Michael Dithers
by Michael Mahler
Wow! What a busy month! Kudos to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie for bringing emma’s revolution in for a terrific concert. There was a great turnout and folks had a good time. I am deeply grateful for all that the church has done over the years. It was also wonderful catching up with friends there.
I ended up having a subsequent lesbian-themed Saturday the week following when I went to the YLBT Women Single Ladies Night. (Okay, so yes, I am single, even though I am not young and not a lady.) It was a really fun and friendly evening. Kudos to Erin for putting it together.
The night before, I had gone to the Mercyhurst Heart Beatz Rave. They are a wonderful group of kids, and their advisors were obviously proud that the students had put on a great event. While I was there, a young woman said hello and mentioned previously emailing me at newsletter asking for resources, as she had been going through some difficult time. I had found some folks that had been good about helping out, so I am very glad that she found support and friends with the help of some terrific folks.
Huge thanks to Craze Night Club for opening their doors to host the GLBT Legislation and Legislative Advocacy meeting, and to our presenters and also the folks who came. There are quite a few important pieces of legislation coming up and we really need everyone’s help. It was shocking to hear how few people had made calls in support of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Law that was passed last year. It really doesn’t take much to make a difference if we all pitch in. When I have called legislators about a bill, I can usually have it over in only about a minute! I am going to work on being better about calling others to make those all-important calls and visits.
Deb and I were very impressed with the turnout for the Out in the Silence screening in Westfield NY the night after the legislative advocacy meeting. For a village of about 4,200 people to bring in 65 people is absolutely awesome. Kudos again to Rev. Steve Ashmann and the others for helping this to happen!
It is exciting to see Drenched Fur coming together for the 6th annual weekend. Even if you aren’t a bear, hoping that you come see the wonderful entertainers that will be performing that Friday. I consider myself privileged to be working with a great committee.
Recently, I was talking with my friends Season and Chris about a special activity that Season is helping to set up at this year’s picnic. One of the primary reasons that I feel so strongly about doing the picnic is that one of the things that builds stronger community is to get folks who might not interact with each other that much to have something that encourages maybe stepping just a bit out of our accustomed pathways. So, even though, I am not a lesbian, I like hanging out with the LBT Women and I had a blast at the concert at the UU. Even though I am not young, I had a good time at the Mercyhurst rave. (Oh heck, I graduated from there before probably any of the students were born. Sigh.)
Not only does that apply to other sectors within the GLBT community, it also applies to going outside. Tammie, one of the folks at the legislative advoacy meeting, brought up a great point that if we expect other people to support our causes and our community, that we need to do the same. Amen!
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Co-editors Michael Mahler and Deb Spilko