LGBTQ
February 13, 2014
Board discusses hiring policy
When the Goshen College Board of Directors met this past Friday and Saturday, the hiring policy was part of their discussions. They did not make any changes and chose to continue the conversation at their next meeting. However, channels of conversation are in full swing in a much larger context - the Mennonite Church itself. Jim Brenneman, GC president, addressed faculty and staff members Monday afternoon to provide a recap and welcome conversation about the Board of Directors' meeting. In regards to the hiring policy, the Board "determined that it was premature to make a specific decision at this time," said Brenneman....
January 29, 2014
Ted & Co.’s New Play Premieres at GC
‘Why do I have to choose between my son and my church? Why do I have to choose between my son and God?’ These were the questions Ted Swartz asked of audience members this past weekend during the unveiling of his new show, “Learning to Play: A (Timely) Conversation about Sexuality and the Church.” The play, which premiered at Goshen College Sunday evening and as an abridged version at Monday morning’s convocation, grapples with a faith community’s questions about same sex relationships, as a father processes his son’s decision to come out. Swartz, who is the writer, producer and performer...
January 22, 2014
Laughter Truly Best Medicine; Ted and Co. Spark Nation-Wide Discussion
When it comes to social justice and faith issues within the church, a little humor can go a long way. This is exactly what actor Ted Swartz and his team of talented musicians and actors provide for audiences across the U.S. Through comedic storytelling and passionate messages, Ted and Co. raise important questions about the true meaning of the church, social justice and gender issues. [caption id="attachment_29548" align="alignleft" width="234"] Ted Swartz will be a special guest on campus next week.Photo contributed[/caption] Fortunately, Ted and Co. will be gracing the Goshen College campus with their new show, “Learning to Play”, during...
December 5, 2013
Open Letter summit discusses solutions for change
A crowd of more than 85 students, faculty, community members and three administrators arrived for a long-awaited conversation at Open Letter’s Summit last Tuesday evening. The meeting was organized by Goshen College’s Open Letter group, which advocates for LGBTQ equality in hiring practices, and was held in the wake of change. Eastern Mennonite University announced on November 15 to enter a six-month discussion period to review their same-sex hiring policy, and while EMU is the first Mennonite-affiliated school to make such a decision, Open Letter’s Summit turnout proved there are many people on campus ready not just to talk, but...
November 22, 2013
Debate over hiring policy continues
Melodies of hymns floated through the air outside of the Church-Chapel last Friday morning before Goshen College’s weekly chapel service even began. Students, many wearing purple shirts that read “Where is my GLBTQ prof?” gathered for a “solidarity hymn sing,” anticipating a conversation that would be held the following day at a college nearly 600 miles away. At the same time in Harrsionburg, Va., students at Eastern Mennonite University gathered to do the same thing. There, EMU’s board of trustees would be attending the EMU chapel service, just a day before discussing a university hiring policy that excludes people in...
February 9, 2012
For the Record 2/9 – Future perspectives on homosexuality
On Tuesday evening, a federal appeals court in California declared that Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage, was unconstitutional. The court ruled that the ballot measure violated the 14th Amendment by discriminating against a set group of people, the gay and lesbian community. I wouldn’t be surprised if this case is eventually presented to the United States Supreme Court, as the issue of homosexuality is one that tears apart churches, homes, relationships and unsatisfactory marriages. In the end, I don’t see this latest decision on Proposition 8 being overturned by the Supreme Court, for a variety of reasons. Homosexuality is...
April 21, 2011
Students sing and sign for reformed GLBTQ hiring policy
tudents and faculty gathered in front of the Administration building on Wednesday afternoon in the drizzling cold, clutching hymn books in true Mennonite fashion, but singing for something traditionally not condoned by the Mennonite church: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ) hiring policies. A group of students led by Patrick Ressler, a senior, and Justin Yoder, a sophomore, put together an open letter to the Goshen College community rallying the college to rethink its hiring policy, which currently prevents the institution from hiring any practicing GLBTQ faculty. As a senior who is openly gay, Ressler was unsettled by the...
September 9, 2009
LBGT inclusion amendment fails after lengthy council meeting
Over 500 people gathered in the auditorium of Goshen High School last Tuesday for a city council meeting about the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected civil right. After the six-hour meeting, filled with nearly 150 people speaking to the council, the city council voted 4-3 against the petition. Race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin and ancestry are already protected civil rights in Goshen. According to the petition, there is currently no federal, state, or local law making it illegal to discriminate based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity in cases of employment...
April 15, 2009
By the broken shield: Silent vigil invites healing
A crowd of nearly 100 people gathered next to the broken shield in front of the Administration building on Wednesday to join in silent objection to Goshen College’s policy against employing openly L.G.B.T.Q. faculty and staff. A card table was set up next to the sidewalk, and fliers on the table informed passersby why this large clump of people had crouched on plastic grocery bags on the wet grass, orange strips of cloth tied around their arms, for 50 minutes of complete silence on a Wednesday morning. “We’re here,” the flier said, “to show that we as a student body...