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CHI RHO CONNECTION The eNewsletter of Chi Rho Press, Your LGBT Christian Publishing House

Vol. VI, No. 12
4 July 2005
 

Contents:

1. Hooray for Spain and Canada!

Amazing news from Canada, where the lower house of Parliament passed same gender marriage into law for the entire country. The upper house is expected to confirm the new law this month.

And in Spain, where the same gender marriage law officially became law this week. Same gender couples in Spain now have inheritance and adoption rights equal to opposite gender couples. Spain becomes the third country, after the kingdoms of The Netherlands and Belgium, and Canada is set to become the fourth country to grant full marriage rights for same gender couples!
 

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2. Chi Rho Greeting Cards

Chi Rho Cards: A line of Gay and Lesbian greeting cards from Chi Rho Press.

Take a look at the cards and read about and order them on the Chi Rho Press Web site at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/cards.html

With original artwork by talented New York artist Timothy Leetch, Chi Rho Cards are designed by and for the Lesbian and Gay community. Chi Rho Cards are printed on 100% recycled paper and are affordably priced, selling single cards (for $1.49 each), in packs of five of one design (for $6.95), packs of ten of one design (for $12.95), and in a sample pack of two of each of the eight cards (for $16.95).

Women's Relationship Card. A religiously-themed card for a Lesbian couple, suitable for Holy Unions, Anniversaries, legal marriages, or just to celebrate their relationship.

Men's Relationship Card. A religiously-themed card for your favorite Gay male couple, suitable for Holy Unions, Anniversaries, legal marriages, or just to celebrate their relationship.

Lesbians' Anniversary Card. Two women, very much in love, silhouetted on a seashore, make this a striking card for a Lesbian couple's anniversary.

Gay Men's Anniversary Card. An intimate scene of a Gay male couple's bathroom decorates our card to celebrate your favorite Gay couple's anniversary.

All Purpose Anniversary Card. Our all purpose anniversary card is ideal to celebrate anniversaries of relationships, employment, sobriety, or any other special occasion.

Get Well Card. Send our little bear to cheer up a friend who is ill, and speed their recovery.

Sympathy Card. An empty chair poignantly calls to mind the loss of a loved one, through death or divorce.

Inside: "Grieving With You at Your Loss. You are in my Prayers."

Thank You Card. Our leaping figure celebrates all that we have to be thankful for. Inside: blank, write your own specific message.

All Chi Rho Cards measure 4-1/4" wide by 5-1/2" high and come with plain white envelopes. Our packaging isn't fancy, to save you money.

Order your selection of Chi Rho Cards now! Single cards are $1.49 each, packs of five of one design are $6.95, packs of ten of one design are $12.95, and a sample pack of two of each of the eight cards is $16.95; plus shipping and handling.

Find them at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/cards.html
 

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3. Have you seen the "Family Stories" Video?

We have a video in stock featuring Roberta Kreider and Mary Lou Wallner, with an introduction by the Rev.
Peter J. Gomes. 'Family Stories: Journeys of Spirit in Mixed Orientation Families' was produced by John Davis and is available for $26.95, plus shipping and handling.
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/VideoRevFamilyStories.htm

'Family Stories' presents the journeys of two women whose lives have changed dramatically in working through issues of sexuality and religion. The untimely deaths of family members (one a gay brother, the other a lesbian daughter) lead them to confront their feelings of confusion and hypocrisy. They provide hope for families, as well as religious and social organizations, by clearly demonstrating how minds can and do change.

Roberta Kreider compiled and edited the book "From Wounded Hearts: Faith Stories of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered People and Those Who Love Them," and the anthology carried by Chi Rho Press, "Together in Love: Faith Stories of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Couples." She is a 70-something year old, heterosexual Mennonite woman living in rural Pennsylvania with her husband Harold, a retired minister in the Mennonite church.

Mary Lou Wallner is an active member of Soulforce, and a frequent speaker across the country. Mary Lou resides in suburban Chicago with her husband Bob, and is completing a book of coping tools for Christians who learn of a gay or lesbian loved one in their family. She is also an R.N. and runs a free HIV clinic.

The Rev. Peter J. Gomes is the author of "The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart." He has served as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University and minister in The Memorial Church since 1974.

'Family Stories' is in VHS format, color, and 35 minutes, and sells for $26.95, plus shipping and handling.

See it on our Web page at
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/VideoRevFamilyStories.htm
 

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4. Gay/Lesbian Pride Symbols: The Rainbow Flag

Happy Gay/Lesbian Pride Month! Ken, from MCC San Diego, CA, USA, sent this to another list we are on and I thought I would pass it on. Thanks, Ken!

History of the Rainbow Flag

Gilbert Baker, a San Francisco artist, designed the first Rainbow flag in 1978. He created the flag in response to a local activist's call for the need of a community symbol.

Baker designed a flag with eight stripes: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. According to Baker, those colors represented, respectively: sexuality, life, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, and spirit.
Baker dyed and sewed the material for the first flag himself, in the true spirit of Betsy Ross. Baker soon was approached San Francisco's Paramount Flag Company about mass producing and selling his "gay flag."

Unfortunately, Baker had hand-dyed all the colors and since the color "hot pink" was not commercially available, mass production of his eight-stripe version became impossible. The flag was thus reduced to seven stripes.

In November 1978, San Francisco's gay community was stunned when the city's first openly gay supervisor, Harvey Milk, was assassinated. Wishing to demonstrate the gay community's strength and solidarity in the aftermath of this tragedy, the
1979 SF Pride Parade Committee decided to use Baker's flag.

The committee eliminated the indigo stripe so they could divide the colors evenly among the parade route, three colors on one side of the street and three on the other.

Soon the six colors were incorporated into a six striped version that became popularized, and that today is recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers.

Chi Rho Press has a LGBT flag in stained glass available for sale. See it at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/stainedglass.html
 

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5. "Christian with a Twist"

Here is a selection from our second major book of reflections, "Christian with a Twist: Reflections on Scripture that are a bit more inclusive, a bit more relevant, and with a bit of a bite," by the late William Gaston.

"Christian with a Twist" is available for $19.95 each, $14.95 each for six or more copies, plus shipping and handling. You can read more about it and order it at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevChristianWithATwist.htm

As the subtitle suggests, Bill's writing has a bit of a bite, and we believe you will enjoy his sharp, but loving take on Scripture, life, and faith.

Here is a selection entitled "The Gifts of Wisdom" from the Ordinary Time section of "Christian with a Twist."

Please read Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

I love today's passage. It gives me a chance to vent about one of my pet peeves. Oh no, not again, you may be thinking.

But seriously, I think that wisdom and understanding are too much ignored and even sometimes discouraged in our religious lives. Many people seem to park their brains outside the church door, and I wonder sometimes if they remember to pick them up on their way out.

That is harsh and negative, I know, but so much talk of religion these days is negative. Our religious institutions have to accept some of the responsibility for that. I do not understand the conflict between science and religion. What better way is there to honor God's Creation than to study the intricacies of it? And does not each new thing that we discover lead to even more awe and wonder about the complexity of what God has done?

Today's passage says that God created wisdom at the very beginning of Creation, that wisdom was there when each and every thing came into being. Of course we can never understand it all, but it is all real and all of it is knowable, if only to God. There is a bit of God in each of us and we are each a part of all that is.

We consist of body, mind, and spirit. We have hospitals and health clubs to maintain our bodies. We have schools and libraries to enrich our minds. We have churches and scripture to support our spirits. We would not think of accepting the level of health care or education of Jesus' time, but somehow we think that the level of spiritual development that was good enough then should be good enough now.

Another of today's suggested readings is John 16:12-15 in which Jesus promises to send to us the Spirit of Truth that will teach us what he could not in his time and place. I think that the Spirit of Truth that Jesus promised is not unrelated to the Wisdom spoken of in Proverbs. I think that God desires that all of Creation be alive and growing, certainly our part of it which God created in God's own image.

http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevChristianWithATwist.htm

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6. Sanctoral Cycle

As a regular feature in the Chi Rho Connection, we are offering up traditional saints listed in the 2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary from today until our next scheduled electronic newsletter.

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Thurs., Jun 30, St. Paul. Whole conversions: St. Paul complains in his letter to the Christians at the church of Philippi that all seek the things that are their own, and not the things that are of Christ. See if these words apply to you, and resolve to give yourself to God without reserve. "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you" (Ephesians 5:14).

Fri., Jul. 1, St. Isidore of Madrid. Simple faith: St. Isidore became a saint because he preferred prayer with God to conversation with other people, and because he trusted the divine power and goodness rather than any human aid. "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in God and God will do this; God will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun" (Psalm 37:5).

Sat., Jul. 2, Bd. Peter of Luxembourg. Self-denial: Bd. Peter teaches us how, by self-denial, rank, riches, the highest dignities, and all this world can give may serve to make a saint, and that in extreme youth. "And Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me'" (Matthew 16:24).

Sun., Jul. 3, St. Thomas (Patron saint: architects). The triumph of faith: Discard all notions, doubts, and uncertainties and learn to overcome old weaknesses as did St. Thomas, who "by his ignorance instructed the ignorant, and by his incredulity served the faith of all ages." "By his confession and touching of the wounds he taught us what we ought to believe. He saw one thing and believed another. His eyes beheld Christ alone, but by his faith he confessed God," St. Augustine.

Mon., Jul. 4, St. Elizabeth of Portugal (Patron saint: jealousy). Daily attendance at church: In the Eucharist, St. Elizabeth daily found strength to bear suspicion and cruelty patiently; and by that same holy sacrifice her innocence was proved. By neglecting opportunities of daily communion and church fellowship we lose opportunities for gaining strength.

Tues., Jul. 5, St. Antony Zaccaria. Fulfilling "apostle-ship:" By his following of St. Paul's example in going out to all people, and by the use he made of the Apostle's letters, St. Antony Zaccaria gives us an example in turn. We must always be ready to help our follow persons in every way that we can; and we should constantly re-read and ponder Paul's expositions of the Christian faith and life.

Wed., Jul. 6, St. Maria Goretti. Triumph over sin: Maria Goretti had led a very ordinary life. But in spite of her simplicity, her great faith and love for God made her truly extraordinary. This was the triumph of the little girl who loved God and hated sin.

Thurs., Jul. 7, St. Arsenius. Silence: Let us learn from the example of St. Arsenius that it is not enough to punish our bodies; we must also keep a careful watch over our hearts. Those who attend to the exterior alone are like statues that shine on the outside with gold and polish, but inside are full of dirt and rubbish. "God knows how much I love the brethren, but I cannot be with God and people at the same time; so I will not leave God to be with them," St. Arsenius.

Fri., Jul. 8, St. Odo of Canterbury. Brotherly corrections: In correcting we should use all possible gentleness and meekness, always remembering that, if similarly tempted, we should ourselves have fallen yet more gravely.

Sat., Jul. 9, St. Veronica Giulani. Devotion to the Passion: "Blessed be God! Everything seems little that is suffered for God's love. Blessed be the simple Cross! Blessed be pure suffering!" St. Veronica Giulani. St. Veronica teaches us that it is honorable and just to deny our own natural inclinations by being lovers of the Cross!

Sun., Jul. 10, St. Alban (Patron saint: refugees). Selflessness: When a persecution of the Christians in England broke out, and a certain cleric flying for his life took refuge in Alban's house. Alban sheltered him, and after some days, moved by his example, he received baptism. Later on, when the governor's emissaries came to search the house, Alban disguised himself in the cloak of his guest and gave himself up in his place. He was dragged before the judge, scourged, and, when he would not deny his faith, condemned to death.

Mon., Jul. 11, St. Benedict (Patron saint: kidney disease sufferers). Power of prayer: In all of the saints' lives, one thing is common to all of them: they never feared to do any work, no matter how menial or tiring, because they distrusted "self"
and relied wholly on the power of prayer for support and assistance. "Whatever good work you begin to do, first ask God earnestly to bring it to a good conclusion," St. Benedict.

Tues., Jul. 12, St. John of Gualbert. Forgiving your enemies: St. John of Gualbert's defining moment of heroism came when he forgave his enemies. We learn from him to never resolve our issues of anger or ill treatment by attempting to revenge ourselves in deed, in word, or in thought. "I cannot refuse what you ask of Christ's name. I grant you your life and I give you my friendship. Pray that God may forgive me my sins," St. John of Gualbert.

Wed., Jul. 13, St. Brigid of Kildare (Patron saint: healers). Mary as our role model: We all have to seek to resemble the mother of Jesus in purity of heart. This grace St. Brigid's prayers have obtained in a wonderful degree for the daughters of her native land (Ireland) and she will never fail to ask it of God for all those who turn to her. "If you love Mary and wish to please her, make her your model," St.
Bernard.

Thurs., Jul. 14, St. Camillus de Lellis (Patron saint: hospitals). Prayers for the sick: St. Camillus saw the sick as living images of Christ, and by ministering to them in this spirit atoned for the sins of his youth, led a life precious in merit, and from a troublesome soldier became a gentle, loving spirit. "Charity does not seek its own convenience. We must give the spur to this jade of a body of ours, to make it trot on and get forward. The good servant of the sick dies in the hospital," St. Camillus.

Fri., Jul. 15, St. Henry the Emperor. Offerings: St. Henry gave up and deprived himself of many things that his offerings could enrich the house of God. We spend money on ourselves and leave Jesus in poverty and neglect. "For here in the church all our wealth is treasured; here lies all our hope," St. John Chrysostom.

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Order the 2004-2005 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary, complete with the entire year's Sanctoral Cycle, at this link:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/BookRevLiturgicalCa04_05.html
 

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7. Adam's Last Word

I am sorry for the delay in getting this edition of the Chi Rho Connection out a few days late.

And happy Fourth of July for our readers here in the United States!

Would we not all have something to celebrate if the United States followed Holland, Belgium, Spain, and Canada in granting marriage rights to same gender couples! Unfortunately, our current government feels just the opposite and works actively against LGBT people and our equal rights. They need our prayers for justice to be done in the United States, just as we send up to God prayers of thanksgiving for Spain and Canada.

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Well, we have added two new Christian music albums to our Web site, "I Am Not Ashamed" tape and CD by David North and the Gospel Celebration, and "Jesus is Lord of All" tape by Witness. There is some wonderful music here and I encourage you to order both of these albums.

See the description of the albums on our Web site at:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/AudioRevNotAshamed.htm
and
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/product_details/AudioRevLordOfAll.htm

*****

And please check out the Chi Rho Cards! Our line of greeting cards, by the talented New York artist Timothy Leetch, are now available. See the descriptions of the cards on our Web site at:
http://www.chirhopress.com/products/cards.html.

Order some cards today!

*****

Have a wonderful summer!

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Gracia y paz,

R. Adam DeBaugh, Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.

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We are glad you are partners in ministry with us here at Chi Rho Press. We are eager for your comments, your suggestions, your assistance with selling our books, and your own purchases! And of course, we covet your prayers for this ministry.

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To SUBSCRIBE send blank e-mail to: ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. To UNSUBSCRIBE send blank e-mail to: ChiRhoPress-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Please visit http://www.ChiRhoPress.com.  You may pay by credit card on our web page or we will ship your order after receiving your check or money order. Please always include your e-mail address, mailing address, and telephone number.

For all e-mail correspondence, please write Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.

Our snail mail address is:

Chi Rho Press, Inc. P.O. Box 7864 Gaithersburg, MD 20898

Our telephone and fax number is 301/926-1208.

Customers outside the U.S. and especially our Canadian friends can order using credit cards on our Web page.  Some of our books are available through our Canadian distributor, MAP Enterprises, Mary Ann Pearson, at her Web page, http://www.christiangays.com.

Copyright 2005, Chi Rho Press, Inc.

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