Queer as he wants to be - Out & About Newspaper

26 • NEWS • OUT & ABOUT NEWSPAPER • APRIL, 2006
Alternative prom set for May 6
Staff Reports
“Rainbow stars on the red carpet” will
be the theme of Middle Tennessee’s only
GLBT alternative prom, which will be
held Saturday, May 6.
The prom, in its fifth year, is open to
all GLBT youth and their supportive
friends (ages 14 to 20). It is sponsored by
One-In-Teen (OIT), and like all OIT
events, it is a drug and alcohol free event.
The theme capitalizes on an Academy
Awards/Oscar Night including a red carpet
walk replacing the traditional prom senior
walk/presentation.
The Prom will be held at the Onyx
Room in Nashville (624 Jefferson Street –
across from the bicentennial mall). Ticket
by Joey Hood
Staff Writer
Parishioners of Hillsboro Presbyterian
Church have adopted a progressive outreach
program for members of the GLBT
community, according to a recent press
release.
The extensive Covenant Companions
program was set up after the recent success
of a similarly themed program at
Nashville’s West End United Methodist
Church.
The program, which started Feb. 28 and
is held each Tuesday night, addresses the
struggles of openly gay Christians and
those members of the GLBT community
wishing to reconcile their sexual orientation
with the Christian faith.
“I often hear the stories of people who
have been through ex-gay ministries.
Afterward they often try to sort out their
faith, and many, like jilted lovers, end up
walking away from the very relationship
they wanted above all others, a relationship
with God,” Hillsboro Presbyterian
member Greg Gardner said.
“Without a doubt the church has misrepresented,
and continues to misrepresent,
the Christian faith and the message
of love and inclusiveness that is consistently
and unquestionably the message of
Jesus,” Gardener added.
The Rev. Michal Ann Pepper originally
envisioned the nine-week covenant group
prices are $7 in advance and $9 at the
door. Tickets can be purchased starting
April 19 at the One-In-Teen meetings.
“We are able to offer the community
this wonderful event at this easily affordable
price because of the generosity of our
fabulous prom sponsors,” said DeWayne
Fulton.
For more information contact One-In-
Teen at 615- 321-7288 or prom@one-inteen.org.
�
Hillsboro Presbyterian ‘out’ to GLBT
community with outreach program
for her congregation in California. Since
then, the program has gradually been
implemented at churches throughout the
country.
The basis of the program is inspired by
Pepper’s nationally recognized guidebook,
Reconciling Journey: A Devotional
Workbook for Lesbian and Gay Christians.
“The most basic assumption underlying
this workbook is that Christian discipleship
is the foundation of our lives. Our
sexual orientation is an important part of
who we are,” Pepper wrote in the book’s
preface.
Pepper’s book is divided into supplements
that correspond with the covenant
group’s lectionary. In the first week,
covenant members explored their faith
foundation and told stories of their own
struggles with their sexual orientation and
Christianity.
Gardner said that in upcoming weeks,
the Rev. Nancy McCurley will conduct a
group session on the common Biblical
passages that are used in denouncing
homosexuality and will provide a historical
reference point on how these verses are
misapplied.
For more information about visiting or
joining the covenant, contact Greg
Gardener greggardner@bellsouth.net.
Hillsboro Presbyterian is located at 5280
Hillsboro Road in Nashville. �
Joey can be reached at
jhood@outandaboutnewspaper.com