DignityUSA - Dateline July 98

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DignityUSA DATELINE

July 1998 VOL. 7, NO. 7

Dignity Responds to Cardinal O'Connor

On Sunday, May 24th, New York's Cardinal O'Connor used his weekly homily to call proposed domestic partners legislation before the New York City Council a threat to the family and marriage. DignityUSA responded to his comments with a public letter to the editors of the NY Post, Newsday and LGNY from National President Bob Miailovich and Executive Director Charles Cox At press time, the NY Blade had the letter under consideration.

Dear Editor,

As an another Catholic voice, DignityUSA is disappointed thatCardinal John J. O'Connor has chosen to view the proposed New York City Domestic Partnership legislation as a challenge to marriage and the family.

Dignity believes that our gay families, like non-gay families, are an expression of humanity's social nature. It is in our families and through our families that we express our love and learn the virtues of mutual respect and integrity. The legislation as proposed provides committed couples, regardless of sexual orientation, with reasonable and appropriate legal protections that would otherwise be unavailable. We hope that Cardinal O'Connor will one day come to understand that non-traditional families, like other families, are committed to building a stable and just society. There is no justification for the belief that civil recognition of domestic partnerships will in any way negatively impact the condition of church-sanctioned marriages.

Too Many?! None at All?

Some members' mailboxes have been filled with multiple issues of the most recent issue of the Journal, while others may not have even received one! If you received more than one copy, please share the extra copies with your local chapter or friends. On the other hand, if you did not receive a copy of the Journal, please contact the national office and one will be sent to you right away.

This problem has been traced to errors in the address labels generated by the mailing house which DignityUSA hired to stuff, label, and mail the issue. Representatives from the national office have been discussing the matter with the supervisors at the mailing house to work out how the matter will be rectified on mutually agreeable terms.

Thank You San Francisco

On the occasion of its 25th Anniversary Dignity/San Francisco contributed $1,500 to the Eileen DeLong Endowment.

Solidarity Sunday ¬98

Solidarity Sunday is only four months away! Now is the time to plan: events, producing and distributing cards and ribbons, inviting friends, family, the general public and our Church to join with us in working to end verbal and physical gay bashing.

This year we will have cards and templates in English, Spanish and French; an attractive advertising brochure which includes an order form; and a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) sheet. These materials will be sent to chapters shortly.

In addition, we will run ads in Second Stone and National Catholic Reporter (NCR) during the late summer months. Needless to say, these ads are expensive but critical to the outreach effort. Our total cost just for these ads is $1,686. Donations to help defray advertising expenses can be directed to the National Office.

Last year almost 100,000 people from around the United States participated in Solidarity Sunday, including President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore. This year we hope to increase that number to at least 150,000. We invite all of Dignity to help meet this goal. If we succeed, we will have touched 350,000 with Solidarity Sunday. Let us work together to end verbal and physical gay bashing!

Taking a closer look: The Membership Task Force

The Membership Task Force was established a number of years ago by the House of Delegates (H.O.D.) to prepare and implement actions which serve to increase the membership of DignityUSA. Last year in Boston, the H.O.D. voted to continue the work of the task force for two more years.

This group is composed of one member from each of Dignity's seven regions, a Committee for Women's Concerns representative, and a National Board of Directors representative. Much of the group's work is accomplished through individual contacts and conference calls. The Membership Task Force is also interested in hearing about your ideas for increasing our numbers and supporting our members. Talk to your regional delegates or send ideas to the National Office.

The work: Membership Task Force focuses on three areas:

Improving responses to inquiries

We are working to improve the way we respond to inquiries for information about Dignity. Our goal is to establish a professional and expedient response which will include a sharp-looking, detailed brochure as well as a mailing package describing who we are and what we offer as an organization. We are also striving to implement better coordination of responses among representatives on the national, regional, and chapter level.

Evaluating advertising strategies

We are looking at DignityUSA's advertising strategies. We are determining how we can evaluate the success of ads in national and regional publications. Such advertising has been done in the past, but it is difficult to know how to measure its success. In addition, we are looking at chapters' local advertising efforts, including the possible creation of standard formats and maybe even some funding to help smaller chapters.

Examining membership structure

The task force is also actively looking at DignityUSA's membership structure. This covers addressing the needs and interests of potential members who may no live in an area with an active chapter to the manner that renewals are processed and handled.

Submitted by Mark Bannister, Dignity/Mid-Atlantic Board Representative to the Membership Task Force