ARCHIVES
Welcome to our Archives Page! Here you will find previous news and events that SAGA has sponsored and/or participated in.
Shower of Stoles Project
During the first week of June 2014, SAGA brought the "Shower of Stoles Project' to St. John's Episcopal Church in Charleston. A few of the stoles were also on display at an evening choral concert by the Charleston Men's Gay Chorus during PRIDE week at Kanawha Presbyterian Church.
During the first week of June 2014, SAGA brought the "Shower of Stoles Project' to St. John's Episcopal Church in Charleston. A few of the stoles were also on display at an evening choral concert by the Charleston Men's Gay Chorus during PRIDE week at Kanawha Presbyterian Church.
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
SAGA brought four panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt to Charleston, West Virginia for the celebration of World AIDS Day on December 1, 2013. The quilts were on display during the November Charleston Art Walk at a gallery on Hale Street. The panels were also displayed at St. John's Episcopal Church and during the annual AIDS memorial service at Asbury United Methodist Church.
Out in the Cold
On Sunday, January 13th, 2013 SAGA members viewed and discussed the film, "Out in the Cold." The film documents the stories of runaway and homeless lesbian, gay, and transsexual youth. Mostly centered on Indianapolis, Indiana, this film puts this problem (which many assume to be an urban phenomenon) firmly in the heartland of the USA.
A followup discussion is planned for Sunday, February 10th, 2013.
A followup discussion is planned for Sunday, February 10th, 2013.
Remembering World Aids Day - December 1st
World AIDS Day, commemorated worldwide each Dec. 1, also will be observed during worship services at St. John’s on the Sunday closest to December 1. St. John's parish has a long history of fighting HIV/AIDS by increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. In the 1980s, rectors Mac and Mary Adelia McLeod hired a director for a new AIDS Hope and Help Center that included a resource library and telephone helpline operating out of an office in our parish house. This
ministry helped St. John’s earn designation by The Episcopal Church as a Jubilee Center.
When the director departed, St. John’s kept its resolve to continue the outreach ministry by helping to form Charleston AIDS Network, which held its organizational meeting and each meeting throughout its history at St. John’s. The office and library moved next-door to the St. Elizabeth’s Life House, where CAN also established a food pantry, held educational seminars, and provided other services to those affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2008 CAN’s board voted to dissolve the organization as those services were now available through public institutions.
St. John’s work with HIV/AIDS earned the parish the first-ever “Red Ribbon
Award” in 2009, presented by Charleston’s Living AIDS Memorial Garden. The
stained-glass red ribbon continues to be proudly displayed in the archives museum.
ministry helped St. John’s earn designation by The Episcopal Church as a Jubilee Center.
When the director departed, St. John’s kept its resolve to continue the outreach ministry by helping to form Charleston AIDS Network, which held its organizational meeting and each meeting throughout its history at St. John’s. The office and library moved next-door to the St. Elizabeth’s Life House, where CAN also established a food pantry, held educational seminars, and provided other services to those affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2008 CAN’s board voted to dissolve the organization as those services were now available through public institutions.
St. John’s work with HIV/AIDS earned the parish the first-ever “Red Ribbon
Award” in 2009, presented by Charleston’s Living AIDS Memorial Garden. The
stained-glass red ribbon continues to be proudly displayed in the archives museum.
amo, amas, amat ... July 8th, 2012
West Virginia author Carter Taylor Seaton was the featured guest speaker Sunday, July 8th, 2012. She discussed her latest novel, Amo, amas, amat ... An Unconventional Love Story*.
To read more about Mrs. Seaton, visit her website at: http://carterseaton.com
*Amo, amas, amat ... An Unconventional Love Story is available for
purchase at Taylor Books located at 226 Capitol Street Charleston, WV 25301 (304) 342-1461. Please support your local independently owned bookstore!
A Weekend with Jimmy Creech -
April 27-29, 2012
SAGA of St. John's is sponsoring a weekend with Jimmy Creech, co-founder of Faith in America, Inc. A native of Goldsboro, North Carolina, Creech was an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church from 1970 to 1999. He holds a bachelor of arts in Biblical studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master of divinity from The Divinity School of Duke University. He served as a pastor in churches of The North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church from 1970 to 1990.
Creech was appointed senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, in July 1996. Charges were brought against him for violating the Order and Discipline of the United Methodist Church after he celebrated a covenant ceremony for two women in September 1997. He was acquitted during the church trial but charges were again filed against him by the Methodist Church in 1999 after he celebrated the holy union of two men in Chapel Hill. The jury in that trial declared Creech guilty of "disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church" and withdrew his credentials of ordination.
Since the summer of 1998, Creech has traveled around the country preaching in churches and speaking on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national gay rights organizations. He recently completed writing a book, entitled Adam’s Gift, about his experiences of the Church’s struggle to welcome and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.
Creech was appointed senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska, in July 1996. Charges were brought against him for violating the Order and Discipline of the United Methodist Church after he celebrated a covenant ceremony for two women in September 1997. He was acquitted during the church trial but charges were again filed against him by the Methodist Church in 1999 after he celebrated the holy union of two men in Chapel Hill. The jury in that trial declared Creech guilty of "disobedience to the Order and Discipline of The United Methodist Church" and withdrew his credentials of ordination.
Since the summer of 1998, Creech has traveled around the country preaching in churches and speaking on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national gay rights organizations. He recently completed writing a book, entitled Adam’s Gift, about his experiences of the Church’s struggle to welcome and accept lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.
Keeping ALL Our Children Safe
14 November 2010
SAGA sponsored a panel discussion for concerned citizens titled, “Keeping ALL Our Children Safe.” The panel was in response to several nationwide reports of suicides occurring among students who were gay, or perceived to be gay, and who had all experienced bullying in their public schools. Two members of the Kanawha County Schools Cultural Diversity Cadre participated on the panel. Subsequently, those present recommended SAGA sponsor a public forum to discuss the issue of bullying and invite members of the KCS Board of Education to participate.
SAGA sponsored a panel discussion for concerned citizens titled, “Keeping ALL Our Children Safe.” The panel was in response to several nationwide reports of suicides occurring among students who were gay, or perceived to be gay, and who had all experienced bullying in their public schools. Two members of the Kanawha County Schools Cultural Diversity Cadre participated on the panel. Subsequently, those present recommended SAGA sponsor a public forum to discuss the issue of bullying and invite members of the KCS Board of Education to participate.
Keeping ALL Our Children Safe - Continuing the Conversation
February 13, 2011
SAGA hosted a public forum titled, “Keeping ALL Our Children Safe – Continuing the Conversation.” The first part of the forum, held in Hunter Hall at St. John's Episcopal Church in Charleston, included the viewing of the documentary film, Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History. At the end of the panel discussion, Ms. Robin Rector, a member of the KCS Board Of Edication, admitted that the school board had been “bullied” into making the decision that denied the inclusion of the words “sexual orientation” to paragraph 4.03.1 of the KCS Cultural Diversity Policy (July 16, 2009). Two other KCS BOE members were present in the audience, Mr. Bill Raglin and Mr. Jim Crawford, but they made no comment.
SAGA hosted a public forum titled, “Keeping ALL Our Children Safe – Continuing the Conversation.” The first part of the forum, held in Hunter Hall at St. John's Episcopal Church in Charleston, included the viewing of the documentary film, Bullied: A Student, a School and a Case That Made History. At the end of the panel discussion, Ms. Robin Rector, a member of the KCS Board Of Edication, admitted that the school board had been “bullied” into making the decision that denied the inclusion of the words “sexual orientation” to paragraph 4.03.1 of the KCS Cultural Diversity Policy (July 16, 2009). Two other KCS BOE members were present in the audience, Mr. Bill Raglin and Mr. Jim Crawford, but they made no comment.