"Thy Will Be Done" documentary showing this Monday

Director Alice Bouvrie's documentary "Thy Will Be Done" follows male-to-female transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the Presbyterian Church; a transsexual woman's journey through family and faith.

The image is a production still.

Our previous post about it:

http://interfaithcoalition.blogspot.com/2010/11/thy-will-be-done-documentary-about.html

Director Alice Bouvrie's film site:

http://www.mineralkingproductions.com/

The film's Facebook site:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/THY-WILL-BE-DONE/115827228256

The next local showing is this coming Monday, May 9th, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the Robbins Library in Arlington (700 Mass. Ave.). The filmmaker and cast will be present.

Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference ~ June 2nd - 4th!

The 10th annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference is Thursday June 2nd through Saturday June 4th! And it will have more faith / religion / spirituality content than ever before. Chris Paige of Trans Faith Online has provided this excellent text:

Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference

2011 marks the third year of TransFaith leadership being involved in planning spiritually-themed events in and around the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (PTHC).

• June 2-4, 2011 (Thursday to Saturday, plus pre- and post-events)
• Philadelphia, PA
• Registration is FREE
• PTHC is the largest transgender-specific conference in the world
• Yes! Family, friends, and allies are encouraged to join us!
• More at http://www.trans-health.org

TransFaith Caucuses (pre-event)

Gathering at Old First UCC on June 1, 2011 from 2pm-5pm, this pre-event will allow for transgender people of faith and our allies to gather and connect as we arrive in Philadelphia -- allowing for those relationships to deepen as the conference unfolds. Learn more!

Public Event Pre-Event

This free, public conference pre-event will begin at 7:30pm on Wednesday, June 1, 2011, at Old First UCC and is co-sponsored by the Transgender People of Color Coalition. This panel presentation on gender diversity among indigenous people offers an exciting opportunity to consider how spirituality and identity intersect in some less visible cultural contexts. Learn more!

Spirituality Workshops

Spirituality content at PTHC 2011 (Thursday, June 2 - Saturday, June 4, 2011 will include offerings for transgender people, as well as for allied clergy, mental health professionals, family, and friends.

• Spirituality workshops: http://workshops-2011.trans-health.org/public/list/21/
• Mental health professionals, clergy, and other counselors will also want to consider to review the full slate of mental health offerings
• Friends, family, and allies will also want to consider partner-oriented workshops, ally-oriented workshops, and family-oriented workshops
• Programming is also available for children and teens

Spiritual Opportunities

Workshops are great, but it's also healing and empowering to gather for spiritual or religious observances in an intentionally transgender-affirming space. Numerous opportunities will be available in 2011.

And so much more!

There are well over 200 activities planned. Please visit http://www.trans-health.org for full details, as well as travel details!

Why at PTHC 2011? There are few places in the world where people of faith can gather to learn about transgender communities in all of our diversity -- not simply to hear about diversity from one or a few presenters, but to walk among transgender people from a variety of races and life experiences. PTHC hosts gender non-conforming children with their familes, youth and young adults, as well as older trans men, trans women, and genderqueer community members. Presenters include national transgender leaders and grassroots organizers, as well as medical and mental health providers. By working within and around the largest, transgender-specific conference in the world, we are able to expose participants to leading experts from a variety of disciplines who can help conference participants to contextualize the role of faith and spirituality in the life of the transgender community.

General Summary
http://hub.transfaithonline.org/events/philadelphia_pa_in_june_2011/

2011 TransFaith Caucuses
http://hub.transfaithonline.org/events/philadelphia_pa_in_june_2011/2011_transfaith_caucuses/

Gender Diversity and Indigenous Peoples in Dialogue (public pre-event)
http://hub.transfaithonline.org/events/philadelphia_pa_in_june_2011/june_1_pre_event/

Join The Impact MA – 2nd annual [LGBTQ] Equal Rights Con – “Momentum” - this weekend

Join The Impact Massachusetts’ second annual [LGBTQ] Equal Rights Conference, “Momentum (Our History, Our Movement, Our Future)”, is this weekend, today through Sunday, here in Boston. I’ll be on the panel “Lives Of Faith, Lives Of Activism” – my colleague Rev. Cameron Partridge was invited but unavailable and very kindly recommended me.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:

Lives of Faith, Lives of Activism - a panel discussion

Many LGBTQ people continue to worship in faith communities and serve as religious leaders - in spite of negative experiences they may have had with churches or temples in the past - and to experience a faith-centered commitment to seeking justice and equality. What role can faith communities play in advancing LGBTQ rights as an issue of social justice? How do we as LGBTQ people of faith respond to the religious right's anti-gay misinformation and rhetoric? In this interactive and wide-ranging panel discussion, a diverse group of religious leaders, professors, and students will explore these questions and discuss ways in which religious faith shapes our lives and informs our work for equality. Confirmed panelists include minister, writer, and activist Rev. Irene Monroe; historian and professor Jennifer Wright Knust of Boston University Theological School; Delfin Bautista, program coordinator of Unitarian Universalist Association's LGBT Ministries; Nathaniel Katz, Epps Fellow for Undergraduate Ministry at The Memorial Church, Harvard University; and Mycroft Masada Holmes, Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality.

MY BIO:

Mycroft Masada Holmes is a transgender leader specializing in faith, religion and spirituality. Mycroft is Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) and Chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s (MTPC) Training Committee, as well as Emeritus Founding Chair of Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG) and a board member of Congregation Am Tikva. Mycroft was a member of an Episcopal church which closed, and has been “church shopping”. Mycroft is also committed to working for fat / size acceptance.

FRONT PAGE OF THE CON SITE (http://www.lgbtqmomentum.org/):

2nd ANNUAL EQUAL RIGHTS CONFERENCE

Old South Church at Copley Square

Boston, Massachusetts

April 29th - May 1st

Big thanks to TraniWreck for hosting our opening social event on Friday, April 29th! Join us for an all ages, all gender, all genre, cabaret variety show produced by Truth Serum Productions. Drag, Burlesque, Spoken Word and live music! With special appearances and greetings by Sue Hyde, Gunner Scott, and Robbie Samuels. Doors open at 7pm at Old South Church.

$8 or $10 (more if you have it) - pay at the door cash or check only.

Since 2008 the LGBTQ community has seen real legal and legislative gains, but at the same time many social programs serving the LGBTQ community are facing devastating budget cuts. Just in the last year at the federal level, some of the gains of our movement include: the congressional repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; the public declaration by the courts and Obama that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, and the granting of transgender non-discrimination protections for HUD funded housing. On a local level, we have taken huge steps forward by winning protections for transgender state employees and anti-bullying legislation, while working to maintain and extend marriage equality in the region. All of these gains are just a step in the right direction, but the fight for full equality and unconditional justice continues and many people in our movement are working on projects that cannnot be measured by legal and legislative gains. This conference will bring together LGBTQ people & allies from all around the Northeast to collaborate and strategize about how to continue our momentum.

SIGN-UP FOR CONFERENCE UPDATES:

To sign up for our email listserv: http://groups.google.com/group/lgbtconference

Follow us on Twitter @lgbtqmomentum or tweet about the conference using

#lgbtqmomentum

Let us know you are attending and share this event on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210263775652238

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Momentum-2nd-Annual-Equal-Rights-

Conference/185449621477374

CONNECTICUT Equality Day is TODAY!

Dear Mycroft, Equality Day 2011 is this Thursday, April 28! Equality Day is your opportunity to hear exciting guest speakers from the transgender community - like GLAD's Transgender Rights Project Director Jennifer Levi -- and to meet other advocates and citizen activistsworking to pass HB 6599, a bill that would prevent discrimination against transgender people in Connecticut. RSVP NOW for Equality Day on Thursday, April 28, in the Old Judiciary Room at the State Capitol in Hartford from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Our partner organization ctEQUALITY will hold a mini-training on how to discuss the bill with your legislators, because Equality Day is also an opportunity to talk with lawmakers about the importance of making our state a place where people are treated fairly and equally regardless of their gender identity or expression. Our opponents are ramping up their efforts to defeat HB 6599, so we must show legislators and the public that we are unified and committed to full equality for all Connecticut residents! Never spoken to your legislator before? No problem. ctEQUALITY will provide all the materials and resources you need and walk you through the process. They'll even book the appointment for you Be sure to share the RSVP link with your pro-equality friends and family! If you have any questions or concerns, or need assistance with any of the above, please e-mail Sally Tamarkin at stamarkin@cwealf.org or call (860) 247-6090 ext. 105. To learn more, check out ctEQUALITY's website at www.ctequality.com. Thank you, Gary Buseck Acting Executive Director CONNECT WITH GLAD

Interfaith transgender panel - Harvard University Hillel - THIS WEDNESDAY!

There's going to be an interfaith transgender panel at Harvard University's Hillel this Wednesday (April 27th)! I will be one of the panelists, along with my colleagues Rev. Cameron Partridge, Laurie Wolfe, and Jamez Terry. All are welcome!!! (You don't need to be a Harvard affiliate.) Please join us!

Mycroft Masada Holmes is a transgender leader specializing in faith, religion and spirituality. Mycroft is Chair of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (ICTE) and Chair of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition’s (MTPC) Training Committee, as well as Emeritus Founding Chair of Keshet’s Transgender Working Group (TWiG) and a board member of Congregation Am Tikva. Mycroft was a member of an Episcopal church which closed, and has been “church shopping”. Mycroft is also committed to working for fat / size acceptance.

Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge is the Interim Episcopal Chaplain and a Lecturer who has taught courses in WGS and at the Divinity School. Cameron is a transgender man who transitioned at Harvard as a doctoral student in 2002 and was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in 2005. He has for several years contributed to ongoing conversations on LGBT issues in The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. As a founding member of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality, he is also working to bring transgender and trans-supportive people of faith into public conversations, particularly on pending local and national transgender nondiscrimination legislation.

Laurie Wolfe is an activist, educator and speaker on gender and trans issues. She volunteers with Keshet, a Boston-based organization that works for full inclusion of LGBTQ people in Jewish life, and co-chairs their Greater Boston Steering Committee and Trans Working Group (TWiG). She also volunteers with MTPC, the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, and SpeakOut Boston, the lgbt speakers bureau. Laurie worked most recently as a fundraiser for non-profit organizations. Her spiritual path has led her from Hatha and Bhakti Yoga to Hindu practices and Shamanic teachings. She is in the process of learning more about what being Jewish is about thanks to her Keshet family. Her current spiritual practice combines prayer, meditation, writing and chanting.

Jamez Terry is an MDiv candidate in the Unitarian Universalist tradition at Harvard Divinity School. He is also the founder and organizer of the Tranny Roadshow and has spent the past 6 years bringing trans performance art to communities throughout North America. He is very interested in the intersections of gender identity and religious identity and in bringing trans communities into conversation with communities of faith. He works at the First Parish in Milton and lives in Somerville with his wife and son.

*******

How did you realize you're transgender?

What does transphobia look like?

Trans people can be in the clergy?

How does your religion affect your identity?

What does it feel like to grow up trans?

What does "transgender" really mean, anyway?

Transforming Faith: Experiencing Religion and Gender Identity

Wondering about gender identity and faith? Come hear transgender speakers of various religions discuss these questions and others. Speakers will talk about their personal experiences being trans people of faith and reflect upon the influences their religions and gender identities have had on their lives. There will be time for an open Q&A, so bring any questions you have!

When: Wednesday, April 27th, 6-7 pm
Where: Smith Hall, Harvard Hillel
52 Mt. Auburn St.

RSVP on facebook

Co-sponsored by the Progressive Jewish Alliance, BAGELS, Interfaith Council, Harvard College QSA, Trans Task Force, Harvard Secular Society, Harvard Buddhist Community, and other campus religious groups TBA.

"Transgender Health and Human Rights" event at Harvard School of Public Health TOMORROW

Facebook event:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122679107810171

The members of the Queer Student Alliance and Women, Gender and Health from Harvard School of Public Health (with the support of The Office of Diversity, HMS Kinsey 2-6ers, and Center for Population Research in LGBT Health at The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health) would like to invite you to the major event in our Spring Speaker Series for 2011!

What: Transgender Health and Human Rights: An evening of thought

provoking speakers, panel discussion, and food

When: Wednesday, April 20th

Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm - (a hot dinner will be served from 5:15pm)

Where: Kresge Building (G3) - Harvard School of Public Health, 677

Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA (map attached)

After: Social event to be arranged in the Longwood area following the event

Our speakers:

• Pauline Park, PhD – New York based transgender rights activist

• Kerith Conron, ScD, MPH – health disparities researcher from

the Institute on Urban Health Research, Northeastern University

A dynamic panel features:

• Norman Spack, MD from the Gender Management Service from

Boston Children’s Hospital

• Ruben Hopwood, MDiv, PhD candidate, Coordinator of the

Transgender Health Program at Fenway Health

• Gunner Scott, Executive Director, Massachusetts Transgender

Political Coalition (MTPC)

Popular & American Culture Associations conference begins today

My partner Julia McCrossin and her colleague Lesleigh Owen co-chair the Fat Studies area of the Popular & American Culture Associations, and have done so for the last few years. They're attending the annual national PCA / ACA conference, which begins today and continues through Saturday; this year it's in San Antonio, Texas. Nesia tova (bon voyage), mazel tov and thank you, Julia and Lesleigh! May you have a wonderful week.

Fat Studies area CFP (call for papers):

http://masadarts.blogspot.com/2010/10/popular-american-culture-associations.html

Conference website:

http://www.pcaaca.org/conference/national.php

Fat Studies presentations:

9127 Fat Identities and Embodiment: RC-Salon K, 3 PM, 4/20/2011

9128 Fatness in Politics and the Academy: RC-Salon K, 4:45 PM, 4/20/2011

9129 Representations of Fat in Popular Culture: RC-Salon K, 11:30 AM, 4/21/2011

9130 “Fat” Gets Defined and Reworked in the Public Sphere: RC-Salon K, 8 AM,

4/22/2011

9131 Bodies Writ Large: Size Politics in Media: RC-Salon K, 1:15 PM, 4/20/2011

9132 Marking Bodies: Fatness and Race/Ethnicity: RC-Salon K, 8 AM, 4/21/2011

9133 Roundtable: How Do We Start Talking and Teaching about Fat Studies in the Academic World?: Sharing Anti-Fat Ignorance and Bigotry Strategies in the

Classroom: RC-Salon K, 8:15 PM, 4/21/2011

9134 Documentary: The Fat Body (In)visible: RC-Salon G, 8:15 PM, 4/20/2011

9135 One Size Does NOT Fit All: Size Acceptance using an Expressive Arts

Therapeutic Approach: RC-Salon K, 9:45 AM, 4/21/2011

9127 -- Fat Identities and Embodiment

Session Chair: Lesleigh Owen, Chaffey College

Fat Orientations: Size, Space, and Sexuality

Jackie Wykes, University of Melbourne

Fat Beauty and the Studio Nude

Leah Sweet

Fighting Fat: Phat Politics and Feminist Identity

Portia Barker, University of Maryland, College Park

Living the Fat Body: Embodiment through Poetry

Lesleigh Owen, Chaffey College

9128 -- Fatness in Politics and the Academy

Session Chair: Hannele Harjunen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Fatness and the Construction of Neoliberal Bodies

Hannele Harjunen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Health at Every Size and the Body Image / Eating Relationship: Policy

Implications

Laura Jennings, University of South Carolina Upstate

Using Storytelling Pedagogies to Combat Weight Bias in Adult Learners

Heather Brown, Northern Illinois University/Lake Forest College

9129 -- Representations of Fat in Popular Culture

Session Chair: Julia McCrossin, George Washington University

‘Bitchcraft’ – The Art of Manipulating Public Opinion through Numerous

Complaints against Marginalized Groups and How it is Now Being Used to Blame

the Fatties

Mary Stein, University of Akron

Never Trust a Skinny Chef: The Proof is in the Fat Body

Benjamin Morton, University of Iowa

Representations of Bodily and Sexual Excess in Huge and Mike & Molly

Kaitlin Clinnin, Virginia Tech

Starvation is Jewish History, Fat is a Jewish Issue

Susan Koppelman, Independent scholar

9130 -- Fat Gets Defined and Reworked in the Public Sphere

Session Chair: Jay Solomon, More of Me to Love

Challenging Sizeism-Based Marginalization: Reactive and Proactive Resistance

Strategies and How to Build a Bridge between Them

Anna Puhakka, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

Obesing: The Creation of an Unhealthy Behavior

Jay Solomon, More of Me to Love

The FATSO Model: A Conceptualization of Weight Bias and Fat Acceptance

Peter Jaberg, Forest Institute

Jenny Copeland, Forest Institute

Toward an Articulation of Fat Culture in America

Margitte Kristjansson, University of California at San Diego

9131 -- Bodies Writ Large: Size Politics in Media

Session Chair: Lesleigh Owen, Chaffey College

Beyond Blubber and Fat Camps: Fat Characters as Heroes, Heroines, Romantic

Leads, and Winners in Contemporary Young Adult Fiction

Angie Manfredi, Head of Youth Services, Los Alamos County Library System

Reshaping the (M)other: Feederism in Fiction

Jocelyn Eighan

Big Fat Zero: Performing Absence Online

Kristina Gordon, University of Iowa

The Out of Body Experience of Thinness: Size-ism in Drop Dead Diva

Elka Stevens, Howard University

9132 -- Marking Bodies: Fatness and Race/Ethnicity

Session Chair: Susan Koppelman, Independent scholar

Kelligrl, the Myth, the Legend

Julia McCrossin, George Washington University

Are You Calling Me Fat?: Fatness Through a Disability Studies Lens

Ashley Fullbrook, University of Toronto

Critical Fat Studies and Black Studies at the Crossroads: Race, Respectability, and the (Intra)Politics of "Obesity”

Amanda Gilliam, Columbia University

Latino Masculinities and Fatness

Miguel Juarez, University of Texas at El Paso

9133 -- How Do We Start Talking and Teaching about Fat Studies in the Academic World?: Sharing Anti-Fat Ignorance and Bigotry Strategies in the Classroom

Session Chair: Susan Koppelman, Independent scholar

Miguel Juarez, University of Texas at El Paso

Susan Koppelman, Independent scholar

Heather Brown, Northern Illinois University/Lake Forest College

Virginia Bemis, Ashland University

Jacqueline Johnson, George Washington University

9134 -- Documentary: The Fat Body (In)visible

Session Chair: Margitte Kristjansson, University of California at San Diego

The Fat Body (In)visible

Margitte Kristjansson, University of California at San Diego

9135 -- One Size Does NOT Fit All: Size Acceptance using an Expressive Arts Therapeutic Approach

Session Chair: Deah Schwartz, Co-Founder, Education Through Therapeutic Arts (ETTA)

BAGLY's 31st Anniversary Celebration is TONIGHT

BAGLY's 31st Anniversary Celebration is TONIGHT, and I wish I was there instead of home sick again (it's just a cold, though). I usually attend this event, and donate my artwork to its silent auction. I was a youth member and leader from 1993 to 1999 (ages 17 to 23), and have been a board member and a staff member (Office Manager). The Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (BAGLY) is a youth-led, adult-supported social support organization committed to social justice, and creating, sustaining and advocating for programs, policies and services for the GLBT youth community. BAGLY also provides weekly and monthly social activities and special events for youth ages 22 and under. These activities provide an opportunity for young people to socialize, have fun and develop a sense of personal and community identity. Now celebrating its 31st anniversary year, BAGLY is the oldest and largest organization specifically for LGBT youth in Massachusetts, and has served over 30,000 youth since its founding. Event sites (BAGLY's website, bagly.org, is being renovated): http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105641726183200 https://sites.google.com/a/bagly.org/31st/home/reserve-tickets-now Last email invite: BAGLY's 31st Anniversary Celebration! BAGLY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law. RECEIVE NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM BAGLY Join Our Mailing List! CONNECT WITH BAGLY Just 8 days left until BAGLY's 31st Anniversary Celebration and Auction! In just 8 short days, BAGLY will be throwing it's 31st Anniversary Celebration! Please join us as we celebrate over three decades of queer youth movement at one of Boston's most anticipated cocktail party fundraisers. Enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres and an open wine/beer bar as you browse our silent auction, honor the amazing work of Beth Leventhal and The Network/La Red with our Distinguished Leadership Award and simply have fun at one of Boston's premier party venues, the Artists for Humanity Epicenter. This event is about celebrating BAGLY's amazing work, the youth that we support and generally having fun in a wonderful celebratory setting. Reserve or buy tickets today. You simply can't miss Boston's BEST party of the spring! WHEN: Thursday, April 14th, 2011, 6-8 pm. WHERE: Artists For Humanity Epicenter 100 West Second Street, South Boston, MA. TICKETS: $100 per person. Call (617) 227-4313 to reserve or reserve and buy tickets online here. If you are unable to attend but still want to support BAGLY, or want to help support BAGLY alum attend the event, pleaseclick here. Please note this event is 21+ Click here to check out the Facebook Event Page and see which of your friends are attending. --------------------- This year we are honoring Beth Leventhal, Exectutive Director and The Network/La Red with our Michael Pumphret Distinguished Leadership Award. Read more about their wonderful work below. The Network/La Red The Network/La Red was founded in 1990, and is a survivor-led, social justice organization that works to end partner abuse in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, BDSM, polyamorous, and queer communities. Rooted in anti-oppression principles, our work aims to create a world where all people are free from oppression. We strengthen our communities through organizing, education, and the provision of support services including hotline, safe home, support group, and advocacy. The Network La Red understands oppression to be an imbalance of power intrinsically linked to the privileges bestowed on some at the expense of others, based on but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender expression and identity, class, ability, sexuality, religion, citizenship status, age, language capacity and history of incarceration and court involvement. Partner abuse exists to achieve and maintain control, and reflects and perpetuates the larger violent culture, which condones and rewards interpersonal, institutional and imperialist abuse of power in order to control and/or exploit groups of people. The Network/La Red links domestic violence to all other forms of violence, oppression and abuse, because the values and tactics behind each are identical. The Network/La Red defines anti-oppression as the beliefs, actions, and policies that aim to eliminate the imbalance of power within our society. Please take a moment to forward this information to friends, family and colleagues who may support BAGLY's programming for GLBT youth. Thank you! ABOUT BAGLY Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth (BAGLY) is a youth-led, adult-supported social support organization committed to social justice, and creating, sustaining and advocating for programs, policies and services for the GLBT youth community. BAGLY also provides weekly and monthly social activities and special events for youth ages 22 and under. These activities provide an opportunity for young people to socialize, have fun and develop a sense of personal and community identity. Now celebrating its 31st anniversary year, BAGLY is the oldest and largest organization specifically for LGBT youth in Massachusetts, and has served over 30,000 youth since its founding. QUEER. YOUTH. MOVEMENT