Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category
HRC Survey: Half of Jewish Communal Groups are Pro-Gay
The Human Rights Campaign released its first-ever index of inclusion within a faith-based community on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
Straight TN Christian Writes Book About Living Year as Gay
A straight Tennessee man is ‘coming out’ with a new memoir about his year-long social experiment on living life as a gay American.
Former NY Catholic Charities Member Launches Gay Youth Petition
A former board member of New York’s Catholic Charities organization is urging Cardinal Timothy Dolan to meet with gay rights advocates and homeless LGBT youth after initially avoiding a request to do so.
GLAAD STUDY: Pro-Gay Religious Voices Scarce in Media
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has found that national news media outlets rely far more heavily on ANTI-gay religious voices than PRO-gay clergy, in stories about LGBT equality.
SoulForce Embarks on Fifth ‘Equality Ride’
Gay rights activists looking to free members of the LGBT community from “religious and political oppression” are taking their message of inclusion and acceptance on the road for another cross-country ‘Equality Ride.’
GA Southern Baptist University to Ban Gay Employees
A Southern Baptist college in Georgia is requiring ALL of its employees to sign a new statement acknowledging that they can be terminated for simply accepting homosexuality–meaning LGBT faculty members risk losing their jobs at the faith-based school over their sexual orientation.
9/11 SPECIAL EXTRAS: Father Mychal Judge
Father Mychal Judge left a lasting impression upon the thousands of New York City residents he touched over the course of his life, and I was blessed to speak to three of those people: Tom Ryan, New York City’s first openly-gay firefighter and Father Mike’s colleague; Brendan Fay, a prominent gay activist and Mychal’s close friend; and Larry Kirwan, lead singer of the Celtic rock band Black 47, which Mychal saw in concert weekly.
The following are excerpts from my conversations with these men. Please note that there are no internal edits on these cuts.
- Firefighters’ impressions of Father Mike: Tom Ryan recalls what his fellow New York City firefighters said about their chaplain before and after his death.
- A ‘first’ for Mychal: Brendan remembers getting a phone call from Mychal a year before his death, in which he told the gay activist about something he had never done before in his life.
- Discovering the true Mychal: Though he mostly remembers Mychal as a Black 47 fan, Larry says he soon realized just how special the FDNY chaplain really was.
- A good-looking man: Brendan and Larry both remember the 68-year-old as being one handsome Irishman
- Mychal’s relationship with New Yorkers: Despite taking a vow of poverty, Father Mychal Judge shared his spiritual wealth with each of his neighbors.
- Learning about Mychal’s death: Tom talks about walking around the devastation just minutes after the attack and then receiving word that his chaplain was among that day’s victims. Larry Kirwan also remembers not being surprised whatsoever that Mychal Judge was at Ground Zero, noting that Father Mike was entirely committed to his men.
- Famous last photo of Mychal Judge: Larry reflects on the final photo taken of Father Mike–viewed by many as a modern-day Pietà–as he was removed from the rubble shortly after his death.
- Anti-gay attack by evangelicals: Tom relives the day of Father Mike’s funeral, which began with an attack on the LGBT community by evangelical leaders Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
- If Mychal were still here: Though they never had the chance to talk about their sexuality together, Tom says he might have spoken openly with Father Mike if he were still alive.
- Ongoing memories of Father Mike: Larry says although his group Black 47 doesn’t play the song ‘Mychal’ that often, he admits it’s magical and therapeutic each and every time it does.
PREVIEW: Sirius XM OutQ News Reports: ‘LGBT Stories of 9/11′
Sirius XM OutQ News commemorates the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks by honoring those members of the LGBT community we lost and speaking to those who remember them best.
OutQ News anchor Tim Curran traveled to Los Gatos, California, this summer for an in-depth and personal conversation with Alice Hoagland, the mother of United Airlines Flight 93 hero Mark Bingham. Bingham, a public relations executive and rugby player, was among the passengers who fought back against his plane’s hijackers, eventually thwarting a possible attack against our nation’s capital.
Hoagland, a former flight attendant, tells Curran about coming to terms with her son’s homosexuality and recounts her only child’s final moments aboard Flight 93.
Alice Hoagland, Mark Bingham's mother, at her home in Los Gatos, California. Photo taken by: Tim Curran
Also, OutQ News anchor Xorje Olivares looks back at the life of New York City Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge, dubbed by many as the ‘Saint of 9/11.’ Born and raised in New York, Judge’s close friends remember how he touched the lives of thousands of residents, particularly within the LGBT community, over the course of his 40-year priesthood.
Tom Ryan, New York City’s first openly-gay firefighter, was at Ground Zero just minutes after his department’s chaplain succumbed to the rubble.
Gay activist Brendan Fay and Celtic rocker Larry Kirwan also tell Olivares about the Mychal they knew and how they believe he will be remembered.
For more of OutQ News’s coverage of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, tune in to our special one-hour event, OutQ News Reports: ‘LGBT Stories of 9/11,’ on Sunday, September 11th, at 9am EST and replays at 1pm/8pm EST on Sirius XM OutQ 108.
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If you’re not a SirusXM subscriber but you’d still like to hear the show, consider signing up for the seven-day free trial. If you want to hear our 9/11 special, we want you to hear it.
Deadly MO Twister Destroys LGBT-Affirming Church
As search and rescue teams continue to find victims of Sunday’s deadly tornado in Joplin, Missouri, many of the town’s LGBT residents are still missing. The twister destroyed several buildings in its path, including the local gay-affirming church.
