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International Lesbian & Gay Youth Convene. The Copenhagen Youth group of the Danish National Organization for Gays and Lesbians hosted the Sixth Annual International Lesbian-GayBisexual Youth Conference from July 30 to August 3rd, 1989. This year's conference theme was "Sexuality" and a variety of workshops and discussions were held around this theme.

New Youth groups joining IGLYO from the U.S. include organizations from Tucson, Minneapolis, Stanford, and Penn State University. Memberships for groups or individuals are only $20 and subscriptions to their magnificent publication, Speak Out, are $10. American Express International Money Orders will be easiest to cash for them. IGLYO also has a penpal scheme for youth. Write to: IGLYO, c/o LHJO, P.O. Box 542, NL-1000 AM Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Top age for membership is 26 but everyone is welcome to subscribe to Speak Out.

Get Ready For Gay Games III. Over 10,000 participants are expected at the 1990 Gay Games III and Cultural Festival in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The top five countries represented so far are: United States, Canada, Australia, West Germany and France. Mexicans and other Latin Americans can contact Keith Tod Johnson, Director of Cultural Events of the Sociedad de las Artes in Guadalajara, at Emiliano Zepata #34; Ajijic, Jalisco; Mexico. Phone is 011-52376-53320 for information. The U.S. & other countries can write: Gay Games III; MVAAA; 1170 Bute St; Vancouver, B.C.; Canada V6E 1Z6. Phone (604)6843303. Ask for the Gay Games III newsletter.

Pakistani Seeks Political Asylum. Trikone, the U.S.-based South Asian support organization, and ILGA, the Sweden-based International Lesbian & Gay Association, are asking people worldwide to write protest letters to support a gay Pakistani living in West Berlin who has asked for political asylum on the basis of his sexual orientation. Having lived eight years in West Berlin, he says that it is impossible for him to go back to Pakistan because punishments are very severe for homosexuality. The West German government wants to deport him since they say there is no death sentence for homosexuality in Pakistan, the sentence being a public whipping and flogging.

However, flogging methods used against gays in Pakistan are often fatal. The last public flogging of two homosexuals in Karachi, the capital, resulted in the death of one man during the punishment.

Protest letters on behalf of our unnamed Pakistani brother can be sent to: Berliner Senat, Rathaus Schoneberg, 1000 Berln 62, West Germany. Please send a copy to the ILGA Action

Secretariat, c/o GLF-CologneSCHULZ, Bismarckstrasse 17, 5000 Koln 1, West Germany.

Guadalajara Lesbian Group Opens Office. The Grupo Lesbico Patlatonalli of Guadalajara, Mexico has inaugurated their new "Casa Lesbica" (Lesbian Home) at Belgica 672-B. With lots of enthusiasm, though without much money, they managed to rent their own place, paint and decorate their office and meeting room with couches, chairs, tables and posters and photographs and lots of plants. Patlatonalli feels it is important to women still in their closets to have a safe, secure and private meeting place where they can come to and find the open-armed welcome of the Grupo Lesbico Patlatonalli. All Guadalajara groups joined Patlatonalli for their joyous house warming ceremony and inauguration. Patlatonalli welcomes people to write and visit them and they also appreciate donations for their Library for Women. Patlatonalli offers psychological and legal consultations, workshops on Personal Defense, Lesbian Identity, Lesbian Mothers, Lesbian Art & Feminist Creativity and much more. Write to Grupo Patlatonalli; Apartado Postal 1-623; 44100 Guadalajara, Jalisco; Mexico.

Thailand To Host Gay Conference. Asian Wind, the English language publication of the Japanese International Lesbian & Gay Association (JILGA), has announced that the 3rd Asian Gay Conference will be held in August 1990 in Bangkok, Thailand. JILGA, sponsoring group of the first two Asian Gay Conferences in 1986 & 1988 will work with "Neon Magazine," the host organization for the 1990 conference. It is expected to be a big hit, with a gay tour of Bangkok and other surprises already being arranged. Asian and non-Asian organizations worldwide are invited. Write to Mr. Nukul Benchamet; c/o Neon Magazine; 290/1 Phichai Road; Dusit, Bangkok 10300; Thailand.

JILGA, who serves as the Asian Information Pool for the ILGA is planning visits to South Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia to offer help to existing groups and to try to plant seeds, working towards the formation of new lesbian and gay groups in these countries.

Asian Lesbian Conference Update. The International Lesbian Information Service (ILIS Network) in Amsterdam has announced that Tan Unchana Suwannanoud, organizer of the Asian

Lesbian Network and the first Asian Lesbian Conference has decided to hold the

"Asian Lesbian Gathering” next year in Bangkok, around June 1990, not this year in December, as previously announced. That will give everyone more time to get ready and will assure Bangkok's center stage position in 1990 for Asian Lesbian & Gay liberation. ▼

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October, 1989 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 7

Unitarians foremost in religious acceptance of gays

by Fern Levy

Almost 20 years ago, the UnitarianUniversalist Association passed the first of eight resolutions to date in affirmation of gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

In this respect, and particularly with the establishment of an Office of Lesbian and Gay Concerns in 1974, housed at the Boston headquarters, this denomination stands at the forefront of social change and human rights issues.

One of the denomination's early moves was the adoption of a resolution in 1970 that urged an end to all discrimination in employment and by government agencies, acknowledged diverse sexual orientation among clergy and laity, and recommended sexuality education programs to promote an open and healthy understanding of human sexuality. It also passed a resolution in 1984 that "affirms the growing practices of some of its ministers of conducting services of union of gay and lesbian couples and supports their ministers in this important aspect of this movement's ministry to the gay and lesbian community."

More recently, the General Assembly approved the "Welcoming Congregation Program" at its meeting in June at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.

This latest resolution is a logical step in the process to eliminate discrimination against and exclusion of lesbians and gays within Unitarian-Universalist congregations and to promote a wholistic inclusion of all gays and lesbians.

It asks each congregation to look at ways to openly demonstrate this acceptance and inclusion of lesbians and gays, including clergy. It is a program of reaching out and bringing in. Outreach is proposed through advertising in lesbiangay publications, offering free use of building space for programs, a statement of welcome in publicity brochures and ongoing contact with local lesbian, gay and bisexual groups.

By definition, a Welcoming Congregation will offer ministerial and congregational support for services of union

and memorial services as well as celebrations of evolving definitions of family including dedications of children. Most importantly, it will not promote heterosexism and homophobia by assuming that everyone is heterosexual.

Diversity will be reflected in inclusive language and content of both worship and religious education. And gay pride will be observed and celebrated by the congregation during the church year as well as publicized in the society's newsletter.

What other denomination can claim equal commitment to the promotion of justice, freedom and equality within congregational life as well as in the larger society?

Other religious groups have struggled and faltered over the years, not able to reconcile religious dogma with the lesbian, gay, and bisexual reality. Even the North America Reform Movement of Jewry has attempted to deal with human rights issues, but without the generosity of the Unitarian-Universalist movement of the continental United States.

In 1977, the General Assembly of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations adopted the "Human Rights of Homosexuals" resolution. This resolution promoted protection against discrimination, affirmed that private sexual acts between consenting adults were not the province of government, and urged congregations to conduct educational programs to reconcile Jewish values to a broader understanding of human sexuality.

It is only in the authentic carrying out of these words on paper that so-called liberal religious groups will truly make a difference in a society which continues to deny full human rights to all, regardless of sexual orientation.

We must support the work already done in order to ensure that the work that still needs to be done will be. And be grateful to the Unitarian movement, which is trying to show us the way to the celebration of diversity within and among all religions.

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