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November 2020 eNews
November 2020 eNews
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
October has quickly slipped away and November is upon us. Here, in America, one of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. I enjoy it because it’s one holiday when we count our blessings. Of course, as I think about it, it feels sacrilegious to celebrate Thanksgiving. I’ve come to think of Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day. And it’s hard to think of Thanksgiving without realizing I was taught that it celebrates people who survived in a new land only to take that land away from the people who were here first, Native Americans. I don’t have the power to correct anything in our past. But what I do have the power to do is to live in a way that supports good in the world today. I believe my faith calls me to do that.
One way that I try to support good in the world is to be mindful of what is happening in society around me. What is happening to my fellow human beings that I have the power to make better or not? Right now, in the United States of America, our Election Day has occurred. We voted for a president, vice president, and local leaders, sheriffs, and judges all over the country.
I did not tell those of you who live in the States whom to vote for. That was a personal decision we all had to make. Regardless of whom you supported, I hope you just VOTED! I do hope that each of us looked at the candidates and made our choices based on which candidate might make a better leader for all of us and for our relationships around the world.
I looked for someone who respects others and looks for the best way to support each of us. I hoped for someone who wants to improve the systemic racism that is rampant here and doesn’t deny that it exists. I could keep going with my own hopes for my country, but instead, I want to share a short video that Alix CaDavid shared in our SDA Kinship Spiritual WhatsApp group recently. It’s called “A Prayer for Our Country”. Though the sentiments are North America specific, I think the ideals are universal.
May all of our members, wherever we are in the world, have a blessed, safe, and healthy November; and remember that SDA Kinship is more blessed because you are part of this amazing family.
Yolanda Elliott
President
SDA Kinship Int., Inc.
KINSHIP BRAZIL - Black November
In Brazil, on November 20th, we celebrate National Black Awareness Day. The observance of this date is in recognition of African descendants in the constitution and construction of Brazilian society. Thinking about this, the Coordinators of the Northeast Region, Dado Dellono and Norton Cardoso, proposed that Kinship Brazil observe the for the entire month as Black November.
During the month, we will feature the lives of invited people on Instagram and on virtual meetings with our community on Zoom. We will discuss racism, discrimination, social equality, the inclusion of black people in Brazilian society, Afro-Brazilian religion and culture, black people in Kinship Brazil, and the Adventist Church, among other issues.
Itamar Matos
Region Coordinator for Kinship Brasil
KINSHIP WORSHIP
Join us on November 6 for Kinship Worship - an inspirational program for us, by us. We have an amazing program for you and your friends. Yes, please share this with your friends! In this program, we will enjoy music from Peter Lu who will be singing a song in Mandarin, and Priscilla Reis from Kinship Brazil. Our inspirational message will be from Daniel and Jokatama Laredo from Australia.
Kinship Worship will stream live on our Facebook and Youtube pages on Friday, November 6 at 8 pm ET and will be available on-demand afterward. Watch the last Kinship Worship program here.
WEEK OF PRAYER
We just wrapped up a week of inspirational messages during our first Week of Prayer. The videos are available on-demand to view and share them on our Youtube channel and also on our Facebook page with closed captioning, and here on Youtube.
THE UNCLOBBER PROJECT
The board recently voted to fund a large outreach program 
targeting pastors, teachers, and church leaders. The aim of this program is to engage and change hearts and minds within the church by providing many of these pastors, teachers, and church leaders with a copy of the book "UnClobber".
UnClobber tells of the personal journey of an evangelical pastor to become affirming and has his research on each of the 6 “clobber” texts in the Bible. Learn more about the project at www.sdakinship.org/unclobber
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE PROJECT
- Send us the names of people in your community who you think would receive value from us sending them this book. You can also ask to receive a book for yourself.
- Donate to help Kinship cover some of the costs. It costs $10 to print and send each book.
- Volunteer to lead a discussion group or join the support team.
- Pray that people will allow the Holy Spirit to open their hearts and minds and that it will result in more loving actions within the local churches, schools, and communities toward the LGBT community.
NEW MEN’S COORDINATOR
We are pleased to announce the NEW Men’s Coordinator for SDA Kinship…Josh Tuburan!
Josh Tuburan is a 3rd generation Seventh-Day Adventist. He holds a music degree from La Sierra University and is currently pursuing a counseling credential at UMass Boston. Josh is passionate about Christianity, Atlas Obscura, semi-vegetarianism, electronic dance music, and the SDA Kinship/LSUC Kinship community.
Josh Tuburan
Men’s Coordinator
FAMILY AND FRIENDS MESSAGE
“COMING OUT” - FAMILY PROCESS
Many LGBTQ+ folks have celebrated their successful “coming out” to friends and their families. It’s probably a process and event they had thought about and worked on for many months and years. Hopefully, they had created a network of friends and other LGBTQ+ folks that helped them - even coached them - on the scary but desired event. Their understanding and supporting friends were valuable allies for that major and probably emotional time.
Yes, it was a “successful event” for the LGBTQ+ member. They wanted to do it, they needed to do it, and they had their personal courage and friends’ and allies’ support to fall back on to if it didn’t work out as desired.
“COMING OUT” is a major, emotional, and very stressful process for the LGBTQ+ person.
For some families, it is a “welcomed event” because they are already aware of, or at least considering. their family member’s situation. That’s the result all LGBTQ+ folks desire and hope for.
But for many other families, it is a completely unexpected surprise. It suddenly clashes with their beliefs and emotional feelings. Let’s consider the journey from a mom and dad’s viewpoint, but all family members— brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins—can and probably will experience similar emotional journeys. Read more...
Please feel free and comfortable to connect with John and Carolyn. You can see our video invitation on the Kinship website. Also, all details for the Roundtable and other information are available on the website, sdakinship.org.
Blessings and virtual hugs,
John & Carolyn Wilt
EUROPEAN KINSHIP MEETING
EKM2021 will be in a small conference center called Eigentijdserf in the midsouth of the Netherlands, near the city of Eindhoven. Eindhoven has an airport for low budget flights.
European Kinship Meeting
Theme: Queering the Bible
Date: 2-6 September 2021
Place: ‘Eigentijdserf’ near Eindhoven
Reg.fee: €350 double room – €400 single room
Registration will start in January
Ruud Kieboom
European Coordinator
NEW! CHAPTER 21 OF JOURNEY
About Journey by Jerry McKay
Most of what characterizes my life today—work, family, and faith—looks little like what I thought it would when I graduated from college in 1980.
Naturally, people want to know when and how I first became aware of my orientation. Others are interested in my spiritual experience and how my faith and my orientation intersect and perhaps collide. Many questions revolve around my reparative therapy journey and how that impacted my belief in God and my relationship to the church.
I am often asked about the pivotal moment I decided to stop trying to change my orientation and the events that led up to that moment. Related to that decision is the question of short- and long-term consequences. I’ve been asked about where I see God in the whole journey—before counseling, during counseling, and since accepting my orientation.
And, finally, others want to know about my relationship, how it has evolved over the years, and the impact it has had on my life.
This is my story.
New chapter:
Chapter 21 - Christian Maturity Manual
Previous chapters:
Chapters 1-20
CONNECTING VIA WHATSAPP
SDA Kinship continues to work to connect our members in communities where they feel most comfortable.
In this time of quarantine and staying home, WhatsApp groups are a good way to stay connected.
If you have any questions, please send a WhatsApp message to Floyd at +1 214 718 8177, telling me who you are and what groups you are interested in connecting with.
Here are just a few of the WhatsApp groups that I can recommend:
Kinship Main International Group
Kinship Spiritual
Kinship en Espanol
Kinship Brasil (these are in Português, one for men and one for women)
Kinship France (this is a new group for members who communicate in Français)
Kinship Russia (this is also a new group connecting members who communicate in Russian) Если вы говорите по-русски и хотели бы стать частью нашей русскоязычной группы SDA Kinship, напишите мне в WhatsApp.
Jeśli mówisz po polsku i chciałbyś być częścią naszej polskojęzycznej grupy związanej z SDA Kinship, wyślij mi wiadomość na WhatsApp.
There are also numerous demographic groups for chapters, regions, and countries.
Send Me a message on WhatsApp to get connected.
Floyd Poenitz
Vice President, SDA Kinship
DON’T FORGET TO USE AMAZON SMILE
AmazonSmile is now available as an app. A great way to support SDA Kinship at no cost to you and you can do all your shopping online from the app. You can find it in the App Store for IOS or Google Play for Android.
When making purchases on Amazon.com, remember, if you use smile.amazon.com, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the eligible purchase price to the non-profit that you select! As we provide support and representation within the LGBTIQ community, every penny counts!
When first visiting AmazonSmile, customers are prompted to select a charitable organization from almost one million eligible organizations. To browse or shop at AmazonSmile, customers must first select a charitable organization. Please select Seventh-Day Adventist Kinship International Inc.
REGION AND CHAPTER EVENTS
Many local in-person events have been postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Join any of the online video chats or events as we find new ways to stay connected. Check our main Facebook group for Kinship members and/or region/chapter groups for announcements and links to the Zoom events.
KINSHIP AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
Sabbath School without Walls
Lead by Kinship member Ross Cole
2:00 pm Australian EST
A supportive group for the study of the weekly Seventh-day Adventist Bible Study Guide with an open and searching mind.
Join the private Facebook group for more information.
KINSHIP BRASIL
Sábado às 10h00
Hor. Brasília
Ocorrerá
KINSHIP COLOMBIA
Devocionales del Sábado
10:00 Hora Colômbia / Peru
KINSHIP GERMANY
Eine Einladung der HANSA und Niedersachsen/Bremen Vereinigung zu einemWochenende mit Menschen aus der LSBTIQ+ Community
An invitation from the HANSA and Lower Saxony / Bremen Association to a weekend with people from the LGBTIQ + community
- Monthly Zoom Meetings
Will continue until the end of the year
Every 2nd Monday at 7 pm CET
Sind jetzt bis Ende des Jahres geplant: Jeden 2. Montag im Monat um 19 Uhr
( 9. Nov., 14. Dez. )
For Zoom Link please contact Tanja - 7. November 2020
Reading with Timo Platte
Nicht mehr schweigen (No longer silent)
CANCELED / POSTPONED to next year
ABGESAGT / VERSCHOBEN auf nächstes Jahr - 13.- 15. November 2020
German Kinship weekend near Bremen
If you have any questions, please contact me, I will forward them to the planning team. Or directly to Karsten.
deutsches Kinship Wochenende in der Nähe von Bremen.
Bei Fragen gern an mich, ich gebe sie an das Planungsteam weiter. Oder direkt an Karsten. - February 6, 2021: Host wanted - Gastgeber gesucht
- May 1, 2021: at David Diez - bei David Diez
Tanja Koppers
Koordinator für Kinship Deutschland
REGION 2 - MARYLAND/DC AREA CHAPTER
Region 2 continues to meet virtually via Zoom for First Sabbath lunch.
On the first Sabbath of every month, we meet at noon after attending New Hope via live stream. It's a great way to stay connected to each other.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates in our next eNews edition!
REGION 9 - INLAND EMPIRE CHAPTER
Kinship Sabbath School is a group of LGBT+ and allies who meet on Sabbath at La Sierra University Church in Riverside, California. It's a safe and affirming space, and we welcome all people!
Although the church is closed, join us online from 10-11 am PDT! For details, check the Facebook page or email
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