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17 Oct 00
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Chi Rho Press eNewsletter
Volume 26 (10/17/00)
Welcome once again
to the Chi Rho Press eNewsletter. Please pass
this eNewsletter on to your friends and colleagues.
To join our list
and get your own copy of our eNewsletter, send an e-mail
message to ChiRhoPress-subscribe@egroups.com.
All other e-mail
may be directed to Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
See the end of
this eNewsletter for a complete list of e-mail addresses at ChiRhoPress.com.
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Contents:
1. Featured Books Called OUT! The Voices and Gifts and LGBT
Presbyterians
2. New Staff Hours
3. Media Booksigning and Discussion, Nov. 5
4. Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse in Spanish
5. Mid-Atlantic District Conference, Oct. 20-21, Hagerstown,
MD
6. www.OutVote2000.org
7. Printer for sale!
8. Adam's Last Word
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1.
Featured Books:
"Called
OUT! The Voices and Gifts and LGBT Presbyterians" Now
more than ever, it is important to hear the voices of LGBT people of faith.
Our first anthology, "Called OUT! The Voices and Gifts and LGBT Presbyterians"
is a good place to start. Edited by lesbian evangelist the Rev. Jane Adams
Spahr, Kathryn Poethig, Selisse Berry, and Melinda McLain, "Called
OUT" is in its second printing with Chi Rho Press.
Though "Called
OUT" contains the faith stories of 40 gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgendered Presbyterians, it is not just a book for Presbyterians,
but it is a book for all people of faith who are in the LGBT community,
who are
non-gay friends and allies, or who are struggling with the issue of
homosexuality in the church. Read this book and get to know the real face
of LGBT spirituality.
You may order "Called
OUT" on our web page at www.ChiRhoPress.com
using our
handy shopping cart and your credit card. "Called OUT" sells
for $17.95,
six or more copies are $15.25 each.
The holidays are coming and "Called OUT" will make a wonderful gift!
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Kevin Stone Fries
begins work as our new Editor/Office Manager tomorrow,
Wednesday, Oct. 18. He will be working each week on Wednesday, Thursday,
and Friday, from 10 am until 7 pm.
The Friday of Kevin's
first week of work, however, he will be at the
Mid-Atlantic District Conference (see article number 5 in this eNews).
We are very excited
about Kevin coming to work at the Chi Rho Press office
in a paid position. Our old friends will remember that Kevin has served
as
Assistant Editor and now Editor of the Press for almost three years. We
kid
him about his prodigious editorial skills, calling him "The Butcher
of
Gaithersburg," but we are confident his slashing blue pencil will
not do too
much damage in the Press offices! He is an editor and writer of great
skill
and expertise and he will bring a lot of marketing skills to us at the
Press as well.
Please join
us in welcoming Kevin to the paid staff of Chi Rho Press.
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3 Media Booksigning and Discussion, Nov. 5
Roberta Showalter
Kreider will be speaking at Imago Dei MCC in Media, PA, on
Sunday, Nov. 5, at 1 pm. Roberta is the editor of the anthology "From
Wounded Hearts: Faith Stories of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered
People and Those Who Love Them".
Roberta's husband,
Rev. Harold Kreider, a retired Mennonite minister, will
be sharing his story as well. Kevin and Adam will be going up to Media
to
assist Roberta and other authors of "From Wounded Hearts" in
signing copies of this wonderful anthology.
The book signing
and discussion will be held at the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Delaware County, 145 West Rose Tree Road, Media, PA. For more
information or directions, contact Imago Dei MCC at 610/724-2146, or visit
their web site at www.ImagoDeiMCC.org.
If you are in the
Philadelphia/Delaware County area, please join us for this
event!
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4. "Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse" in Spanish?
Please don't forget
the fund to translate and publish "Steps
to Recovery
from Bible Abuse" in Spanish. If you would like to be part of
this initiative,
please send your checks or money order, made out to Chi Rho Press, to
us at
P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898. Note that it is for "Steps
in
Spanish" in the memo line of your check.
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5 Mid-Atlantic District Conference, Oct. 20-21, Hagerstown, MD
Kevin Fries and Adam
DeBaugh will be attending the UFMCC Mid-Atlantic
District Conference, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20 and 21, at the Ramada
Inn and Conference Center in Hagerstown, MD. The theme of the conference
is
"Discipleship 2000: Beyond the Walls."
Kevin and I will
be staffing a Chi Rho Press bookstore at the conference all
day Friday and Saturday, as well as attending the worship services and
the
awards banquet Friday evening. If you are in the Hagerstown area, please
join us and don't forget to stop by at the conference bookstore! Call
the
District Office at 717/898-3713 for more information about the conference.
--------------------------------------------------
We have found a wonderful
new web site that is dedicated to getting out the
LGBT vote on Nov. 7: http://www.OutVote2000.org.
Here is what they say
about themselves:
"For too long
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender voices have been less
than visible in elections. OutVote2000 seeks to increase voter participation,
will add to the growing body of qualitative and quantitative research
being done
about voting behaviors of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,
and
will also research information about allied voters. Between six and ten
percent of the voting population identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual
and
transgender. About 40% of the population says they know someone who is
gay,
lesbian, bisexual or transgender. During the 2000 election, OutVote2000
will conduct research, field work, advertising and online efforts to gather
more
information about the size and behavior of this important and emerging
voting population.
"Whether you
be Republican, Democrat, Reform, Green, Independent or other
party, the important thing to know is that your voice be heard as an out
lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender voter.
"Your voice
matters. Your vote counts. In 2000, Come OUT and into the
voting booth! As lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people it is critical
that
our voices are heard and that our votes are counted in this election.
That
will only happen if you take action today. This web site provides a central
location for links where you can become more informed about people running
for office or ballot initiatives in your hometown. Be informed and make
your
vote count.
"OutVote2000
is a nonpartisan effort to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people to make their voices heard by voting this year and
is
sponsored as a public service by the Gill Operating Foundation, based
in
Denver, CO.
"OutVote2000
is an effort comprised of field organizing, including
advertising, direct mail and phone banks, online activism and public opinion
research to encourage lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to
vote.
"The Gill Operating
Foundation runs programs that encourage capacity
building among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender organizations including
its
OutGiving technical assistance and training department and is affiliated
with the Gill Foundation, the largest foundation in the country focusing
on
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues."
We are Chi Rho Press
encourage you to go to the OutVote2000 web site at
http://www.OutVote2000.org and
join their effort.
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Chi Rho Press has
a printer for sale. It is an Okidata Microline 320 Turbo,
9 Pin printer. It has never been used and was bought a year ago. $200
or
best offer write Adam@ChiRhoPress.com
if you are interested.
--------------------------------------------------
Well, this is it!
Kevin Stone Fries, our Editor/Office Manager, starts work
tomorrow, on Wednesday, October 18. A new desk has been installed, I have
cleaned up a lot of piles of paper and files, and we have begun a
reorganization of our sales files to make it easier for Kevin to work.
This is an exciting
time of transition and change for Chi Rho Press. We
have great hopes for Kevin's tenure at the Press and we are looking forward
to
being able to serve our customers and partners in ministry much more efficiently
and effectively.
Please visit our
web site at www.ChiRhoPress.com
and see the changes that
are happening there! We are continuing to make improvements and to add
to our
web site. We would love to have you visit!
We are also beginning
to get ready for the Soulforce
demonstrations at the
Catholic Bishops' meeting here in DC next month. Watching the events
unfold in Yugoslavia, I was struck again by the effectiveness of "satyagraha,"
non-violent civil disobedience.
The revolution that
toppled Slobodan Milosovitch in Serbia was not without
some violence and a few deaths and injuries. But for the most part, what
removed
the dictator wasn't the NATO bombs that fell on Serbia, the loss of Kosovo,
or even the election results, it was the mass of ordinary people who took
to
the streets demanding a new government.
The Rev. Mel White,
continues to be one of the most important and visionary
leaders in the LGBT community today. His use of the "satyagraha"
or
"soulforce" principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King,
Jr., are a
driving force behind this new phase of the struggle for full acceptance
and
integration of sexual minority persons in the churches.
The sad thing is
that bigotry and homophobia in the Christian church seems
to be a more difficult nut to crack than ending Communist regimes throughout
eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and ending a brutal dictator's
reign in Yugoslavia. But those same Soulforce principles which have changed
the face of Europe and Russia will work, must work, in our own churches.
Other forms of activism
must accompany the nonviolent resistance of
Soulforce to anti-gay intolerance, bigotry, and homophobia. It is vitally
important for all LGBT people and our supporters to vote this election
day in the U.S. that
is why you can find information about www.OutVote2000.org
in this eNewsletter. The presidential election will shape not only the
dialogue
about sexual minority issues in the coming years, but it will affect the
lives of
all LGBT people directly. It is essential for all of us to vote, and to
be
aware of the candidates' positions on issues that are important to us.
Saturday, October
7, was the second anniversary of Matthew Shepard's beating
and murder. The heinous attack in the Backstreet Café, a gay bar
in
Roanoke, Virginia, is still fresh in our minds. We can not be silent in
the face of
this kind of terrorism. All that is required for evil to triumph is for
good people to do nothing, a wise person once said.
So vote! Lobby your
legislators! Write letters to the editor! Come out to
someone who doesn't know you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered!
Join an LGBT organization! Support your LGBT religious organizations!
Get
your parents involved in PFLAG!
Support Soulforce
(www.Soulforce.org) with your financial contributions,
your prayers, and your presence in Washington in November! Buy books from
Chi Rho Press (www.ChiRhoPress.com)
especially "Steps to Recovery from
Bible
Abuse" by Dr. Rembert Truluck, which has excellent guidelines
on how to respond to the religious right!
And you Americans, VOTE on Nov. 7!
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We are glad you are
partners 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.
Grace and peace,
Adam DeBaugh, Director
---------------------------
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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.
You may order
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Orders@ChiRhoPress.com. You
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Visit our web
page at http://www.ChiRhoPress.com. We now accept
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cards on our web page!
Our Canadian
friends can order using credit cards on our web page or through
our Canadian distributor, MAP Enterprises, Mary Ann Pearson, Box 340,
54
Centre St., Odessa, ONT., Canada, K0H 2H0; e-mail: mapenterprises@home.com;
phone or fax: 1-613-386-5711; or toll free (leave a message) 1-877-245-9569.
Copyright 2000, Chi Rho Press, Inc.
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R. Adam DeBaugh,
Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
Kevin Stone Fries, Editor/Office Manager, Kevin@ChiRhoPress.com
Visit the Chi Rho Press Website http://www.ChiRhoPress.com
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