November Round-Up

Integrity Participation at the 234th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of New York

Integrity NYC Metro leadership attended the 234th Convention of the Diocese of New York, held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on November 13th, 2010. Paul Lane, the Diocesan Organizer for New York coordinated a table partnership between the Chapter and the LGBT Concerns Committee of the Diocese. Chap Day (Provincial Coordinator, Province II) and Esteban Giron (outgoing Acting Convener) helped staff the table. We had information about Believe Out Loud (brochures and buttons), as well as Integrity membership brochures. A good 50 of each were taken, if not more! We had very positive feedback. Additionally, Bishop Sisk announced a special convention for the election of a Bishop Co-Adjutor, to be held on October 29th, 2011. Bishop Sisk made it clear that although the diocese will be choosing a Bishop Co-Adjutor, to serve as the 16th Bishop of New York upon Bishop Sisk's retirement. Bishop Sisk made it clear that he is not going to be going anywhere in the near future. Bishop Roskam announced her retirement effective January 1st, 2012. Additionally,

The Rt. Rev. Mark Sisk

Trans Day of Remembrance Participation
On Friday, November 19th, Paul Lane, Chap Day, Mary O'Shaughnessy, Michale Mallon and Tina Cioffi (all Integrity NYC Metro board members) attended the Trans Day of Remembrance hosted at the New York LGBT Center. The event was co-sponsored by Gender Identity Project, Human Rights Campaign, and the Church of St. Luke in the Fields. The Rev. Mary Foulke (of St. Luke's) offered an invocation. Integrity NYC members were honored to attend and stand in solidarity with the Trans community.

Welcoming Congregation Workshop Participation

Chap Day, Rev. Susan Copley, Rev. Br. Tobias Haller, BSG

On Saturday, the 20th of November, the Committe on LGBT Concerns of the Diocese of New York sponsored a Welcoming Congregation workshop at St. Ann's Church Morrisania in the Bronx. Integrity NYC Metro Board Members Christian Paolino, Paul Lane, Br. Millard Cook, n/BSG, Mary O'Shaughnessy, Michael Cudney, and Chap Day attended. Paul and Michel, serving in their dual roles as members of the LGBT Concerns Committee helped organize the event. Mary and Chap served as speakers. The Rev. Susan Copley from Christ Church Tarrytown told her own story of moving to full inclusion. The Rev. Tobias Haller, BSG offered a moving reflection on LGBT inclusion that is reproduced on his blog In a Godward Direction.



NEW CONVENER FOR INTEGRITY NYC METRO

Mary O'Shaughnessy

Chap Day (Provincial Coordinator, Province II), Paul Lane (Diocesan Organizer, New York), and Christian Paolino (Diocesan Organizer, Newark) are proud to announce the Board election of Mary O'Shaughnessy as the chapter's new Convener. As you may know, Esteban Giron has served as the acting convener after the resignation of David Casey. Chap, Paul, and Christian thank Esteban for taking up the mantle of David for the interim period. Mary will chair her first board meeting on the 28th.



If anyone is interested in joining the Board of New York, please contact Chap, Paul, or Christian. The Board is asked to be dues-paying members of Integrity USA, and to participate in the planning and implementing of activities related to Integrity NYC Metro. Chap can be reached at chap@integrityusa.org; Paul and Christian can be reached at newyork@integrityusa.org and newark@integrityusa.org, respectively.

Pride March Thank You

A message from Paul Lane:

As the organizer of the Pride March contingent for the Committee on LGBT Concerns of the Diocese of New York, I would like to thank everyone who helped make this year's LGBT Pride March such a success.

The marchers, who came from at least four diocese and made us one of the larger groups in the March. The benefactors, parishes, organization and individuals, who came through to fund the float. The folks at Integrity NYC Metro and Oasis Newark who were instrumental in getting the word out. Our wonderful DJ Brett. Our group marshals: Stephen, Erlinda, Lou and Mark. The Church of the Transfiguration, who made our out of town marchers feel welcome at their 11:00 a.m. Eucharist. The churches along the way who provided water for all the marchers, Marble Collegiate, First Presbyterian, especially the Episcopal Church of the Ascension (who added just a twist of lemon) and the Church of St. Luke in the Fields, who welcomed us at the end of the March both spiritually at Evensong and physically at the reception that followed.

Our visibility is very important. Our presence in the March is a wonderful way to reach out to the LGBT community, many of whom have had very negative experiences with "church" in the past, letting them know that is a church (among others) that welcomes them and is dedicated to "respecting the dignity of every human being".

Planning for next year's March will start in September. Anyone interested in helping can contact us at info@lgbt.dioceseny.org

Again, many thanks to all.

Paul J. Lane

Pride March Organizer

Committee on LGBT Concerns

The Episcopal Diocese of New York

Diocesan Organizer of New York

Integrity USA

Steering Committee Member

Integrity NYC Metro

To see some photos of the 2 block contingent, please see these two Albums:

Pride March 06-27-10 by Millard Cook

Heritage of Pride 2010 by Christian Paolino

IntegrityNYC-Metro - News Update

Just a few announcements as we head into Pride Month.

1. It is with great sadness that we announce the departure of David Casey.  David was instrumental in the resurrection of the Integrity Chapter in New York City, and has served as our Convener since its inception.  He is pursuing other opportunities in Southeast Florida, and we wish him the best of luck.

2. Integrity NYC board has officially voted to change the name to Integrity NYC Metro.  This was done to reflect the geographic diversity present in our chapter, especially those who attend from outside the 5 boroughs of New York.  This is an intentional name change to celebrate our diversity.

3. Integrity NYC Metro welcomes the following members to the Board: Millard Cook, Paul Lane, and Christian Paolino.  Paul Lane also serves as the Integrity USA Diocesan Organizer for New York, as well as serves independently on the Diocese of New York's LGBT Concerns Committee.  Christian Paolino is also serving as the acting Diocesan Organizer for Newark, and serves in OASIS Newark.  We will be looking forward to adding more people to the board, and are beginning a search for a new Convener.

4. Integrity NYC Metro will be participating with OASIS Newark, and the LGBT Concerns Committee of New York in the 41st Annual Pride March on the 27th of June.  Stay tuned for details.

The Diocese of NY's Welcoming Church Workshop at Christ Church, Tarrytown

A Message from Integrity NYC-Metro's newest Board Member Millard Cook:

Dear Friends and Family,

I spent the first part of the day yesterday in Tarrytown attending the "Welcoming Church" workshop at Christ Church. I had a lovely train ride up (and back) with amazing views of the Hudson River and of New Jersey across the way. And I do not think I had ever seen most of Tarrytown previously--certainly I had never been to Christ Church before.

I really enjoyed the workshop and find it to be challenging and thought-provoking. I discovered many resources that I had not known of previously and plan to spend some time exploring them. The three things that touched me most were the stories of individuals to find a real church home, the stories of congregations to become really inclusive and finally some new insight into the status of the struggle-on a diocesan, national, and Anglican Communion level.

Many (I would like to think most) of our parishes in the Episcopal Diocese of New York are welcoming. That is a big step forward and must certainly be acknowledged. And yet, there is a gap. Not all are really inclusive. And there is a difference! It is one thing to say that "anyone is welcome to attend" and entirely another to say that the gifts, talents, and resources of every person are wanted and needed. It takes courage to invite "others" to become active, and ultimately even to become involved in leadership of a parish. The question of to what degree the "other" is fully integrated into the parish is not always an easy one to answer.

The other question, and a far-more challenging one for me, is the degree to which the parish publicly indicates that it really is both welcoming and inclusive. What language is used? What symbols are displayed? How is the message effectively communicated?

I attended this workshop because I have been asked to serve on the Steering Committee of the New York Chapter of Integrity. And so I was very pleased to learn more about the amazing work that has already been accomplished in the EDNY--I could not say enough good things about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns Committee. And, I was really astonished by Christ Church--clearly there are some wonderful things happening there.

On a final note, although this was a workshop to explore the degree to which LGBTQ people are welcomed into congregations and then are included in the life of the community, I constantly found myself thinking that the very same methodology could be used for any group. The same issues exist for any group of person who is perceived (at least by some) as "different" or "other." And if the goal is for parishes to be truly diverse, welcoming and inclusive--that takes a lot of intentional, difficult, and perhaps even painful work. One of the Integrity slogans that I like most is "All the Sacraments for All the Baptized." What a wonderful goal.

With Much Love,

Millard 

A native of the Beech Mountain Community of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, Millard came to St. Bartholomew's after a varied and colorful past in which he served in ministry, as an educator, and as a technical support trainer and technician for relational databases. Along the way he earned a B.A. in history (Appalachian State University) two masters degrees in theology (M.A. in Systematic Theology and the M.Div. from St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, PA) and two masters degrees in history (M.A. and M.Phil. in Early Modern European history from Fordham University). For 15 years Millard was a Benedictine monk of St, Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe (the oldest Benedictine monastery in the US) and served for 12 years as a Roman Catholic priest (mostly in the Archdiocese of New York). A dedicated student of Romance languages, he earned minors in French and Spanish and after high school lived for a semester in France. He was worked hard to maintain his fluency in conversational French and Spanish. Millard has been a parishioner of St. Bart's for almost three years and describes the day that he was received by Bishop Catherine Roskam as one of the most meaningful experiences of his adult life. Millard is the son of Janice Storie Davis and the younger brother of Jackie Miller and Debbie Nobles-all of NC. He is a proud uncle of three nephews and of six great-nephews and nieces and an avid amateur photographer, reader, and music lover (everything from Southern Gospel to Pop Latino). In 2009, Millard was accepted as a postulant in the Brotherhood of St. Gregory. 

This May Millard has joined the Steering Committee of Integrity NYC-Metro.

Integrity USA will be hosting intensive workshops focusing on building more Inclusive and Welcoming Churches over the next few months, called Believe Out Loud. The Province II workshop will be hosted in Danbury, CT and co-run with Province I.  This workshop is for congregations that wish to start or continue their Welcome program with resources from a national Episcopal program.  Click here for Registration Details.