Marietta PFLAG

Our meeting next Sunday, June 22 from 1-3 will be to assemble baskets and other fund raising items to auction at Atlanta Pride. See Mike's email below for specifics. We will also be distributing our new business cards at Pride also to spread the word about our chapter.

Contact Mike and Keith directly at birdzilla7@webtv.net if you have other fundraising ideas or have questions. One idea I have is to offer a service that you can provide for free to the auction winner, like painting a room, pet sitting, or writing a resume and put the contact information in an envelope to be auctioned also.

Our regular monthly meeting will be held on Sunday, April 27 from 1-3 PM. As usual, we will begin our meeting with introductions and a time of sharing your struggles and successes. Remember what is said in PFLAG stays in PFLAG, so any subject related to sexual orientation or gender identity is welcome. Light refreshments will be served.

Our guest speaker this month is Marc Adams. Marc has written many books, including "The Preacher's Son" and has a new book to be published soon.

Finally, we'll have a quick report on where we are with this year's Atlanta Pride. If you can volunteer some time (even if only an hour), I know Mike could use your help. We will have business cards to distribute at Pride this year, in addition to a fundraising opportunity.

Also, if you have not yet paid your membership dues, I encourage you to do so. $15 of each membership goes to national PFLAG. The rest we need to continue operation of our Helpline and if we want to have a banner for Pride.

Our December meeting is this Sunday, Dec. 23 from 1-3 PM. There is no education program or chapter business this month, just the support portion of the meeting. Light refreshments will be provided. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to each of you. Best wishes for a bright new year.

1. Click Find a Chapter.
2. Select Georgia from the list of states.
3. On the map, the marker for our chapter is just hiding behind the Atlanta chapter. Click the marker.
4. A balloon appears with our chapter name. Click the link on the balloon and our chapter page appears.

• http://www.familyacceptance.com/home.html
• http://www.megafamilyproject.org/
• http://www.colage.org/
• http://www.straightforequality.org/
• http://www.georgiaequality.org
• http://www.sovo.com/

• Reading of minutes of last meeting (Clinton)
• Treasurer's report (Kevin)
• Status of Helpline (Clinton)
• Call for volunteers (Roger)
  • Meeting coordinator(s)
  • Education/Program coordinator(s)
  • Hospitality coordinator(s)
  • Safe Schools/Youth advocate(s)
  • Helpline coordinator(s)
• Proposal to meet in Little Five Points for group Halloween social on Oct. 31. Costume optional.
• Other business
• Adjourn business meeting

News release from Truth Wins Out:

Truth Wins Out warned news organizations today that a biased new politically motivated "ex-gay" sham study will reportedly surface later this year. A controversial "researcher" at a right wing religious university will release it and the goal of the study, known as "The Thomas Project," is to show that ex-gay therapy is often successful. Unfortunately, an early report by the website Ex-Gay Watch indicates that the research likely consists of calling handpicked ex-gay lobbyists and ministry leaders on the telephone and asking if they had "changed." There is no indication that key physical measures or tests were included, such as a "No Lie MRI," which is a scientific truth-detecting brain scan.

"Any 'ex-gay' study that does not include physical components that measure truth are essentially meaningless," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "We challenge Dr. Stanton Jones to submit his so-called ex-gay subjects to the 'No Lie MRI' because we believe that ex-gay ministries are consumer fraud and his reported study may be invalid. Our direct challenge is a unique opportunity for ex-gay organizations to back up their outrageous tales of transformation and prove us wrong once and for all. What are they afraid of?"  

According to Ex-Gay Watch, The Thomas Project is a 5-year study of Exodus Ministries undertaken by Dr. Stanton Jones, Provost of Wheaton College. The report says that the study likely consists of questions asked once a year by telephone. There are also unconfirmed reports that the study has a sample of as few as 100 to 150 participants. This is surprising considering Exodus claims to represent "hundreds of thousands" of ex-gays.

"After several key ex-gay leaders have been caught in sex scandals, their tales of transformation lack credibility," said Besen. "It is folly to suggest that telephone interviews can be considered genuine research. News organizations should avoid covering such a mockery of the scientific method."

The website Ex-Gay Watch also reported that Dr. Jones has worked with Dr. Mark Yarhouse, a professor at Pat Robertson University, also known as "Regent," and is the co-author of the Sexual Identity Therapy Framework with unlicensed ex-gay therapist Dr. Warren Throckmorton. Jones and Yarhouse also co-authored a book, Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate, in 2000.

According to a recent article in The New Yorker magazine:

The "No Lie MRI" makes a series of scans that show changes in the flow of oxygenated blood preceding neural events. The brain needs oxygen to perform mental tasks so a rise in the level of oxygenated blood in one part of the brain can indicate cognitive activity there. Brain scan lie detection is predicated on the idea that lying requires more cognitive effort, and therefore more oxygenated blood than truth telling.

"Once you jump behind the skull, there is no hiding," Joel Huizenga, founder of the company 'No Lie MRI' told The New Yorker.

"It seems that ex-gays would rather mislead and practice skullduggery than get behind the skull," said Besen. "I hope they take our challenge and end the semantic games and phony studies used to propagate their political agenda."

Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wing propaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life. For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.

Sorry I have not been keeping this site updated. National PFLAG will soon be offering us free space to host our chapter Web site, so I have been waiting on that to take place.

Our regular 4th Sunday monthly meeting is this Sunday on August 26 from 1-3 PM. We offer light refreshments. We begin our meetings promptly at 1PM to honor each other's time. If you are running late, don't let that stop you from attending. Feel free to come and go as you need.

Don't forget that we set dues at the last meeting. While you are not required to join to be able to attend our meetings, we do need money to fund the badly needed support phone line that we agreed to last meeting. (See meeting minutes below.)

After the meeting ends, you are welcome to join us for a late lunch or early dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Proposed Agenda:

1. Sharing and Support: We gather in a circle, introduce ourselves, and share anything that is on our minds at the time. Remember what is said in PFLAG stays in PFLAG. We honor the privacy of all our members and visitors.
2. Education: As you are comfortable, please share with us the most stereotypical LGBTIQ attributes that do not apply to you or your loved one. We'll discuss stereotypes and how to overcome them.
3. Business:

• Reading of minutes.
• Telephone Helpline: Danny will present the pricing/plan information.
• Call for volunteers:
• Meeting coordinator(s)
• Education coordinator(s)
• Hospitality coordinator(s)
• Safe Schools/Youth advocate(s)
• Telephone Helpline coordinator(s)
• Others???
• Other old business, if any.
• Proposal for weekly social time.
• Other new business, if any.
• Announcements.
• Adjournment.

Our monthly meeting takes place on the fourth Sunday of every month, from 1:00 - 3:00 PM, at Pilgrimage United Church of Christ, 3755 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta, GA 30066. Come join us!

Is it June already? Wow. Happy Atlanta Pride month. Hope you had a great Spring and are looking forward to Summer, which arrived today.

Our regular monthly support meeting is this Sunday, June 24 from 1-3 PM at Pilgrimage United Church of Christ, 3755 Sandy Plains Road, Marietta, GA 30066.

We especially welcome all first-time visitors and hope you will find a home in PFLAG.

We will have light refreshments. After the meeting, join us if you can for a late lunch/early dinner at a nearby restaurant TBD. Everyone is welcome.
 
See you on Sunday!!!