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DignityUSA News

September 30, 2014

PRAY for Success of Meeting with Archbishop Cordileone

On Thursday October 2, DignityUSA Board Member Bill Baird and Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke will be meeting with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone. They are meeting with him in his dual capacities of leader of the San Francisco Archdiocese and Chair of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

The meeting follows a campaign in which DignityUSA and others pressed the Archbishop not to speak at a national "March for Marriage," where other speakers included individuals and organizations that had made false and vitriolic statements about LGBT people and the impact of marriage equality. The Archbishop offered to meet with any of the 80 religious and political leaders who signed a letter expressing concern over his role at the march, and DignityUSA accepted the offer.

Bill and Marianne hope to discuss the needs of LGBT members of the Archdiocese, as well as the impact of Church leaders' anti-marriage equality statements and campaigns.


CELEBRATE 

Each year, DignityUSA members and friends mark Solidarity Sunday on the Sunday closest to National Coming Out Day. This year, it is October 5. Wear a rainbow ribbon as a sign of your commitment to ending violence and discrimination against LGBT people. This year, we are especially mindful of those whose governments advocate or tolerate discrimination against those who are or are perceived to be LGBT. Carry some extra rainbow ribbons with you and encourage others to join this effort!


PARTICIPATE in QCF               

Queer Catholic Faith webshows are back for our 4th Season! 

​Tune in on Tuesday, October 21st at 9:00PM EASTERN to watch and hear our own Marianne Duddy-Burke and her wife Becky speak of family from a very personal perspective. This QCF immediately follows the bishops' Synod on the Family, so what comes out of that meeting is sure to be part of the discussion.

You can register now on the DignityUSA website here. Consider watching with your family and friends. And share the news with others, please!

BE PART of the Fabulous Families of Dignity! 

Between October 5--October 19, Bishops are meeting in Rome for the Synod on the Family, beginning a year-long process of discernment and discussion. During the days of the Synod, DignityUSA is proudly featuring our own sacred families with a photo a day (or more, if we have lots of households participating) on Facebook, accompanied by a brief paragraph describing who the family is and why that family is sacred. We would love to feature your family! All we need is a good photo of you and yours, first names, and a brief answer to one of these questions: "How is your family sacred?" or "Where do you find God in your family?"  

Send your photo and description to Jim Smith at [email protected]

MAKE A DIFFERENCE for our LGBTQ Kids!

On Thursday, October 16, DignityUSA is participating in GLAAD's Spirit Day, in which we are encouraged to wear purple as a sign of our solidarity with our LGBTQ young people. 

  • DignityUSA is concentrating efforts in our Catholic schools, where a clear and positive support is desperately needed. Here's the invitation to you: Will you reach out to one person who is either an employee or a student in a Catholic middle or high school and invite them to wear purple on October 16th? If that school requires student uniforms, invite the display of a purple ribbon, headband or bracelet for students. 
  • There's more information on GLAAD's website here about Spirit Day, and look for a Dignity Dateline October column on Dignity's involvement. 
  • Will you help bring some LGBTQ Dignity into our Catholic schools? Reach out to at least one person!

​​RENEW Your Commitment to DignityUSA!

DignityUSA's new year begins on October 1. We welcome two new Board members, Lauren Carpenter from Baltimore and Brian Kelly of San Diego, and give thanks for the service of those who retire, Deb Myers (San Antonio) and Victor Postemski (Boston/San Francisco). The Board begins its year with a meeting in Seatlle October 3-5, where they will be joined by many members of the 2015 Convention Committee. 

You can start the new year off right with a gift to DignityUSA. Your donation or membership contribution will help support the kind of work you see here, and much, much more throughout the year.

 

Thank you! And Happy New Year!

 

DignityUSA works for justice and the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Catholics in the Church and society. It is a founding partner of Equally Blessed, a coalition of faithful Catholics working for LGBT justice, as well as a founding member of the NunJustice Coalition.