"Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, on a day of salvation I have helped you ... saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.'" Isaiah 49:8-9. (NRSV)
In an effort to foster a dialogue with Latino/a families and churches on sexual orientation, gender identity and the Bible, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and UNID@S, unveiled today a new bilingual guide, A La Familia: A Conversation About Our Families, the Bible, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at a press conference during the League of United Latin American Citizens' 82nd National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people often face unique challenges in Latino/a families and churches. To help in the process of acceptance and inclusion, A La Familia is born out of a profound desire to faithfully integrate an excluded group of people back into the life of their churches and families. This guide is written for two primary audiences: heterosexual people honestly struggling with LGBT issues and the Bible, and those whose sexual orientation and gender identity have marginalized them within their family or church or even both.
In 2011, the Task Force’s Institute for Welcoming Resources, in close collaboration with Unid@s, the national Latin@ LGBT Human Rights Organization and the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program, jointly released A La Familia, a bilingual conversation about our families, the Bible, sexual orientation and gender identity. See the preview below.
For more information about Before God, We Are All Family, click here.
Connected by having a son or daughter who is gay, parents across the country discuss their experiences in the documentary Anyone and Everyone. In it, filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz, depicts families from all walks of life. Individuals from such diverse backgrounds as Japanese, Bolivian, and Cherokee, as well as from various religious denominations such as Mormon, Jewish, Roman Catholic, Hindu, and Southern Baptist, share intimate accounts of how their children revealed their sexual orientation and discuss their responses. The parents also talk about struggling with the pain of their sons and daughters dealing with not being accepted by relatives or friends, and being ostracized by religious congregations. The film also depicts meetings of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) where people get support and help.
Now available on DVD! Purchase at 25% off through the Human Rights Campaign's Religion and Faith Program
The much anticipated For the Bible Tells Me So: A Study Guide and Advocacy Training Curriculum by Rev. Chris Glaser is now available through HRC's Religion and Faith Program online and free of charge.
With a unique blend of up-close and personal stories from some very public individuals, and middle America teens, philanthropist and longtime human rights advocate Mitchell Gold exposes this silent epidemic in Crisis.
"The reality is that Crisis needs to be read by absolutely everyone, not only to recognize what gay people go through in this culture, but to break through the denial of how cruel and insensitive people can be when they are controlled by a belief system that they allow to substitute for the loving human response they would otherwise find automatic." - Dr. Herb Hamsher
Alternately candid, funny, poignant and heartbreaking, When I Knew documents a cross-section of men and women of all ages and lifestyles who invoke the exact moment in their lives - whether as toddlers, grade-schoolers, teens or young adults - when they knew, once and for all, that they were gay.
Inspired by the book of the same name by Robert Trachtenberg, award-winning filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) capture a wide array of answers to the question: "When did I know?" through this inventive portrait of gay men and women, each remembering the unique experience that brought them to the conclusion that they would never be "straight." Though some of the stories are tainted with loss, most proudly affirm that embracing one’s sexual orientation is key to being true to yourself.
The film and accompanying outreach campaign are supported by grants from the Sundance Documentary Film Program and Pennsylvania Public Television Network.