We’ll have lots of games to choose from, but if you have one that is special to you, bring it along and add it to the mix or bring something munchie to share or just bring yourself. Send me (Alex) a note for more details and directions. frawgi@yahoo.com

We are also looking to make valentine cards for inmates, we’ll come to church early and be creative. Click this link for more info about the idea and send me a note (frawgi@yahoo.com) if you’re interested and want to participate!

Peace and blessings in this new year!

The Binghamton Congregation is heading in some exiting new directions!

First, we are going to try out a new time. For a handful of reasons we have decided as a congregation to meet at 4pm (same place at 83 Main St. Binghamton, downstairs dining hall). If you need to sleep in or have wanted to participate in other community work (like Binghamton Food Not Bombs) you can!

Second, though you’ll see my smilin’ face a lot, I will standing back a bit and you’ll see a host of other folks leading liturgy and sharing the message of God’s love for all people and hearing what that means from a greater variety of perspectives.

Finally, we are still going to participate in the stuff we always have – Transday of remembrance, various pride events and preparing food for the friends dinner.  We are looking to plan a greater number of outreach events and welcome your input.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and that you will continue to be blessed in the coming new year!

If you haven’t yet committed to giving for the coming year, click on the link labeled “Giving” along the top and be a part of the continuation of our ministry!

-Alex

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine it in our own lives, let alone the entire world.

Life is dynamic. Always changing. Pushing. Pulling. Building. Falling apart.

We often equate calmness with peace. A serene image of a deep lake whose surface is barely troubled by the gentle breezes that skim it’s surface.

But life is no photograph, and those moments where things do stand still for too long can be the most uncomfortable – like a limb fallen asleep or a neck sore all day from a long night in some unnatural position. So we seek the motion. The churning and sometimes angsty antagonism of change and transition, trying desperately to keep the momentum and avoid the motion sickness. Soon we find that the best way to adjust and find peace is to be present with the changing scenery, zipping by the landscape and stationary buildings, the fellow travelers and the on coming traffic. Soon the motion is not foreign. It is a part of us and we are a part of it. The motion sickness we endured while trying to escape, fighting the movement with concentrated focus on words – a novel or a crossword puzzle, we abide with until it fades. We extend compassion to ourselves and extend curiosity to those objects outside our trajectory and find that they are a part of us – in defining our movement in the relation to our changing position. Curiosity implodes back onto ourselves and compassion explodes onto all the surfaces our glance falls upon, seeping into all the porous surfaces. We take a breath of our common air and recycle back into the atmosphere.

Peace.

Let’s talk about Joy. As resistance. Sunday – the third week of Advent.

There is nothing wrong with comfort. The act of helping in the clean up efforts is one manifestation of the act of comforting. I am proud of the way countless people have stepped up to help their friends, family and neighbors clean up the wreckage. But folks in the midst of mourning may not want to be told that they are blessed. Those of us who didn’t lose as much know, deep down, that we are blessed, the folks who did lose their homes know, deep down, that they are blessed to still have family. And there are the blessings of neighbors coming to the rescue and filling the needs of those mourning loss, we thank them and are grateful. But feeling blessed? Maybe not. I think it’s okay to wait a bit before declaring these blessings. It’s okay to reside with the mourning before being told we need to acknowledge the blessing.

Take care.

Next year’s gather is already in the works! Harrisburg will host us next summer, who’s in?

As expected, we got wonderful support from friends and LGBT community. We even got support from some pretty unexpected places, too.

Of course not all parties were thrilled with the results. First, we broke the commandment, “thou shalt not read of the comment section.” As hurtful (and outright nonsensical) as the opinions expressed under the veil of anonymity can be, what really unnerving is the fact that, after having my name and picture printed, these could be the thoughts of strangers on the street or in the grocery store. The trans visibility that I haven’t experienced in a couple of years now will likely resurge for a moment, only with the added contempt of “bringing a child into this,” and “flaunting” my “sickness.” As dangerous feeling as visibility can be, a society that wishes for the queer to remain hidden is far more deadly.

Then there is the problem of highly complex scenarios becoming flat and un-nuanced in their presentation. Some folks may not feel that their participation is accurately portrayed. Such is the danger of a third party compiling a quick list of details and giving it coherence. I think it’s good to be concerned that others are as accurately portrayed as we can, but the risk is present and that cannot deter us from allowing our stories to be heard and added to the collective narrative.

What about you? What part of your story is under represented in the collective narrative?

But giving is a discipline that reminds us and our wallet of the things that are important to us. So, to make it easier on folks you now have an option to auto-tithe. That way if you don’t make it to church a Sunday or you are as forgetful as I am, you can take advantage of one of the convenient options and help keep our ministry and our presence in the community keep afloat.

Simply go to this link:

http://mccny.org/wordpress/giving/online-donations/

Click on Credit/Debit for either a one time or reoccurring donation. (I do not think you can use the PayPal option for a Binghamton Donation at this time).

The first time you log in you will have to enter in some info, then if you want a reoccurring donation, make sure you are on the “auto-tithe” tab. Make sure to select MCCNY Binghamton from the drop-down menu and proceed to fill out the rest. You will have a couple of options for frequency and duration.

I just did it and it’s pretty easy.

Even if you are not a congregant, but you believe that the MCC presence is important in our community, we welcome you generosity.

Blessings,

Alex

One of those is that we are small enough to fit on a large sidewalk with out blocking pedestrian traffic. Which is exactly what we plan on doing this Sunday! At 10am the clerk’s office will open for same sex couple who want to get their marriage license and we will be there to congratulate them! At 10:30 we will initiate songs, readings, prayer and even communion! So come celebrate this historic event and worship with us!

Then, August 7th, join us for another  “Table Sunday,” this time, in Rec Park!

We’ll sing with a guitar and enjoy worship outside!

Blessings,

Alex

August21st – Our turn! Come participate as WE lead the service! Sing, read, pray! We need YOU to help share our unique community and the gifts we offer!

We have a unique and wonderful relationship with Tabernacle UMC! Two churches, both proclaiming the love of God for all of humanity, one from the perspective of the margin calling all to the outer limits as a place to find God’s grace and the other from within a large mainstream denomination, calling out for inclusion and working to make room for others at the table. Tab has been a great ally, both in the local community as well as on a state and spiritual level. It is good when we can come together in shared victories (Yeah, marriage equality) and raise our voices in chorus declaring the shared vision of God’s embrace of all of us.

As we go forward, distinct, yet united in mission, let us come together and share each ministry’s talent!

With newly granted access to state recognized legal weddings, the LGBTQ communities are flying high on victory, and rightly so. And yes, I intentionally left that ‘T’ on there because this is not just an LGBQ issue. This is one issue that cuts across and effects many of trans and gender non-conforming around us, some before/without a legal transition and others after. But the struggles are far from over and we need to maintain the energy that kept so many focused so precisely. Those of us who do intend to get married, though we will gain several benefits, still have to contend with the DOMA and it’s ramifacations.

On the ‘T’ front the fight to end discrimination is still urgent. The Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act needs awareness and support. By executive order state agencies are prohibited from discriminating based on gender expression. Again, this is a cross-over issue, not just trans. How much homophobia based discrimination is due to the perception of gender non-conformity? Read about GENDA at the Empire Pride Agenda Website: http://www.prideagenda.org/Issues-Explained/Transgender-Civil-Rights/Campaign-for-Transgender-Equality-Justice.aspx.

Also be aware of the conversations around hate crime legislation. GENDA includes language to expand hate crime definitions to include Trans based crimes, but many contend that such an addition would do more harm to already marginalized communities than good. Read about that at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project site here: http://srlp.org/genda.

As we continue on to work for justice for our communities do not allow the victories to cloud out the memories of the captivity to inequality that preceded them. We continue to work for justice for our brothers and sisters as we reflect on the commands for justice that God issued to the Israelites saying: “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.”  (Deut 5:15)