3 minutes reading time
(511 words)
HOLIDAY GREETINGS!
HOLIDAY GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT
Holiday Greetings {cbtag:firstname|info:receiver}!
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Yolanda Elliott
President
SDA Kinship Int., Inc.
Hi, I’m Yolanda, President of Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International.
I bring greetings from Silver Spring, Maryland, SDA Kinship’s Region 2.
What a year it’s been. As a community, often times the LGBT+ community is amongst the many minority groups that disproportionately experience the most loss.
Even so, as a community, we continue to be resilient. In June we marched on in our very first virtual pride parade which included members from across the globe and hosted our very first Lavender Graduation recognizing the accomplishments of our LGBT+ graduates. I cannot wait for the next!
Across the globe, we added to our communities in Brasil, Chile, France and continue to do incredible work in Colombia, all across the United States including Region 9 where we host weekly Sabbath School classes and monthly vespers in Region 2.
In other regions, thanks to Zoom, we’ve hosted multiple virtual events that have allowed us to build community with our members in ways never thought of before including documentary screenings, live chats with board members, Kinship Worship and more.
And then there was the highlight of the year, our annual European Kinship Meeting and Kampmeeting with member participation from across the globe.
To our volunteers who work tirelessly to make these community building events happen, thank you for everything you do.
You know, this year has been rough, and I would like to take some time to recognize the loss and grief experienced by all affected by this pandemic. The Kinship community stands with every one of you who have experienced loss. If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to us.
In the midst of a pandemic that has affected us all in so many different ways, we hold on to the one thing we have left- and that is hope. Hope for better days ahead, hope that we would see those who we’ve lost again, hope to be reunited in person with our friends and families and everyone else we hold dear.
And hope that one day, we will live up to the ideals for each LGBT+ family member: no matter where we live, no matter our rank in the church, no matter where we work and who our family is, we would feel safe, accepted and affirmed.
Above all else, may you experience hope this holiday season. God bless you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
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