Communtiy Compass
Community Compass
Community Compass is a service of OITM. GLBT organizations from around the state are invited to provide briet — 200 words or less — descriptions of recent or upcoming activities and events. Send your submissions to us by email by the 15th of the month.
Cooperative Christian Ministry, UVM & Christ Church Presbyterian
The University of Vermont’s Cooperative Christian Ministry and Christ Church Presbyterian have teamed up to co-sponsor a Lunch and Learn Series entitled ãThe Erotic Contemplative: Reflections on theSpiritual Journey of GLBT Christians.ä
The series will run from noon to 2:30pm each Sunday from February 6 until March 12 at Christ Church Presbyterian, which is located on the UVM Redstone Campus (off So. Prospect St) underneath the green water tower.
All events are free and open to the public. To register, call Rev. Christine Leslie at 656-3882 or email revcles@together.net.
Mountain Pride Media
Mountain Pride Media’s Web site has moved to a new domain name. You can now find our Web site at www.mountainpridemedia.org. There have been many new enhancements to the site over the last month, so make sure to go online and check us out.
Speaking of our Web site, we are still offering a 50 percent off promotion for advertising online. If you haven’t contacted us for a rate sheet, call (802) 434-5237 or email us at ads@mountainpridemedia.org.
We have two contests currently running. The first is the Out in the Mountains Poetry Contest. The deadline for entry is 2/15, so to get your entry in, contact us for entry guidelines today.
The second contest is a drawing for a 2000 Entertainment coupon book for Vermont and bordering areas. Everyone who subscribes or gives a gift subscription to Out in the Mountains via our Web site between 2/1 and 3/31 will be entered for a chance to win this compendium of discounts. The drawing is April 1 - no fooling. See the subscription page on our Web site for more details.
Mountain Pride Media wishes to thank Cheryl Carmi and Charissa Herrick for hosting the Burlington stop of our Green Mountain Tour and Bob Hooker and Greg Sharrow for hosting in Pittsford. We have many more events to come, so watch for the ad for details. This tour is made possible by a generous grant from the Green Mountain Fund for Popular Struggle.
Samara Foundation of Vermont
While the Samara Foundation’s executive director, Bill Lippert, is serving in the legislature as vice-chair of the House Judiciary Committee (and helping preside over the same-sex marriage debate), Samara has contracted with Susan Sussman to act as consulting director. Prior to her current business as a trainer and consultant on harassment and diversity issues, Susan served as executive director of Vermont’s Human Rights Commission.
Granting guidelines and applications for the Samara will be available by January 31, 2000. Non-profit organizations with a 501(c)(3) IRS designation are eligible to apply. The granting cycle begins with submission of a letter of intent by March 1. The Samara Grants Advisory Committee will then invite full grant applications to be postmarked by May 5, 2000. Year 2000 grant awards will be announced at the Vermont Pride celebration in June.
Samara will soon contact a number of organizations and donors to take part in an assessment process as the host of the Gill Foundation’s InCommunity training program. This process will help determine the training needs in Vermont and is expected to occur in late February. GLBT organizations and their allies will be invited to attend professional workshops throughout the year on different aspects of fundraising.
Vermont Pride 2000
The Vermont Pride 2000 Committee has announced that this year’s gay/ lesbian/ bisexual/ transgender pride celebration will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2000 at scenic Waterfront Park in downtown Burlington.
The park will be set up with a variety of different-sized tents showcasing a variety of events, exhibits, food vendors, and activities. A month-long ã30 Days of Prideä schedule will feature events across the state, including a possible Vermont GLBT Film Festival. In light of the recent Vermont Supreme Court ruling granting same-gender couples the right to marriage/domestic partnership, this year’s Pride celebration will be extra-special.
The Pride Committee has been hard at work planning festivities. Those interested in volunteering are invited to attend planning meetings. The committee meets on a rotating schedule Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7pm at Vermont Floral on 668 Pine Street in Burlington. Upcoming meeting dates include 1/20, 2/1, 2/16, 3/2, 3/14, 3/29, 4/13, 4/25, 5/10, 5/25, 6/6.
The committee invites all musicians, performers and speakers who would like to volunteer at Pride Day on June 17 or during the ã30 Days of Prideä to contact Entertainment Chair Elliot Matos at 859-9822. If you are interested in exhibiting or selling products at the event, contact Pride 2000 Co-Chair Tom Crowley at 864-6633.
Vermont Freedom to Marry
Volunteers from both our Action Committee (VFMAC) and Task Force (VFMTF) have been busy this month. An extraordinary effort has been given to motivating supporters to contact legislators, schedule discussion groups, give updates and make our Web sites interesting.
The VFMTF site, vtfreetomarry.org, has a new look and new pages, and VFMAC has a new site, vtmarriageaction.org. Both sites are great, especially if you want to find out what is happening in your county. Look for the Calendar link on the vtfreetomarry.org site or the Get Involved link on the vtmarriageaction.org site.
From our experiences of talking with Vermonters, and in seeing how the House Judiciary committee is investigating all the questions, it is clear that we do have a very real, very good chance of seeing an inclusive marriage bill come out of the committee. What comes out of the House Judiciary Committee is likely to be it – so this is a very important time. Hope you can take a deep breath and hang in there and keep advocating for equality for all Vermonters!
A big thanks to everyone. The many different public conversations are lively and respectful. Education and action is what will bring change about. Isn’t it exciting to be a participant in such an historic advancement?
If you do not have Web access or would otherwise need to contact someone in person call our coordinator Dorothy Mammen at 802 388-2633, or contact your county coordinator.