I returned to Madison, Wisconsin
to visit the MVS unit and their supportive congregation. I spent most of my
time hanging out with Taylor and Ted, the two current MVSers. I was thankful
for their excellent hospitality! Both are returning for a second year at Madison,
which will make it easier to continue conversations about lgbt inclusion in
MVS.
The MVS unit hosted a potluck for my visit to their house.
Current participants of Madison Mennonite Church came over with dishes of
food to share. I spoke about my current work with the MVS program to make it
more inclusive towards the lgbt community, and gave a general update on BMC.
Madison Mennonite members shared that they are taking several of their
Christian education hours to explore lgbt topics and to address ways that the
church can continue to reach out in its welcome of lgbt people.
On Sunday, I led one of Madison Mennonite’s education hours
about the transgender community to promote more awareness. I recognize that, of
the members of the lgbt community, transgender people are often left out of the
discussion. When people speak about lgbt rights, they often are just speaking
about gays, lesbians, and occasionally bisexuals if they are in a same-gender
relationship. I spoke to the church about the basics of gender, gave definitions
of groups under the transgender umbrella, and gave ideas that the church could
use to be more welcoming of the transgender community.
In other news, Chicago Community Mennonite Church (CCMC), the
Chicago MVS unit’s supportive church, has put together a task force to address lgbtq
inclusion in their MVS unit. They have worked
to make their welcome more visible to prospective volunteers. They edited the
Chicago MVS unit’s webpage to include the phrase “open and affirming” to
describe CCMC. The words are linked to
BMC’s Supportive Communities Network webpage, which lists CCMC as a “publicly
affirming” congregation for lgbt people. In addition, The Task Force is working
on a welcoming statement for their MVS unit. It will be posted online!
Send an e-mail to kaleidoscope@bmclgbt.org
to let me know what’s going on in your unit and if you would like me to
schedule a visit.
