Masks are now part of our lives. That’s why SDA Kinship has designed these reusable face masks to give all of us the comfort, quality, and peace of mind we need to go out and show our Kinship pride! Add our masks to your collection and enjoy!
EKM2021 will be held in a natural environment in the little community of Westelbeers, between the cities Eindhoven and Tilburg in The Netherlands.
As Carolyn and I explored “variations,” we discovered that every one of us is “varied.” She and I have different heights, different body shapes, unique personalities, and even different behaviors. We are varied.
Even our children, who are living biological results of my family genetics merged with Carolyn’s family genetics, are varied. Our daughter was enhanced with Carolyn’s family traits. One of our sons appears to favor my mother’s side, and our youngest son reflects strong variations of Carolyn’s family. One son is short like my mother’s side. My mother’s brother was bald by age 28, yet he had to shave several times a day to keep control of his hair below his ear line. Our son started losing head hair as well. He has also experienced health issues common on my mother’s side. Our other son is tall like Carolyn’s father and shares her loving, caring personality. He also was our gay son—a variation unknown in either of our families!
At 7:30 a.m., March 16, 1983, I boarded a bus bound for Reading, Pennsylvania. Six hours later, I was back at the Ottawa bus station!
Expecting problems with border security about my stay in the United States, Colin had prepared two letters. The first letter read:
It is with great sadness that we inform you that Deborah Anne Elliott passed away on January 25, 2021 at the age of 65. Deb was Yolanda Elliott's sister and had been battling multiple sclerosis for many years. Deb served as Kinship's accountant at one point and through the years she was always supportive of Yolanda as she served in her many Kinship roles, including currently serving as President. Deb lived in the home with Yolanda who spent many hours each day lovingly taking care of her sister.
Our sincere and deep condolences to Yolanda and the family and friends who loved Deb dearly. We know this is a great and painful loss. Please keep Yolanda in your prayers. If you wish you, can drop her a note to express your sympathy. Yolanda, we surround you with love and caring.
SDA Kinship is a community. But what is a community? The definition says: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
I frequently say, when asked, that one of SDA Kinship’s goals is to build community. The challenge is that we are a very diverse group with layers and layers of “uniqueness” and diversity that we bring to the community table. So what is the characteristic that we have in common? What the church sees as the brokenness of our orientation and gender, we see as a blessing.
“Learning” is an interesting and complex process. All living creatures learn as they grow and mature. If you think about that process, it’s easy to recall watching your pets learn to find food, chase toys, or hide from you when you are looking for them. Also think about yourself or your children as you learned to walk, talk, play, read, and even think and make decisions.
So learning is really gathering information or experiences to make, hopefully, excellent decisions. Where are those decisions made? All decisions originate in our brain and transfer to the muscles, organs, and emotions to protect us and help us survive. Yes, some reactions appear to develop naturally through our genetics, but we develop and learn most of them as our brains and ourselves mature.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
When so many people around the world had such an atrocious 2020, it’s a bit daunting to come up with an inspiring New Year’s message for my Kinship family. Not one place on this globe has been unaffected by the pandemic, much less the all-too-common bigotry and hate.
When so many people around the world had such an atrocious 2020, it’s a bit daunting to come up with an inspiring New Year’s message for my Kinship family. Not one place on this globe has been unaffected by the pandemic, much less the all-too-common bigotry and hate. The last year makes us wonder and think of the song, “Where is the Love?” by the Black-Eyed Peas. Listen to the song here. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc&ab_channel=BlackEyedPeasVEVO] To read the lyrics, click on this link. [https://genius.com/Black-eyed-peas-where-is-the-love-lyrics]
But now that 2021 has arrived for all of us, I’m again hopeful for the future. The production of the coronavirus vaccines gives me hope that if we all do our part by receiving the vaccination when it’s available, and also by continuing to wear masks, socially distance, and wash our hands, we will finally be able to see each other, meet together and, as Kinship is very well known for, hug each other again!
LOOKING BACK INTO 2020
Carolyn and I hope this finds you enjoying the Christmas and New Year’s holidays despite the virus. We pray you could connect in person or through digital media with your special family members. We also hope you all created some positive and beneficial memories as you traveled the unpredictable paths of 2020.
MESSAGE FROM THE TREASURER
As we move into the holiday season at the end of this very difficult and stressful year, I am thankful. I am thankful for all of you who have been part of SDA Kinship's 40-year journey. So many members, friends and allies have been part of the Kinship community during these four decades. You have made it possible for Kinship to provide its message of acceptance and love to many, many people all over the world.
As we move into the holiday season at the end of this very difficult and stressful year, I am thankful. I am thankful for all of you who have been part of SDA Kinship's 40-year journey. So many members, friends and allies have been part of the Kinship community during these four decades. You have made it possible for Kinship to provide its message of acceptance and love to many, many people all over the world. As someone who was part of the organizing meeting in September, 1980, I am in awe that Kinship has continued to provide knowledge and support to our Adventist LGBTQ community and its allies. It was only possible because of the many, many people, both alive and gone, who have been part of this effort.
As treasurer, it is of course part of my duties to remind you to consider supporting Kinship financially. Kinship, like every person and organization, has been affected by the pandemic. While donations have been down during 2020, our inability to hold in-person meetings has also reduced our expenses. Our hope is that life in 2021 will start to return to normal for all of us and that Kinship will be able to do more face to face outreach in addition to its online and other virtual programs as the year goes forward. And, for that, we need your support.
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.
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.
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.
The loss of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg made the last few weeks tough, not just for the women of the United States, but for all of us. Justice Ginsberg was an extremely thoughtful and intelligent presence on the Supreme Court who expanded the civil rights of women in the United States, promoted the equality of men and women, and conducted herself with grace and determination on the highest court in the land. Her legacy will live on in spite of a concerted effort to undermine her efforts. I appreciate what she has done for women and, as a woman not married to a man, I could not have independently owned a home and business if it were not for her work as a civil rights lawyer, judge, and Supreme Court justice.
Although my heart is heavy because of her passing, I have reason to hope. In just a few short weeks, we the people here in the United States have the opportunity to have our voices heard in the November 3 election. We can speak up in support of whichever party and leaders we decide is best for us individually and for our country. As a non-profit organization, we do not advocate for any particular party, so I will just say, please make the effort to vote if you’re eligible. Get out there and vote and be heard!
October is an exciting month! It is a month of change. You can feel the weather changing from summer to fall. The air at night is cooler and just feels fresher.
Here in Texas, it is normally a time to enjoy the State Fair of Texas and all that goes with an outing to Fair Park—tons of unhealthy foods to sample, new cars to check out, carnival folks trying to get you to try their games (and lose your money). For a German, Oktoberfest is an event to be social and, again, associated with overindulgence in food. It’s a time when I can wear my Lederhosen in public and not be embarrassed.
Tenho estado muito desanimado ultimamente, como muitos de vocês me disseram que estão. Com tudo o que está acontecendo no mundo e em meu país, os Estados Unidos, é fácil ficar desanimado.
Alguns de vocês me seguem na minha página pessoal do Facebook e noTwitter, onde posto alguns comentários políticos para familiares e amigos. Eu reconheço que algumas de minhas postagens podem ofender algumas pessoas fora desses círculos. Mas o que mais pretendo expressar em qualquer uma das postagens nas redes sociais é o meu desejo de que todos nós tratemos uns aos outros com bondade, compaixão e empatia… e clame absolutamente quando e onde for necessário.
Saudações de Discovery Bay, no estado de Washigton, estamos sentados em nosso timeshare (uma espécie de acomodações para férias programas) contemplando as águas calmas de Puget Sound. Está mais quente que o normal, mas pelo menos o ar está livre de fumaça. Saímos da Califórnia na semana passada em meio a uma densa fumaça e incêndios.
For me, the last few months have been a hard grind. As a caregiver, I hear lots of folks asking when we’ll ever get back to normal, whatever normal is! And I’m not sure. But it would be overwhelming to focus only on what’s been challenging. So, instead, I thought I’d share just a few of the things that have brought me some amazing moments of joy since you last heard from me.
Recentemente, li um artigo que compartilhava as relações bem-sucedidas que uma primatologista havia feito ao longo de sua vida, por um longo desejo e objetivo, ajudando os chipanzés a sobreviver e expandir-se. No início de sua carreira, tivemos a alegria de passar alguns dias com ela enquanto dividia seus conhecimentos com estudantes universitários e depois em duas conferências públicas.
Lembra-se do início de 2020? Quem poderia imaginar onde estaríamos em julho? Com essa pandemia global, nossas vidas mudaram bastante. Embora os efeitos do COVID-19 tenham sido horríveis em todo o mundo, a taxa de infeção piorou em meu país (EUA). Sem uma liderança clara e decisiva, usando a ciência atual e garantindo que todos os cidadãos tenham acesso a equipamentos de proteção individual e testes precisos, há muito poucas chances que a taxa de infecção diminua em breve.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 18, 2020. We will have an abbreviated Kinship Kampmeeting Sabbath program online via Zoom. Start time 12 pm EDT / 9 am PDT.
THEME SONG We Are Called
https://youtu.be/sV7qYyYKMhc
Nós humanos gostamos de nos conectar. Nós nos conectamos com nossos familiares em ocasiões especiais. Muitos de nós gostamos de nos conectar semanalmente com amigos aos sábados, nas atividades da Igreja, quando nos é permitido. Nós estamos aguardando ansiosamente por este retorno.
Nota Oficial de Condolências e Solidariedades SDA Kinship Brasil.
O SDA Kinship Brasil tomou conhecimento, com grande pesar, do terremoto que atingiu a costa sul do México nesta terça-feira (23), que causou a perda de vidas e significativa destruição material.
Estes últimos meses nos Estados Unidos onde eu moro foram extremamente estressantes para todos. A quarentena trouxe o melhor de algumas pessoas e o pior de muitas. Os incidentes de violência domésticas aumentaram significativamente, já que a maioria das pessoas foram convidadas a ficarem em casa. Não apenas milhões de pessoas perderam os empregos, mas o número de pessoas que morreram de COVID-19 em meu país ultrapassou de 100.500.
A humanidade gosta de se conectar! Quantos de vocês gostam de se conectar com suas próprias famílias para celebrações, reuniões especiais ou apenas relaxar se divertindo juntos?
Many Americans are focused on the upcoming presidential election and local elections to be held in November. It seems that with the pandemic situation, many states are working towards holding fair elections. There are also some states that are purging folks from the voter rolls, closing many polling places, and making voting harder in order to influence the outcome of the elections.
SDA KINSHIP INTERNATIONAL ♦ PO BOX 244 ♦ ORINDA, CA 94563-0244 USA
E-MAIL: info@sdakinship.org
