A Letter From The President

Film Explores Church-Sanctioned Anti-Gay Bias

 Bob Dorr, PFLAG Omaha

 Posted on December 30, 2007

The relatively new nonprofit cinema Film Streams, located within the Saddle Creek Records development north of downtown Omaha, has started showing Daniel G. Karslake's documentary, “For the Bible Tells Me So.”

The film explores the intersection of homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and the way church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a misinterpretation of the Bible. The film follows the experiences of five Christian families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson -- to explore how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child.

The documentary also features insight from such respected voices as Bishop
Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and
Jimmy Creech. Creech, former senior pastor of First United Methodist Church-Omaha, where PFLAG holds its meetings, lost his credentials as a United Methodist Church minister after conducting same-sex Holy Union ceremonies.

Film showings two or three times a day will continue through Thursday, Jan. 3. We encourage Omaha PFLAG members to attend the 6:30 p.m. showing on Jan. 3. Come at 6 p.m. to socialize with members of the GLBT Professionals group before the film. Adult tickets are $8. The theater is at 1340 Webster St.

For more information and to buy advance tickets, hold down the control key and click on this link: http://filmstreams.org/filmstreams_calendar.aspx?ID=76

By the way, Omaha PFLAG appreciates the recent decision by GLBT Professionals to change its monthly meeting to eliminate a conflict with PFLAG’s meeting on the same night. The GLBT Professionals moved its regular meeting night from the second Thursday to the first Thursday of each month.

PRIDE PLAYERS BENEFIT: The 2008 Pride Players four-day performance run will return to its former mid-winter time from the fall productions of the last few years. Mark your calendar for this year’s benefit performance for Omaha PFLAG, Omaha GLSEN and Proud Horizons: 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 1, in the upstairs Hitchcock Theater at the Rose Blumkin Performing Arts Center, 20th and Farnam Sts.

We’re glad for the return to a mid-winter run. For many people, fall was too busy. High school football games conflicted with the Pride Players benefit.

For those who haven’t attended past benefits, the Pride Players are Omaha high school students who try out to win coveted places in the performance troupe. They will perform short skits and monologues that tell the experiences of GLBT and ally youths.

All the revenue from the Feb. 1 performance goes to our three organizations. You will receive a flier with a coupon for ordering tickets in early January. The flier will reach you either by email or regular mail.

JANUARY PROGRAM: Rick Richards, a counselor at Omaha’s Central High School, will speak at Omaha PFLAG’s Jan. 10 meeting. Rick has taught and counseled students for 18 years in the Omaha School District. This is his fifth year as faculty adviser of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Central. He will talk about trends involving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths during his years as an educator.

COMMENTS INVITED: For a number of months, Omaha PFLAG has been sending out many of its newsletters electronically. Some newsletters still go out via regular mail. If you receive your newsletter electronically and you have an opinion on how that is working out for you, please email me your comments.

BOARD MEMBER DELAYS TERM: Rob Race, who was elected to Omaha PFLAG’s board in September, has decided that he is too busy with work and school to serve this year as a board member. The board voted to delay the start of his two-year term until September, 2008, when he will have more time.

TWO BOOKS DONATED: These two books were donated to Omaha PFLAG’s library in our meeting place as a result of the recent AIDS Quilt Display at Metropolitan Community Church: (1) “The Quilt: Stories from the NAMES Project” by Cindy Ruskin, an oversized full-color book about many of the panels and (2) “A Promise to Remember: The NAMES Project Book of Letters,” containing letters which were sent in with quilt panels.

Bob Dorr, Omaha PFLAG president