Inside This Issue Editorial: A Report about Our Portland Gathering Upcoming Events New Day Rising: Join Us in Washington, D.C., June 6-8, 2003 Affirmation Announces Conference Costs--And They Are Low! Bylaws Amendment Project Moves Forward BYU-Idaho Student Launches Mailing List

Editorial: A Report about Our Portland Gathering

by Scott MacKay, Executive Director

[See this short movie shot during one of the meetings]

In what has become an annual tradition, we held our first 2003 Cornerstone in Portland at the welcoming home of Alan Blodgett. I was the last to arrive Friday evening and by the time I arrived at Alan's, the festivities were well underway. Although no official get-together had been planned, the house was filled with participants and local Portland Chapter members alike. An excellent dinner was prepared by Ricky of Los Angeles for all the hungry travelers. While a few folks went out on the town, many of us decided to turn-in early in preparation for the meetings of the next day.

We express our gratitude to Alan Blodgett and Jason Giles, who provided their homes for the weekend events, and to the many friends who provided us with lodging: Len Porter, Bruce Bowers, Rick and Henry, Marty and Chuck, and Mark Spencer.

Saturday morning found everyone together ready to begin the discussions. Attendees included myself (Scott) and Myna from Seattle, Hugo and Duane of Salt Lake City, Ricky and Darren of L.A., James and Aaron of San Francisco, Olin of Washington D.C. and Alan, Bruce, Rick, Henry, Jason, Mark, Allyson, Michael, and Rebecca from Portland.

A major portion of the morning was spent discussing the changes currently being implemented on the website. The biggest change being undertaken is the addition of a Member Only Area and other modifications. Watch Affinity for further information.

After a wonderful lunch, prepared and served by Portland Chapter member Gordon, the afternoon discussions included:

Progress on the Salt Lake City (2003) and San Francisco (2004) Affirmation Annual Conference.

Registration information for Salt Lake City will be distributed through the Affinity and on the website.

We discussed future sites for Annual Conferences (Listen carefully in Salt Lake for some pretty exciting announcements on this front). One fantastic bit of news we received is that there should be between six and twelve Mexico City Affirmation members in attendance in SLC. The committee is working on providing adequate translation services.

An exploratory group headed by Michael of Portland was created to look at holding a Cornerstone in Mexico in the near future (2004). If interested in this project please contact Michael .

Affirmation's current youth support network (see www.affirmation.org) was reviewed in light of the success of the recently formed Gay LDS Young Adult Groups, and it was determined that no changes were needed. The Gay LDS Young Adult Groups are not affiliated with Affirmation.

Networking with the Transgender/Mormon community is being headed up by Rebecca Nay of Portland. Website and Conference support was reviewed and will continue to be a focus of future discussions.

The Writer's Award was discussed and Mark and Allyson volunteered to work with John-Charles (Director of the Award Program) on "marketing" this year's program and reviewing how the Award program can be improved.

Saturday evening the Portland Chapter of Affirmation hosted a potluck dinner at Jason's home. Over forty Portland Affirmation members and friends hosted the visitors in grand style. After the party, twelve of us headed out on the town to enjoy the 25 year Drag tradition known as Darcelle XV.

During the meeting on Sunday morning, Cornerstone participants discussed the point in their lives when they knew that being gay was OK! For some, it was a specific moment of quiet personal revelation; for others, no actual moment could be identified, but it came as part of a gradual process. Everyone agreed that participation in Affirmation was an important part in their journey of self-actualization The personal stories shared were an inspiration and reflect what I see as Affirmation's primary mission: to create a safe and supportive place for Mormons who are gay to achieve joy in their journey.

All too soon the Cornerstone came to a close after a visit to a local Thai restaurant. The next Cornerstone will be held in Washington D.C. June 7-9 during their Pride weekend.

Upcoming Events, 2003 April 11-13 Gamofite Retreat in Ellicott City, MD May 16-18 Gamofite Retreat in Lava Hot Springs, ID June 8-9 Cornerstone (regional get-together) in Washington DC June Pride events held across the world October 10-12 2003 Affirmation Annual Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah

A New Day Rising: Join Us in Washington, D.C., June 6-8, 2003


Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons invites members, friends, and allies to a regional Cornerstone gathering to be held in Washington D.C. on June 6-8, 2003. With the theme, "A New Day Rising," we will share social events and explore Affirmation strategies for an ever changing world. A discussion of current Affirmation projects, as well as the Annual Conference to be held in October in Salt Lake City, will be part of the agenda.

For comments or to confirm your attendance, please contact Olin Thomas by email or by phone.

Tentative schedule

Friday
7:00-9:00 pm: Meet & Greet at Larry Mann's home in Alexandria, VA

Saturday
9:00 am - 4:00 pm: Business Sessions and Lunch, at Olin Thomas' home in Alexandria
7:00 pm: Dinner

Sunday
9:30 am: Brunch at Buckley Jeppson's home in D.C.
10:30 am: Walk to the Washington D.C. Pride Festival

Affirmation Announces Conference Costs--And They Are Low!

Duane Jennings, chair of the conference planning committee, has just announced the costs for the 2003 Affirmation Conference to be held in Salt Lake City October 10-12. The registration form will be sent out with May's issue of Affinity.

Registration Fees:

	Affirmation members	Guests	Student or Underemployed	Non-dues Paying Student or Underemployed
Prices through September 15	$130.00	$160.00	$80.00	$90.00
Prices after September 15	$150.00	$180.00	$90.00	$100.00

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: Those staying in the University Guesthouse will receive a $20.00 discount from the fees above. We strongly encourage attendees to stay in the Guesthouse, which helps keep the registration fees low.

Housing Information

Rooms at the University of Utah Guesthouse are $70.00 plus sales and hotel tax (10.10%) per night for double occupancy. Add $10.00 per each additional person (up to four can stay in one room.). Rooms to choose from have either one king or two queen beds. Check out what the rooms look like at the Guesthouse website.

Early reservations are encouraged to ensure space and price. Rooms will be held for the Affirmation conference until September 15. Then all available rooms will become available to other university guests. Reservation can be made by calling the toll-free 1-888-416-4075.

On-site parking is available for $ 3.50 a day.

Charting New (Light-rail) Courses!

Utah newspapers have just announced that the light-rail extension to the University of Utah Guesthouse could open by the end of September--right on time for the 2003 Affirmation Conference. If everything goes as planned, conference attendees will be able to use this convenient service to travel between downtown Salt Lake City and the hotel. Two of the stations under construction, "Fort Douglas" on Wasatch Drive and "University Medical Center" on Medical Drive, will be located at walking distance from the Guesthouse.

Click here to enlarge map