Soulforce in Oklahoma Norman/Oklahoma City group to begin Feb 1

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The following is an e-mail from Karen Weldin
(Posted 1-7-01)

CONTENTS:

1.    SOULFORCE IN ROME

2.    STAGE II: THE SOULFORCE STOP SPIRITUAL VIOLENCE CAMPAIGN - A CALL TO NON-COOPERATION

3.    SOULFORCE IN OKLAHOMA NORMAN/OKLAHOMA CITY GROUP TO BEGIN FEBRUARY, 1, 2001

4.    SOULFORCE IN OKLAHOMA TO MARCH IN THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. PARADE, MONDAY JANUARY 15TH

5.    DR. BRANDON SCOTT TO SPEAK TO THE SOULFORCE IN OKLAHOMA TULSA GROUP, MONDAY JANUARY 22ND

6.    MEETING REMINDER FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 8TH

7.    PERSONAL STORY FROM KAREN WELDIN

Dear Soulforce In Oklahoma Friends,

I send greetings to all of you this New Year and hope that your Holidays were good. I have much to share in this email and will try and make it as concise as possible. It is my hope that 2001 will be an active and full year for Soulforce In Oklahoma. There is much work to be done.

As I write this email, Soulforce National is in Rome participating in 4 days of non-violent action at the Vatican. If you have not visited the website lately I suggest you do so and read an account of each days events in Rome. The website is www.soulforce.org . The action began on January 2nd and will end on January 7th. Many local areas across the country are conducting simultaneous prayer vigils today to support the work in Rome. I ask that you pause for a moment sometime today and remember the Team of 18 Soulforce Volunteers who are in Rome. I also ask you to pause and remember in prayer all of the people who continue to be abused and oppressed as a result of the anti-gay rhetoric, teachings, and policies of various religious denominations and groups.

Much work has been done during the last few months by Soulforce National to organize Stage II: The Soulforce STOP SPIRITUAL VIOLENCE Campaign - A Call To Non-Cooperation. Under a separate email I will forward to you a copy of the outline for this Campaign as well as a sample Withholding Card to Use. At our next Soulforce In Oklahoma Meeting on Monday, January 8th at 6:00 PM at the Tulsa Gay Community Services Center at 2114 S. Memorial, Tulsa, we will be discussing this campaign and making concrete decisions how to implement it in Oklahoma. PLEASE make every attempt to attend this meeting and help us launch this program in Oklahoma. We need your help.

Plans have also been made to launch a Soulforce in Oklahoma Group for the Norman/Oklahoma City area on Thursday, February 1, 2001 at 7:00 PM at the United Ministries Center, 1017 Elm Ave., Norman, Oklahoma. I will facilitate a two hour introductory workshop and discussion for all interested persons. I will cover the basic philosophy, goals, strategies, and methods of Soulforce. All interested persons are invited to attend. I hope you will tell all of your friends in the Norman/Oklahoma City area about this meeting and encourage them to attend.

Soulforce In Oklahoma will be marching with TOHR and PFLAG in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade on Monday, January 15th. The parade begins at 11:00 AM. I believe it is important for all of us who are able to walk in this parade. It is a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., a statement that his dream lives on, and a plea for justice for all of us. I ask that if you are planning on walking with Soulforce In Oklahoma that you wear dark pants/slacks and a Soulforce shirt or Sweatshirt if possible. If you do not have a Soulforce shirt or sweatshirt, I will have some at the meeting on Monday, January 8th. Otherwise, please wear a white shirt or sweatshirt if possible. If this is not possible - please just come join us anyway. We want you to walk with us.

At our meeting on Monday, January 22nd, Dr. Brandon Scott, from Phillips Theological Seminary, will be talking to us for the entire meeting about "Homosexuality and the Bible." This will be a very informative and important meeting for you to attend. I hope you will mark your calendars now and will make every effort to be there. I hope you will invite your friends to come too.

This email is a reminder that the next Soulforce In Oklahoma meeting is this coming Monday, January 8th at 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM at the Tulsa Gay Community Services Center, 2114 S. Memorial, Tulsa. Please make plans to attend.   We will be discussing all of the above items and making concrete plans for 2001. (One of the agenda items for the meeting is to discuss changing our meeting times from the 2nd and 4th Mondays to the 1st and 3rd Mondays so we are not meeting when PFLAG is meeting.)

Now for the hardest part of this email. I want to share with all of you what has been going on within my family over the holidays. I want to share this with you for many reasons. You are all my friends, I know you care, and I need to share this because it is a blatant example of why Soulforce exists and why we need to be doing the work we are doing. For many years I have been praying and hoping that my younger sister would some day be able to deal with her sexuality. Little did I know that she had sought help and was in fact doing just that for the past three years. My sister has two children, ages 14 and 8. On December 16th my sister came out to my Mother. My sister had already decided that if my Mother asked directly she would tell her the truth. She did just that. She told my Mother she was gay. On December 29th two police officers arrived at her door and said they were there to pick up the two children. My Mother had sought counsel, and was able to obtain an emergency temporary custody order. Both children were removed that day. That motivating reason for this action is my sister's sexuality. Needless to say, my sister was, and is, devastated and so was I. The attorney representing my sister has requested that this case not be made public while it is in progress. I will respect her and my sister's request. My sister did; however, give me permission to share the above information with you. My Mother and Step-Father are very entrenched in the Southern Baptist religion. They truly believe they are doing what is best for the children. This is another example of the results of what can happen when people are driven by fear and misinformation. I ask for your prayers for my sister and her children. I ask that you pray for my Mother, my Step-Father, and all the other people who are involved as well as effected by this tragic decision. Until we ALL come out to our families and confront the fear and ignorance that still prevail about us, this kind of behavior will continue. All of you must know that this simply motivates my passion to continue in my work with Soulforce. I hope you will continue to join me.

I hope I will see you at the meeting Monday night......

Much love and peace,

Karen Weldin

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