Responding to LGBT Concerns in your Ministry

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Responding to LGBT Concernsin your Ministry
Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer Executive for Health and
Wholeness Advocacy Wider Church Ministries Phone
216-736-3217 Email schuenem_at_ucc.org Web
www.ucc.org/lgbt
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Creating Safe Space

• For a healthy conversation, let us
• respect each other
• listen carefully to what others say
• speak for ourselves
• honor confidentiality

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Creating Safe Space

• A Litany
• One O God of mystery and wonder, you come to us
  in so many ways.
• Many In the person of Jesus
• One In the people who followed him,
• Many In those who keep alive his vision of
  peace, justice, and equality, in each new
  generation.

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Creating Safe Space

• One In the stories of our foremothers and fore
  fathers,
• Many In the people, young and old, who taught
  and teach us our faith.
• One Each of us is alive with your presence, O
  God!
• ALL GOD OF MYSTERY AND WONDER, MAY WE BE OPEN
  TO SEEING YOU IN ONE ANOTHER, AND MAY OUR WORDS,
  ACTIONS, AND FAITH REFLECT THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR
  EACH OF US, AS YOUR CHILDREN. AMEN.

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OVERVIEW

• Building a common language
• Address Three Questions
• Who is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
  (LGBT) Community?
• What are LGBT concerns?
• How can we respond?
• General discussion and questions

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Our Whole Lives Values

• The development of sexuality is determined by a
  variety of factors.
• Everyone should have access to information about
  sexuality so that they can make decisions
  grounded in the values of
• self esteem,
• sexual health,
• responsibility,
• justice and inclusion.

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Our Whole Lives Values

• No matter who we are, we seek to experience and
  express our gender and sexuality in ways that are
  
• healthful,
• pleasurable and
• loving.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality
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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Biological Sex/Physiology
• Sex is the biological characteristics that define
  human beings as male or female or intersex.
• Biological sex refers to physical characteristics
  such as
• external genitalia and internal genitalia
• chromosomes
• gonads
• hormones
• the brain???

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Intersexual
• An individual who has atypical development of
  physical sex attributes, including (but not
  limited to)
• external genitals not easily classified male or
  female
• incomplete development of internal reproductive
  organs,
• variations of the sex chromosomes
• over- or under-production of sex-related hormones
• variant development of the testes or ovaries.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Intersexual
• Some characteristics are recognized at birth
  others do not become apparent until puberty or
  later.
• Intersexuals were previously known as
  hermaphrodites. Some individuals now prefer the
  term DSD (disorders of sexual development) to
  refer to intersex conditions.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Gender
• an individuals personal, social and/or legal
  status as female, male or transgender.
• Words that describe gender include feminine,
  masculine and transgender.
• Gender is a cultural construct that reflects a
  societys expectations for feminine and masculine
  qualities and behaviors.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Gender Identity is an individuals own sense of
  self as a woman, man or transgender. Gender
  identity may or may not conform to an
  individuals biological sex.
• Gender Expression is the outward expression
  (behavior, clothing, hairstyle, voice and/or body
  characteristics) of an individuals gender.
• Gender Role is the cultural expectations of
  female and male behaviors.
• Gender Variance is the gender identities,
  expressions or roles that do not conform to what
  society typically expects from an individual
  based on his or her biological sex.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Transgender
• an umbrella term for individuals whose gender
  identity and/or gender expression differs from
  the cultural expectations of their biological
  sex.
• Transgender people usually seek to make their
  gender expression match their gender identity,
  rather than their biological sex.
• The term transgender does not provide
  information about a persons sexual orientation
  transgender people can be bisexual, heterosexual,
  homosexual or asexual.
• Someone once explained it to a child this way A
  person having a boys body with a girls heart,
  or a girls body with a boys heart.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Transexual
• a term for persons who believe that their
  biological sex is incompatible with their gender
  identity.
• Biological females who live as men are called
  female-to-male (FTM) transsexuals, transsexual
  men or transmen.
• Biological males who live as women are called
  male-to-female (MTF) transsexuals, transsexual
  women or transwomen.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Transexuals
• often pursue medical procedures such as hormone
  treatments or gender confirmation surgery (also
  known as sex-reassignment surgery (SRS)) to make
  their physical attributes conform more closely to
  their gender identity.
• who pursue sex-reassignment surgery may refer to
  themselves as pre-operative (pre-op) or
  post-operative (post-op) transsexuals. Others
  dislike this terminology and prefer to say they
  are in transition.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Cross Dresser or Transvestite
• an individual who regularly dresses in attire
  associated with the other gender, either for
  sexual excitement or emotional release, or in
  some cases, for performance art.
• Cross dressers can be any sexual orientation, but
  are primarily heterosexual men.
• Transvestites differ from transsexuals in that
  they do not want to alter their bodies. In the
  U.S., the older term transvestite is considered
  by many cross dressers to be offensive, but the
  usage and connotation vary by culture.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexuality
• is the sexual knowledge, beliefs, attitudes,
  values and behaviors of individuals.
• Its dimensions include the
• anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of the
  sexual response and reproductive systems
• gender identity, sexual orientation,
• roles and personality as well as
• thoughts, attachments, physical and emotional
  expressions, and relationships.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexualities - a sociological term for the many
  ways human beings engage in physically,
  emotionally and spiritually intimate behaviors
  and relationships. The term is typically used to
  suggest a diversity of sexual and gender
  identities, rather than a single sexual norm.
• Sexual Identity - an individuals sense of self
  as a sexual being, including biological sex,
  gender identity, gender role, sexual orientation
  and sexual self-concept. Sexual identity may also
  refer to the language and labels people use to
  define themselves.
• Sexual self-concept refers to the individuals
  assessment of his or her sexual identity.
  Development of sexual identity is a critical part
  of adolescence.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexual Orientation
• an individuals enduring romantic, emotional or
  sexual attractions toward other persons.
  Heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual, are
  examples of specific sexual orientations,
  although sexual orientation falls along a
  continuum that ranges from exclusive
  heterosexuality to exclusive homosexuality.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexual Orientation
• Many people are attracted in varying degrees to
  people of the same sex and people of the other
  sex. It is important to note that
• Sexual orientation refers to feelings and
  identity, not necessarily behavior. Individuals
  do not always express their sexual orientation
  through their sexual behaviors.
• Sexual orientation is not a choice. It is
  determined by a complex interaction of
  biological, genetic and environmental factors

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexual Orientation
• Asexuality is little or no romantic, emotional
  and/or sexual attraction toward other persons.
  Asexuals may also be described as nonsexual.
• Celibacy is different from asexuality. Celibacy
  is a choice an individual makes not to engage in
  sexual behaviors with another person.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexual Orientation Bisexuality
• an enduring romantic, emotional and/or sexual
  attraction toward people of all sexes.
• A person who identifies as bisexual may live in
  relationships with a partner of the other sex or
  of the same sex.
• A bisexual person may be
• more attracted to one sex than another,
• equally attracted to women and men, or
• may consider sexual orientation and gender
  unimportant.
• The intensity of a bisexuals attractions toward
  one sex or another may vary over time.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexual Orientation Heterosexuality
• an enduring romantic, emotional and/or sexual
  attraction toward people of the other sex.
• The term straight is commonly used to refer to
  heterosexual people.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Sexual Orientation Homosexuality
• an enduring romantic, emotional or sexual
  attraction toward people of the same sex.
• The term gay can refer to homosexual women or
  men, while the term lesbian refers only to
  homosexual women.
• Same gender loving is a term for homosexuality or
  bisexuality which is being used more and more,
  especially in communities of color.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Coming Out
• short for coming out of the closet.
• The term refers to the period when LGBT persons
  acknowledge and embrace their sexual orientation
  or gender identity and begin to share this
  information with others.
• Coming out is not a one-time event, but an
  extended process of self-identifying to family,
  friends, colleagues, clergy and other significant
  people in an individuals life.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• LGBT/GLBT
• is a collective acronym for lesbian, gay,
  bisexual and transgender people.
• Lengthier versions include LGBTQ to include
  people who identify as queer, and LGBTQQIA,
  to include queer, questioning, intersex and
  asexual.
• The a may also be used to refer to allies,
  heterosexuals who support justice for LGBT
  persons.coming out of the closet.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Heterosexism
• is the privileging of heterosexuality over other
  sexual orientations, or to the assumption or
  assertion of heterosexuality as the preferred
  cultural norm.
• Homophobia
• is fear, dislike, hatred or prejudice toward
  homosexuality and homosexual persons.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Queer
• has been used as a negative term for a lesbian or
  gay man and in some cultures it still is.
• However, queer has recently been reclaimed by
  some gay people as a self-affirming reference for
  difference and in that context often refers to
  anyone of a different or variant sexual
  orientation or gender identity.
• It is best not to use this word to refer to
  specific individuals without their consent.

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Some Commonly Accepted Definitions Sex, Gender
and Sexuality

• Questioning
• refers to individuals who do not identify with
  any of the current terms that define sexual
  orientation or gender identity.
• It is also used to describe those who are
  struggling to understand their own sexual
  orientation and/or gender identity.
• They may choose to refer to themselves as
  questioning, third gender, gender queer, or
  they may choose no term at all.

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Continuums
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People are more complex than labels suggest
Source of slide concept Margaret Stumpp,
Ph.D. Senior Vice President at Prudential
Financial
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Continuums
Intersexed

• Physiology, Biology Male Female

Identity Man Woman
Transgender
Expression Masculine Feminine
Androgynus
Sexual Orientation Homosexual/Gay,
Lesbian Heterosexual/Straight
Bisexual
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Straight Masculine Male
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Straight Feminine Female
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Lesbian Feminine Female
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Masculine Female
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Effeminate Male
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Transgender Male to Female
?
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Transsexual Male to Female
?
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Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Concerns
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LGBT Concerns

• for LGBT employees and service consumers
• Safety
• Welcome and Inclusion
• Equality and Justice

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LGBT Concerns

• for LGBT employees and service consumers
• Safety
• Protections from harassment, bullying and
  demeaning behavior
• Equal access to employment and services
• Clear expectations articulated and
  supported/implmemented by leadership/management
• Signs and other symbolic gestures

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LGBT Concerns

• for LGBT employees and service consumers
• Welcome and Inclusion
• Awareness and Education
• Relating well to family of choice
• Relating well to family members who are LGBT
• Signage and other symbolic gestures

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LGBT Concerns

• for LGBT employees and service consumers
• Equality and Justice
• Silence, stigma and discrimination
• Causes Isolation
• Can lead to depression and numerous other serious
  health concerns

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LGBT Concerns

• for LGBT employees and service consumers
• Equality and Justice
• Everyone should have access to
• information
• programs and services
• safe, affordable, quality housing
• health care
• Everyone should receive recognition of and
  respect for their
• spouse
• family of choice
• LGBT family members

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Ministries of Response
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Ministries of Response

• Policies
• Education/Awareness/Training
• Programs and Services
• Marketing
• Advocacy

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Ministries of Response

• Policies (employment, service consumers)
• Welcome and inclusion
• Non-discrimination
• Education/Awareness/Training
• Resources available from
• UCC Health and Wholeness Advocacy Office,
  www.ucc.org/lgbt
• Questioning Youth Center, Naperville, IL
• SAGE, www.sageusa.org
• The Task Force, www.thetaskforce.org
• Human Rights Campaign (HRC) www,hrc.org

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Ministries of Response

• Programs and Services
• Queer youth
• Create a support community (Gay-Straight
  Allilance type groups)
• Comprehensive Sexuality Education (Our Whole
  Lives)
• HIV and STD prevention programs
• Anti-bullying policies and education
• LGBT homeless youth programs
• Suicide prevention training and services

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Ministries of Response

• Programs and Services
• Seniors Policies and education
• Housing that safe and welcoming and inclusive
• Nursing Care that is sensitive to the needs of
  LGBT persons
• Staff training
• Client/Patient bill of rights
• Support for caregivers
• LGBT Family and Friends
• Family of Choice

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Ministries of Response

• Programs and Services
• Seniors
• Legal services
• Health Care
• Spouse/partners
• Insurance
• End of life decisions
• Survivorship

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Ministries of Response

• Programs and Services
• Outreach to Churches and LGBT Community
  Organizations
• Build a relationship
• Encourage and support their outreach efforts
• Sponsor/offer seminars and workshops
• Provide information to connect LGBT folk with
  open and affirming (ONA) type congregations in
  your community
• Be a resource to each other
• multi-directional partnerships (MOUs)

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Ministries of Response

• Marketing
• Advertising and Promotional Materials
• Statement of welcome, inclusion and
  non-discrimination
• LGBT tailored services
• Include in your target
• Congregations, especially ONA
• LGBT Community Organizations
• HIV and AIDS Service Organizations

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Ministries of Response

• Advocacy
• Tell the story
• Op ed and letters to the editor
• Raising awareness
• In response to events and articles
• Encouraging fairness and justice
• Support fair and just public policy
• Employment non-discrimination
• Bullying, violence and hate crimes
• HIV Prevention, treatment and care

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Why Us?

• Hypocratic Oath Do no harm.
• We have the vocation of human service.
• Advocates for healthy communities
• Response to human need
• Matters of life and death
• God is calling us to it
• In the UCC
• In our communities
• Throughout our world

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Discussion
Questions?Thoughts? or Comments?
Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer Executive for Health and
Wholeness Advocacy Wider Church Ministries Phone
216-736-3217 Email schuenem_at_ucc.org
Adapted from http//www.ucc.org/justice/owl/
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Resources

• General
• UCC Office for LGBT Ministries, Rev. Mike
  Schuenemeyer
• www.ucc.org/lgbt, lgbt_at_ucc.org
• UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns, Rev. Ruth
  Garwood, Executive Director, www.ucccoalition.org
  
• Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org
• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force,
  www.thetaskforce.org
• Employment
• Workplace, http//www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/805
  5.htm
• Making it Real Moving Beyond Corporate Policy in
  the Day-to-Day Lives of LGBT Employees, Ernst and
  Young,http//www.ey.com/global/assets.nsf/US/Maki
  ng_It_Real/file/MakingItReal.pdf

Adapted from http//www.ucc.org/justice/owl/
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Resources

• Children and Youth
• Youth and Young Adult Program, UCC Coalition for
  LGBT Concerns, Timothy Brown, Coordinator,
• http//www.ucccoalition.org/programs/yya.html
• Our Whole Lives, a comprehensive sexuality
  education curriculum
• www.ucc.org
• Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth An
  epidemic of homelessness
• http//www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/
  homeless_youth
• Campus climate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
  transgender people A national perspective
• http//www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/
  campus_climate
• Youth in the crosshairs The third wave of ex-gay
  activism
• http//www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/
  youth_in_the_crosshairs

Adapted from http//www.ucc.org/justice/owl/
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Resources

• Aging
• Out and Aging The MetLife Study of Lesbian and
  Gay Baby Boomershttp//www.sageusa.org/resources/
  resource_view.cfm?resource46
• Make room for ALL Diversity, Cultural
  Competency Discrimination in an Aging America
• http//www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/
  make_room_for_all
• Outing Age Public Policy Issues Affecting Gay,
  Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders, by Sean
  Cahill, Ken South and Jane Spadehttp//www.thetas
  kforce.org/reports_and_research/outing_age
• Unique Housing Challenges for Seniors
• http//www.hrc.org/issues/aging/5348.htm
• Publications on Transgender Inclusion in the
  Workplace
• http//www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/diversity/899
  3.htm

Adapted from http//www.ucc.org/justice/owl/
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Thank You!
Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer Executive for Health and
Wholeness Advocacy Wider Church Ministries Phone
216-736-3217 Email schuenem_at_ucc.org Web
www.ucc.org/lgbt