4 - 6 PM
19 January 2003

First Presbyterian Church
Hartford Connecticut

Reading:   Isaiah 61:1-4 (adapted)

The Spirit of the Holy God is upon us, because God has anointed us; God has sent us: 
to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of God's favor, and the day of justice of our God;
to comfort those who mourn;
to give them a garland of flowers instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Holy One to display God's glory.
They will build up the ruined places,
they will raise up the former devastations;
they will restore the ravaged peoples
and the injuries of many generations. 

Song                         I Don't Feel No Ways Tired
                                          sung by Sharon Fennema

Blessing
One:        God will withhold no good thing from those who walk with integrity.
Many:    As long as our breath is in us and the Spirit of God is in our hearts, 
                we will hold fast to righteousness and will not let it go.  Amen.
 

Following our annual meeting in February, 2002, Dick Hasbany and Letty Russell were elected as co-chairs, Ralph Jones as Treasurer, and Dan Blackford as secretary. The meeting included worship led by Maria LaSala and a meditation by Letty Russell on "God's Promise of Justice and Love," and a light supper provided by Terry Davis and the First Presbyterian Church of Hartford.

Throughout the year, Presbyterian Promise used its informative and attractive newsletter, 
Presbyterian Promise News, and our web site, http://presbypromise.home.att.net to educate and speak out. Our editor and web spinner, Ralph Jones can be reached at PresbyPromise@tamfs.org for further information. He invites your feedback. In May we sent out a letter to our supporters entitled, "An Invitation to Break the Silence" calling for solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Christ who are the objects of judicial harassment.

Worship became an increasingly integral part of our work of advocacy and ministry. In June we held a special service in New Haven to send off board member Barbara Hager as a commissioner to GA and to give thanks for the witness of Greg Price and Wayne Osborne in the Stamford church. The service was followed by a potluck at Dick Hasbany and Craig Machado's home. Worship was central in the experience of the powerful TAMFS Conference, co-chaired by Dick Hasbany and held at the Stony Point Conference Center in New York in April.

In Stony Point we met with Hudson River churches and Presbyterian Welcome to search for ways to cooperate in our LGBT ministries, and to develop what we call the "Sleepy Hollow" network [so named because our first meeting was near Sleepy Hollow on the Hudson River]. The meeting led us to accept the challenge to make a national witness during Reformation Sunday. The Sleepy Hollow group sent out a mailing to all the Presbyterian Churches in the USA (over 11,000) asking them to honor Reformation Sunday with a special observance that would "offer support and recognition to individuals and congregations who continue to heed God's call to inclusion despite threats of discipline and invitations to leave the denomination." The Sleepy Hollow group cooperatively planned and sponsored a highly successful and powerful service on October 27th at South Church in Dobbs Ferry, NY. The service called upon Presbyterians to renew our commitment to a just and inclusive church, reformed and ever reforming." Hal Porter, pastor emeritus of the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati preached.

Presbyterian Promise made witness to the broader LGBT community at several Pride Day celebrations during the summer and fall. We marched with Presbyterian Welcome in the New York Pride Parade in June, joined with an ecumenical network of welcoming congregations in New Haven to create a Christian welcoming table at New Haven Pride (also in June). In September, we had our own table at the Pride event in Hartford. Jack Hartwein-Sanchez and Letty Russell were among those who opened the event with comments and prayer. Our participation in these events is part of our mission to reach out beyond the church to the community with a message that there is welcome for LGBT persons in at least some of our churches!

As part of that message for youth in our churches, we held a youth gathering sponsored by the Wilton Presbyterian Church and the First Presbyterian Church of New Haven. Brian Cave was our special resource person to lead a program that explored the stereotypes and attitudes around homosexuality. We plan to continue these much needed youth programs in our Presbytery of Southern New England in 2003, and two programs are already in the planning stages, one for First Presbyterian, New Haven and one for Wilton Presbyterian Church, possibly in conjunction with New Canaan. 

As part of our education and outreach ministry, we offered a course in the spring at New Haven First's Center for Faith and Life, entitled "Practicing Hospitality in a World of Difference," taught by Letty Russell and Shannon Clarkson. 

Outreach to the churches continued during 2002 with discussions in the churches and an invitation to interested churches to appoint delegates to the Presbyterian Promise Board and its committees. Inspired by the evangelizing road trips of That All May Freely Serve, Presbyterian Promise members took to the road themselves this fall! In October we accompanied TAMFS Regional Coordinator, Lisa Larges, as she visited our region. On a virtual marathon of visits to local churches, Lisa helped us get the word out that we were concerned about what the churches were thinking and doing about welcoming LGBT people. Lisa preached at Crossroads in Waterford, CT and then led a discussion with church members. Later that week, we moved on with Lisa to Wilton for a luncheon and then to West Hartford for tea!

Taking Lisa's example seriously, we continued on our own road trips this fall after she left us.  Our work included church visits, adult education and Board meetings in Wilton and Providence, Rhode Island. This latter visit, coordinated by Dan Blackford, was a first, and we were gratified to find a great deal of interest and support from members of the Providence Church. (In January 2003, Providence became Presbyterian Promise's fourth sponsoring church!) We enjoyed the hospitality of these wonderful churches and learned a good deal about how different people practice hospitality.

The year demonstrated to us how much possibility and need there is for our work.  Our feeling seemed to be confirmed by the commissioners to the Presbytery of Southern New England in November when a majority approved of our request to become the presbytery's first recognized advocacy group. The debate showed the urgency of our work and the real need for healing. Our new status permits us to provide information at each presbytery meeting and gives us greater visibility and credibility throughout the presbytery. 

The new status also emphasizes more than ever our need for an outreach minister, and finding ways to bring one to our region remains an important goal for us. We will need to focus on gathering the money to support such a person and his/her ministry.  This effort was given an huge boost, also in November, as Pat Wales and Cheryl Molina traveled to Ghost Ranch to attend an intensive two-day seminar on fund-raising sponsored by TAMFS national and led by the nationally known non-profit fund raiser, Kim Klein. Pat and Cheryl returned with fire and enthusiasm. The board looks to their leadership to help Presbyterian Promise move to a more professional and effective ministry in 2003. 

The Board appointed Cheryl Molina, Pat Wales, and Dick Hasbany as a committee to nominate persons to fill vacancies created by resignations and to fill the class of 2005. The following were elected: