Dykes & Dykery

‘Shower of Stoles’ exhibit supports LGBT [people] of faith

Seven members of First Congregational worked meticulously, well into the afternoon Friday as they hung 100 intricate, ministerial stoles. Their work was for more than just an art project, though.

Shower of Stoles is a traveling exhibit of more than 1,000 religious garments donated by LGBT individuals who serve or have served in ministry but have been defrocked by the church for their sexual orientations. Martha Juillerat started the project when she stepped down from the Presbyterian Church in 1995 and came out, according to the project’s website, www.welcomingresources.org. She asked for other LGBT [people] to send in their stoles to display and received 80 within the first day. The next spring, she had 200, so the first display was held in 1996 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Over the years, clearly, the exhibit has grown. Now it is split up into pieces, and First Congregational is hosting the exhibit for the first time from May 3 to May 15. Member Vickie Spyhalski is one of the seven who helped hang the stoles, which took several hours.

“The purpose is really to show the role that LGBT people play in the church and their role in the ministry,” Spyhalski said.

First Congregational has 100 of the stoles on display. Many of them are coupled with the stories of the people who wore them and the struggles they faced by coming out. Those stories, Spyhalski said, are powerful.

“It’s very moving when you get to see them,” Spyhalski said. “I actually hung a stole of a man who died of AIDS who was a minister. When you hang a stole and you realize he’s no longer with us, really it is a very sacred thing.”

Kazakhstan: Lesbian Wedding Raises Eyebrows

The industrial city of Karaganda in northeastern Kazakhstan has seen an event utterly out of the ordinary for the former Soviet Union: a wedding between two women.

The couple organized the symbolic wedding to celebrate their union, the Vox Populi website reportsin a photo story showing the elaborate celebration, which included all the usual trappings: from the white limousine that the bride and groom ride in during more traditional celebrations to the flutes of champagne to toast the happy couple. 

The marriage has no legal force in Kazakhstan, where same-sex weddings are not recognized by law – but the two women, identified only as Karolina and Kristina, decided to tie the knot symbolically. As Vox Populi put it, “love has no law.”

The pictures showed the elegant couple – one wearing a white wedding dress and the other a white suit – popping champagne corks and following the usual tradition of stopping off at popular sites around the city to have a glass of champagne with wedding guests.

When the wedding party dropped into a shopping mall to buy some food, eyebrows were raised, said Vox Populi. It described onlookers’ mood as “spiteful,” with “hostile looks from the shoppers, whispering into walkie-talkies by the security guards, surprised looks from the salespeople.”

The LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community tends not to be very visible in Kazakhstan, where anecdotal evidence suggests that members face widespread discrimination.

Press Secretary of the Kostroma Oblast Court Julia Medvedeva announced the court ruled illegal a ban on gay pride marches in the region and on two rallies against the local law prohibiting propaganda of homosexuality among minors.

‘The Civil Chamber of Kostroma Regional Court granted the appeal of Moscow Pride and events founder Nikolai Alekseev against the decision of Sverdlovsk District Court’, said Medvedeva today (20 March).

According to the court’s statement it found that the rallies and marches did not constitute as ‘propaganda of homosexuality’, rather a method of conveying information to the public.

‘The court’s decision took effect, so gay activists can already apply for these activities’, added the spokesperson.

…

However, Medvedeva also noted that the regional court upheld the previous lower court decision that two pickets in support of LGBT rights in front of the Kostroma Regional Children’s Library and the Regional Youth Library did constitute ‘propaganda of homosexuality’ which can have ‘harmful effects on children’.

Alekseev says he plans to appeal against this decision and continue to fight against all the bans throughout Russia, both through local and international courts.

‘It will take time, but we’ll get there’ he added optimistically

A lesbian is still recovering from a brutal beating that happened last week while addressing a parent about her girlfriend’s son being bullied.

Sondra Scarber went to the playground at Mesquite’s Seabourn Elementary with her girlfriend, Hillary Causey, and Causey’s 4-year-old son. After other kids began pushing him around, Scarber spoke to a father to address the issue.

But when the father realized Scarber was a lesbian and the two were a couple, she said he became enraged and began to beat her, calling her homophobic slurs.

“When he walked up thinking it was father and mom with the kid, he wasn’t as angry, but then when he figured out it was a female, he got like super pissed, and I don’t know why,” Causey told WFAA. “He was like, ‘Well if you think you’re a man… I’m going to treat you like a man,’” Causeytold WFAA. “All she kept saying was, ‘I’m a female. I’m a female.” She never even had time to take her hands out of pockets to try and block herself.”

Scarber’s jaw is wired shut and her face is badly bruised. But Mesquite police haven’t caught the man responsible and told WFAA they don’t consider the assault a hate crime because the bullying among children was the reason behind it.

But the women insist it was hate crime because the father only became upset once he realized they were two women raising a son together.

Several North Dakota leaders are introducing legislation to protect the LGBT community. Backers of the bill gathered in Fargo to introduce the proposal.

The bill would amend the North Dakota Fair Housing and Human Rights Acts by adding sexual orientation. Current North Dakota laws do not include sexual orientation on the list of banned discriminatory practices.

VICCO, Ky. (WHAS11) — A small town in rural, eastern Kentucky has approved an LGBT fairness ordinance. This is the first one approved in the state in the past 10 years.

The town of Vicco in Perry County, Kentucky now has a measure that prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based upon a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

Three other cities in the commonwealth have similar ordinances: Covington, Lexington and Louisville.

5th Year of being Gay by ~@faque~ on Flickr.

Leicester Pride 2012 by philipJvernon (www.philipJvernon.co.uk) on Flickr.

death-is-a-reprieve:

I know I’m not Tumblr famous and I don’t know how many people are going to actually see this but for those that will see this, I just want them to know that this sort of thing happens all the time at my old school, and I’m getting sick of it. They tried to contact that media and it doesn’t seem to be working. I just want people to know that we need this to stop. If we could do something to help this situation, I don’t know what but something, it would help a lot. Nobody deserves this.

The Lancaster they are referring to is Lancaster, California, for reference.

Members of the Gay and Lesbian community parade through London to celebrate the World Pride Festival on July 7, 2012.