in a we’re-so-happy-to-have-different-skin-colored-people-that-can-speak-English-and-act-white way.

More hurtful than the occasional glares or careless remarks directed towards the pink, though, is the silence. Read more ›

many flavors and colors

Posted on July 7, 2011 by philipkendall Posted in Pink Perspective, Pittsburgh '11

Today a child from the Children’s Gathering program walked up and gave this beautiful (and delicious) note to Arthur Kauffman, an awesome Pink Menno who has been volunteering with Pink Menno this week and also contributing posts and photos.

Amen.

Wednesday Workshops: Accompaniment & Coming Out Strong

Posted on July 7, 2011 by CaitlinDesjardins Posted in Education, MCUSA, Pittsburgh '11

: Ironic close-up of a beautiful mural in the MCUSA exhibit hall, where PinkMenno was denied booth space.

I will skip to the main point: Allies Matter. Allies Matter A Lot. This was one of the main conclusions of both workshops hosted by PinkMenno and Brethren Mennonite Council yesterday (by the awesome Kirsten Freed). The first, Accompaniment: A Journey for Youth Sponsors, focused on those of us who work with youth and consisted primarily of a conversation around how we can walk alongside youth who are LGBT and encourage allies in our Churches and Youth Groups.

A question that was particularly important was asked by a pastor to the LGBT participants: What could I, or other pastors, do to make your process easier? What did (do) you need from your pastor on this journey? The answers and conversation ranged from the oft-called for hope for more conversation around all of healthy human sexuality (especially at this conference, thanks to some powerful workshops led by Keith Graber Miller), inclusive language, clear messages to youth and youth groups that pastors and others are safe people, and bringing up conversation when possible about LGBT rights and advocacy. Read more ›

Late night Reflection

Posted on July 7, 2011 by philipkendall Posted in Pink Perspective, Pittsburgh '11

The following is a reflection shared with me by Derek Yoder. We met in the Hospitality Room on Tuesday and was then beginning to formulate a response to Shane Hipps’ message in the opening worship session Monday night. Thanks Derek for your thoughtful writing and for sharing this with us.

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“From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5.16-20)

It’s late Wednesday evening at the Mennonite convention in Pittsburgh. I’m typing in my hotel lobby, so as not to wake the sleepers in my room. I had intended to do some reflecting Monday… or Tuesday… or even this morning. But sometimes the days don’t quite go as expected at convention. Read more ›

Safe Spaces on Mennonite College Campuses

Posted on July 7, 2011 by JasonFrey Posted in Education, Pittsburgh '11

An exciting aspect of the convention exhibit hall for many is the college booths. Not only is this a great place to receive free shirts, college paraphernalia and play Just Dance, but it is also a place to think about one’s upcoming future and independence. For many youth and young adults visiting these booths is influential in making their undergraduate decisions.

However, for LGBTQ youth, another important factor for deciding on a college besides which has the coolest t-shirt is how safe the campus feels. Pink Menno hosted a College Student Panel Discussion where representatives from the different Mennonite colleges spoke on their own safe space programs and events. Representing the colleges were: Christine Amstutz and Kerry Bush from Bluffton University, Pax Ressler from Goshen College, and Darian Harnish and Lisle Bertsche from Eastern Mennonite University. Luke Yoder and Annabeth Roeschley facilitated questions for the student panel before allowing for open questions from those who attended.

College Student Panel Discussion

Looking at the current atmosphere of the colleges, all expressed that there is a diversity of perspectives on LGBTQ inclusion. However, what differed between them was the amount of support and the majority of opinion. Darian and Lisle reported having a divided feel on campus, yet there are many safe places that are present. Christine and Kerry described how though they are still an unofficial group, many of the faculty and staff are very supportive. The group in general on campus has been becoming more visible. Goshen College mentioned that the more vocal voice on campus is in support of LGBTQ issues. Pax reported how it is just “not cool” to be anti-gay on campus. Read more ›

Momentum

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Arthur K Posted in Music, Pittsburgh '11

As every day passes, one can feel the almost palpable momentum as more people find the Hospitality Room on the third floor of the Marriott Courtyard, more people wear pink, and more people show up to events and hymn sings.

The space in front of the doors of the adult worship room is hardly a hundred feet deep — perfect for repurposing as a place for some good hymn singing. Pink Mennos congregated in dozens today, joined by bystanders, allies in tamer colors, and those who just wanted to sing who filled the space and were impossible to miss by those entering.

The hymn sing included classic worship hymns like “It is Well With My Soul,” resounding anthems like “We Will Not Be Silent,” and concluded with the plea, “Rain Down”. The voices of those that were singing carried well into the packed auditorium where many people were awaiting “Adult Worship,” seemingly ambivalent to the fact that many adults were indeed already worshipping in the adjacent space.

Mid-Week Update

Posted on July 6, 2011 by philipkendall Posted in Pittsburgh '11

So much has happened here in Pittsburgh already. I find myself overwhelmed with the task of trying to document and share it with those who aren’t here! Here a few highlights and items that will give you a taste of much more to come:

Photos! Hopefully you’ve noticed the slideshow on the right. We add new pictures throughout the day, so keep checking back.

Videos! You’ll be happy to know that a number of us are trying to capture significant events on video. It takes a bit of time to edit and upload, so that will come slowly. But you can look forward to lots more! John Mark just shared this video he shot last night at our inclusive worship service. Read more ›