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
Focusing and Refocusing, Adjusting and Readjusting
Focusing is a complex process. How many times a day do you stop and focus on something? Maybe you need to see a special store sign or read an email message. Maybe the room is noisy, and you need to focus your ears to hear an important announcement. Or how about focusing your emotional support on an activity or a dear friend? Our human brains and emotions are constantly being challenged and refocused to experience our daily lives, and our reactions and behaviors also need to readjust to new situations.
HAPPY MAY TO ALL KINSHIP FAMILIES & FRIENDS
Wow, it’s springtime already! Our wildflowers are springing up in the foothills, green grass is bursting out for our deer to enjoy, and the male turkeys are busy attracting some girlfriends.
LOOKING BACK INTO 2020
Carolyn and I hope this finds you enjoying the Christmas and New Year’s holidays despite the virus. We pray you could connect in person or through digital media with your special family members. We also hope you all created some positive and beneficial memories as you traveled the unpredictable paths of 2020.
Reinder Bruinsma has been a Seventh-day Adventist conference president for the Netherlands and for Belgium, General Conference administrator, pastor, and author - among several other things. In what he loosely calls his "retirement" he continues to write, speak to Adventist leadership and laity conferences and, attend other meetings around the world.
On the weekend of April 20, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s North American Division (NAD) hosted a workshop that included a select group of church leaders and lay members. The purpose of the workshop was to “participate and preview a new resource (booklet) titled Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones: Adventist Edition.”
When my oldest child informed me that she was transgender, I cried. I was confused. I didn’t even know where to turn to talk to anyone, because I knew my church wasn’t prepared to touch the issue. So I started praying and reading.
It’s been a couple of years now. My daughter Amy is happier than she ever was during her years of living as a boy. Her teenage siblings accepted her without question; their oldest sibling was simply "regenerating" like in Dr. Who—the same person inside with a different outside.
Post Season
Here we are in the baseball post season again. It is amazing to watch teams make their final out...the out that sends them home. There's the cheering and high-fiving from the winning team. Then there's the downcast faces of the losing team. No matter what, one team moves on and one team goes home.
Why I am an LGBT+ Ally
Though, like most Adventists, I was raised without an accepting view of LGBT+ people, I have always felt uncomfortable with that theology.
by Debbie Widmer, Family and Friends Coordinator
It’s been a busy couple of weeks and it’s not over yet. First was preschool graduation, with those adorable children in miniature caps and gowns waving their hands, unashamedly, at their parents. Next came eighth-grade graduation a week later. These young people tried out their adult looks—awkwardly child-like one moment and boldly confident the next. Today was an academy graduation. These graduates are on the brink of adulthood, making adult decisions about their futures.
From: Kris and Debbie Widmer.
Recently and ongoingly (Kris is a poet and wordsmith so occasionally he forges odd words), transgender people have been in the news. The world and national news and the internal news that Adventists hear through their social media and other communication channels.