I’ve been really discouraged lately, as many of you have told me you are. With all that is going on in the world and in my country, the United States of America, it’s easy to be discouraged. 

Some of you follow me on my personal Facebook page or Twitter account, where I post some political commentary to family and friends. I recognize that some of my posts could offend some folks outside those circles. But what I most intend to express in any of my social media posts is my desire for all of us to treat each other with kindness and compassion and empathy…and to absolutely call for justice whenever and wherever it’s needed. 

Greetings from Discovery Bay in Washington state! We are sitting in our timeshare gazing at the smooth waters of the Puget Sound. It’s warmer than usual but at least the air is smoke free. We left California last week in dense smoke and fires. 

SDA Kinship wants to give you all the resources possible to help fill your time during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place.

 A Week at Quest Learning Center

BY JERRY MCKAY

By the end of the first week of September 1982, I had decided to relocate to Pennsylvania for counseling. The first thing I had to do was to call Perry in Japan, because my decision would require his finding a teacher to replace me on short notice. At $3.00 per minute, our call was brief. Perry said that any inconvenience my decision might cause did not concern him. Rather, he was concerned for me. After sharing a few details about my visit with Colin, I thought I had put Perry’s reservations to rest. That was not the case. Two days later, Perry called back.

Perry feared that my life—in fact, my whole identity—would become organized around homosexuality instead of a bigger paradigm—my maleness within a Christian framework. He was concerned that by going to Reading, I would establish and reinforce my identity through a sexual framework by being with and talking to other homosexuals, day in and day out. I thought Perry’s concerns were legitimate, but my ship named “Identity” had already set sail.