GML found this post from an unknown blogger on her first day of not being a Mennonite.

Yesterday, I called the Mennonite church I attended since I was born and canceled my membership. The official stance of the church I grew up in is that gay people should be celibate and they do not allow gay people in committed relationships to join the church. I partly canceled my membership because I didn’t want to be a part of an organization that would discriminate against people like me; another part of me canceled because I was afraid of being found out, becoming a subject of conversation and then getting kicked out.

A Mennonite bloggeron yesterday’s Prop 8 ruling:

“I’m not overly patriotic, but I do love a lot of things about America. I am proud to be a gay American today, and I hope that soon marriage will be legal for all of us in the United States. A lot of my family, friends, and fellow Mennonites disagree with my sentiment. I would like to restate a few of the logical reasons to be for (or neutral) in this discussion.”

Winnipeg now has a local BMC group forming for all “broadly and self-defined LGBT people able to tolerate hanging out with mostly Mennonites!” This is a great opportunity for gay Winnipegians who would love to connect with others in the area, or who are just passing through. The group plans to meet every month or two, with the mission of simply “to create queer space in which to be, to enjoy each other’s company, and food! For more information, email winnipegbmc@gmail.com.

Sometimes it is good to remember that we are part of history.
I Corinthians 13

Harmony (Mennonites for LGBT Inclusion) has scheduled its next meeting for Saturday, February 4, at the CMU campus in Winnepeg. Board representatives from Mennonite Church Canada will be there to discuss the status of the Being a Faithful Church process. Everyone is welcome to attend.

After more than a decade of being denied, Brethren Mennonite Council for LGBT Interests, (BMC) has been accepted as a Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) placement site. This means that BMC’s Kaleidoscope volunteers will now be able to serve through BVS, instead of needing to go through Lutheran Volunteer Corps or the Volunteer Ministries of the United Church of Christ, as they currently must.

We are grateful to Dan McFadden, Director of BVS, for being a persistent advocate for BMC, and to Stan Noffsinger, General Secretary, for his courage in making this decision. Please consider sending them a note of thanks and support to counter the negative feedback they are sure to receive. Their email addresses are dmcfadden@brethren.org and snoffsinger@brethren.org. We are also grateful to Lutheran Volunteer Corps and the United Church of Christ for their embrace of us for so long.
Times are changing! Maybe Mennonite Volunteer Service is next!”
Carol Wise, BMC Executive Director

Check out a new blog, Der Reggeboge Freindschaft, dedicated to encouraging gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of Pennsylvania German cultural and religious background.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=33137123&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Karl Shelly, of Assembly Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, talks about being the pastor of an open and affirming Mennonite congregation.