F L O Y D P O E N I T Z
president
What do you do as President?
I represent SDA Kinship in dealing with other corporations and businesses, including the signing of contracts. I also sit in an ex officio capacity, without a vote, on all committees except the Nominating Committee. I coordinate and chair membership meetings, Board meetings, and Executive Committee meetings. I maintain communication with the Board between meetings. I report regularly to the membership. I submit to the Board an annual work plan identifying the specific activities and collaborative ventures to be carried out during the forthcoming fiscal year.
What do you hope to accomplish as President?
Kinship has been around for 40+ years. We have established that we exist inside the church, that we belong as an equal with other members; and we have proven from the Bible that we are not broken or a mistake. I would like to see us move forward as an organization and take the next step in being relevant to all of our diverse membership.
Meet Ellen
Hi! I’m Ellen Henderson, a 30-something who loves to read. My favorite genre is queer YA (young adult fiction), but I dabble in other genres as well. I’m excited to keep sharing book recommendations with you. Even if reading isn’t for you, tell your friends about these great books.
UnClobber tells of the personal journey of Pastor Colby Martin as he researches the Bible’s six “clobber texts”—the only places in Scripture that might plausibly address sexual orientation—and comes to a new understanding of how the church can relate to members of the LGBTQIA+ community from a biblical and compassionate framework. Pastor Colby isn't the first to learn this, but his story and biblical interpretation communicates the message in a deep, balanced, and accessible way.
In 2021, SDA Kinship sent over 1,000 paperback and ebook copies of UnClobber to people around the world. We have collaborated with the publishers to ship UnClobber in paperback, not just to the United States, but also to Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The ebooks are provided through Amazon Kindle, and we can only send them to the U.S.-based accounts. We are not able to send books to other locations in South America, Africa, or Asia at this time, but we are looking for other resources that we may be able to share.
Kinship Families & Friends Zoom Roundtable
The SDA Kinship Families & Friends group desires to support all families working their way through emotional and, possibly, confusing times. We (Carolyn and John) conducted two Sabbath school evaluations. In one class, 42% shared that they had an LGBTQ+ family member, and in the other class, it was 45%. We also estimate that 5-10% don’t know if they have an LGBTQ+ family member, while an additional 5-10% don’t care to admit it.
by Ellen Henderson
This year’s European Kinship Meeting (EKM) was held about an hour and a half outside of Amsterdam in the Netherlands from September 2 to 6, 2021. EKM was made possible by the leadership and coordination of Ruud Kieboom and the financial support of an anonymous donor.
This New Year’s, I'm thankful for a Kinship Connection magazine showing up in my email inbox. It’s a wonderful escape from the world outside. It offers a time to reflect on our chosen family and the many blessings of Kinship friends around the world.
When I first joined SDA Kinship and before I became an active member, the Connection was my monthly lifeline to others who were like me. Most of them had grown up Adventist too, and they understood what it meant to be "different." That was many years ago now, but connecting with others who understand me is still a priority.
Happy New Year! As this eNews goes out, we are welcoming 2022... a new year and a new slate of possibilities. We have survived a crazy year with unexpected twists and turns. It is a comfort to know we are not alone as we face what is ahead. As a community and individually, we have faced and overcome many challenges. We are survivors. Together, we, LGBTQIA+, families, and supportive allies are strong and have a voice that can be heard around the world. Together, we can make a difference for our community and for those who will come after us.
Happy New Year! As this eNews goes out, we are welcoming 2022... a new year and a new slate of possibilities. We have survived a crazy year with unexpected twists and turns. It is a comfort to know we are not alone as we face what is ahead. As a community and individually, we have faced and overcome many challenges. We are survivors. Together, we, LGBTQIA+, families, and supportive allies are strong and have a voice that can be heard around the world. Together, we can make a difference for our community and for those who will come after us.
IT’S CHRISTmust SEASON
Every 365 days we’ve learned to celebrate a truly unknown event—the actual day and location of Christ’s birth. For hundreds of years, biblical and theological archeologists have searched and searched for precise, accurate evidence of when and where our beloved Christ was born. We wish them all well on their valuable searches and look forward to their successful discoveries,…
Of all the words that might be used to describe the year 2021, "survival" is likely among the top 10.
NEW! KINSHIP LOCAL WISDOM SERIES
Do you sometimes feel like a linguistic Neanderthal? Are you confused by the terms post-sexual, non-binary, two-spirit, demisexual, and cisgender? Are you old enough that you once thought gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual were four words that covered all the continuum? Would you like to talk about it in a safe place where we will not think we are stupid, be angry with ourselves while we learn, and yet want to know more about the people who form our community? This chat is for you.
Date: December 12, 2021
Time: 7 PM EST (USA)
- 6 PM CT (USA)
- 4 PM PST (USA)
One of the most visited memorials in Washington, D.C., has nothing to do with a president or other public figure. The Vietnam War Memorial honors the more than 59,000 men and women who lost their lives in that conflict between the years 1955 and 1975.
Do you sometimes feel like a linguistic Neanderthal? Are you confused by the terms post-sexual, non-binary, two-spirit, demisexual, and cisgender? Are you old enough that you once thought gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual were four words that covered all the continuum? Would you like to talk about it in a safe place where we will not think we are stupid, be angry with ourselves while we learn, and yet want to know more about the people who form our community? This chat is for you.
Date: December 12, 2021
Time: 7 PM EST (USA)
- 6 PM CT (USA)
- 4 PM PST (USA)
Our time will include lists of gender/relational terms (including but not limited to demisexual, intersex, pansexual, non-binary, cisgender, transsexual, transgender, post-sexual, polyamorous, bisexual, and all its permutations). We will touch on the nature and need for accurate pronouns. We will also address ways we can be gentle with ourselves if we are not up-to-date.
Happy Kinship Awareness Month!
A couple of years ago, we voted to make the month of October a time to raise awareness of Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International. Since October 11 is National Coming Out Day, we decided to take the entire month to celebrate and affirm who we are. Some of us can do this publicly and others can certainly celebrate in the safe space that Kinship provides for our community.
The story is told of a king who held a race in which all the young men in his kingdom were invited to participate. A bag of gold was promised to the winner.
On the day of the race, the young men assembled and started running at the sound of the fanfare. At a certain point in the course the runners found a large pile of stones, around which, one by one, they managed to scramble over or around. Gradually, the runners crossed the finish line. After almost everyone had finished the king refused to declare a winner.
I am happy to announce that we have appointed a new interim Vice President to fill my previous role before being elected as President. After deep consideration, the Kinship Board is excited that Catherine Taylor has agreed to serve out the current term of Vice President. Catherine is certainly no stranger to SDA Kinship and has been connected with the organization since 1981 and has served in numerous capacities through the years. She has a passion for people and their stories. Among many other contributions, she was the Connection editor for more than 12 years and led the Building Safe Places project for several years. I believe that Catherine will be a very positive addition to the Kinship Leadership Team. Please stay tuned for additional projects and important changes we will be making to the organization to make it even more appealing and relevant to those who need its message today. We will feature Catherine and other Board members in upcoming media.
—Floyd Poenitz, President