DMV Fat-Friendly Community holiday party 2016

The DMV Fat-Friendly Community holiday party was today, and it was great, greatly thanks to our hostesses with the most. A smorgasbord of sweet and savory snacks (provided and potluck), clothing swap (complete with shoes, socks, accessories, jewelry…), “white narwhal” gift swap* (based on your favorite holiday movie), and more.

*Pictured is the gift we brought – a stationery set I made to look like sushi-to-go (more of my art at http://masadarts.blogspot.com/2014/12/mycroft-masada-masadarts-my-artwork.html).

This is the group my partner Julia founded a few years ago; it has over 100 members, and the more the merrier.

#DMV #fatfriendly #community #fatcommunity #DC #MD #VA #holidayparty #party #potluck #clothingswap #giftswap #whitenarwhal #fatacceptance #fatjustice #fatactivism

Montgomery County MD Police LGBTQ Community Meeting #3

Tonight Julia and I attended the Montgomery County Police Department's third LGBTQ Community Meeting.  The first was in June, and the second in September; the next and fourth is scheduled for Tuesday March 7th, and the contact person is Lieutenant Nick Augustine at Nicholas.Augustine@MontgomeryCountyMD.gov -- a gay officer who speaks at and MCs these meetings.

There were no members of the media at all this time, apparently, and again less people (than last time, which was much less than the previous, first time); but hopefully that will change, especially as we continue to create the MoCo Pride Center (we have finally started an LGBTQ center for our county).  And, it is December and all!

The agenda included:
- A holiday safety demonstration by the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service (which I especially appreciated as my paternal grandparents and great-aunt died in the fire at Boston's Cocoanut Grove nightclub during Thanksgiving week of 1942; too, my brother is a firefighter and EMT in Ohio)
- A presentation on the current substance-abuse epidemic -- focusing on heroin, and including a demonstration of how to use the latest overdose-antidote delivery devices
- A Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office presentation on the legal perspective of hate-crime prosecution

#LGBTQcommunity #LGBTQ #MontgomeryCountyMD #MoCoMD #MoCo #MontgomeryCounty #Gaithersburg #MD #Maryland #police‬ #countypolice

TransFaith Being Brave Together retreats -- #4 in Baltimore

TransFaith -- where I'm a founding member of the new National Council -- launched its Being Brave Together model early this year, and the centerpiece is our Being Brave Together retreats for trans* and allied spiritual/cultural workers in regions around the country.  We’ve done them in Miami once (February) and Philly twice (April and June), and I’ve co-facilitated all three.  
Our fourth and latest BBT retreat was today in Baltimore, at the GLCCB (GLBT Community Center), and it was good! Thanks, everyone!! I co-facilitated with Vann Millhouse, in partnership with the TF staff and a local planning committee; as usual, we had some other TF leadership with us as well.

But what IS Being Brave Together, you ask? What is in the binder, and the TF carrying case? And what are the river rocks and glass pebbles for? Well, maybe you should come to a BBT retreat and find out.

We are planning them in several places as we speak – including two in my home state of MA -- and want to plan more, so be in touch and stay tuned (transfaithonline.org/connect/being_brave_together/).

#TransFaith #BeingBraveTogether #retreat #trans* #transgender #faith #Baltimore #GLCCB #DMV