PFLAG OMAHA - Community News Archive: March 2004

In a unique program designed for publication on their parish website, Jerry and Lucy Furlong are hoping to “break the silence” in an eight-part series titled, “Let’s Talk About Homosexuality.”

The Furlongs have a gay son who is in a 10-year committed relationship. They are also parents of four married daughters and have 11 grandchildren. They are cradle Catholics and members of St. Stephen the Martyr Church in Omaha.

Jerry and Lucy see the series as part educational, part pastoral. In the introduction, they note the program “is intended for families who may have a gay or lesbian member, as well as for anyone who would like to know more about homosexuality.” They continue, “We present this series in the belief that understanding can facilitate Christian tolerance – and in the hope that knowledge can provide a more informed basis for reasoned consideration and discussion. Silence on this subject is neither golden nor productive.”

A new segment of the series is currently being added to the parish website (www.stephen.org) each weekend. Weeks 1 and 2 respond to frequently asked questions about homosexuality. Weeks 3 and 4 offer the personal stories of parents of lesbian and gay persons – and the lived experience of gays and lesbians themselves. Week 5 treats briefly the official teaching of the Catholic Church regarding orientation, human dignity, social justice and sexual activity. Week 6 discusses the pastoral aspects of ministry and examines the role of conscience in moral decision making. Weeks 7 and 8 acknowledge and discuss the active debate within the Church -- especially among moral theologians, scriptural scholars and pastoral ministers -- over questions basic to an understanding of the nature and morality of homosexuality.

While it was written primarily for a Catholic audience, much of the series is simply helpful information without doctrinal implications. The non-Catholic (and, indeed, the Catholic too) may be surprised to read the positive writings as well as the differing views surfacing in the Church today. Again, the St. Stephen website is www.stephen.org. The home page link to the series is “Always Our Children.”

Website visitors have permission to download and print series segments that may be of particular interest. The complete series is also available in our PFLAG library.

Craig Dean, an expert on same-sex marriage, will speak at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, in Room 131 of Connell Hall at Wayne State College in Wayne, Neb.

Dean, an attorney, is executive director of the Equal Marriage Rights Fund and president of Outright Speakers and Talent Bureau. His same-sex marriage license application was denied by the District of Columbia a decade ago, and he filed a discrimination lawsuit.

The Wayne State College chapter of PRIDE will sponsor Dean’s appearance.

Have a nice meal at a restaurant, and you will help fight AIDS.

On Tuesday, April 13, you can dine out at any of the restaurants listed below, and 25 percent of your bill will be donated to Nebraska AIDS Project (unless another percentage is specified). The evening is called Dining Out for Life.

Participating restaurants in Omaha: Ahmad’s Persian Cuisine, dinner; Bagel Bin, breakfast; Barretts Barleycorn, dinner; Be’Ne Pizza & Pasta, dinner; Bistro 121, 50 percent, lunch and dinner; Blue Sushi Sake Grill, lunch; Buca Di Beppo, dinner; CappuGino’s, lunch; Cozmos Frozen Custard & Tasty Grub, lunch and dinner; Dixie Quicks Magnolia Room, 100 percent, dinner; Dundee Dell, lunch and dinner; Flixx Lounge, 100 percent, dinner; Hiro Sushi, dinner; Indian Oven, lunch and dinner.

Julio’s North, dinner; Julio’s Old Market, lunch; Julio’s West, dinner; Katie’s Greek Restaurant, dinner; La Casa Pizzaria, lunch; Le Voltaire French Restaurant, lunch and dinner; Lisa’s Radial Café, breakfast and lunch; Marks Food Wine & Spirit, lunch and dinner; McFoster’s Natural Kind Café, lunch and dinner; Pasta Amore Restaurant, dinner; Petrow’s Restaurant, breakfast; Pizza Shoppe, dinner; Spirit World Deli, lunch; Sushi Japan/Yakiniku Boy, 50 percent, dinner; Taxi’s Grille & Bar, lunch and dinner; The Jaipur, dinner, and Trovato’s, 50 percent, dinner.

Lincoln participating restaurants: Arturo’s Mexican Restaurant, dinner; Barry’s Bar & Grill, lunch and dinner; Billy’s Restaurant, lunch and dinner; Brazen Head Irish Pub, dinner; Buzzard Billy’s, lunch and dinner; J. Finnegan’s Seafood & Steak, dinner; Grandmother’s, lunch and dinner; Oso Burrito, lunch; Sher-E-Punjab, dinner; Ville Grille, lunch and dinner, and Yia Yia’s, lunch.

Hastings: Blue Moon Coffee Co., lunch; Kearney, The Captain’s Table, dinner; Gering: Pasta Villa, lunch and dinner.

Two speakers will present a program in Lincoln at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 1, on issues that affect transgender people. It will be in the Centennial Room at the Nebraska Union, 12th and R Streets, on the University of Nebraska campus.

The speakers will be Dragonsani “Drago” Renteria, who is founder of the national Deaf Queer Resource Center and the National Deaf LGBT Archives, and Jenniufer Mantle, who is Drago’s partner and facilitates a support group for partners and families of female-to-male transsexuals in the San Francisco Bay area.

Drago will share his experience making the physical and cultural transition from female to male. The free program will be interpreted for deaf and hearing audiences. For more information, contact Dan Franks at dfranks828@yahoo.com or Pat Tetreault at 402-472-7447.