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Dear Friends, We scored a victory at General Convention! Both the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops approved a resolution acknowledging fidelity in relationships other than marriage, and recognizing that some persons disagree with the Church's traditional teaching on marriage, and will act in contradiction to it. While both Houses stopped short of calling for the creation of rites for same-sex unions, this would be the logical next step. In another resolution, both Houses called for dialogue between the Boy Scouts of America and congregations which sponsor their troops, regarding the Boy Scouts' inclusion of gay leaders. Yet another resolution called for congregations to be "safe spaces" in which glbt people can tell their stories with expectation of safety and confidentiality. Thanks to your contribution, Oasis/California was able to send representatives to Denver to network with Bishops and Deputies, distribute the "California Report", share a booth with Integrity and form alliances with other glbt organizations, and to report to you electronically about legislative activity. We couldn't have been there without your help. Because we focused our efforts on General Convention this year, and because it fell only one week after San Francisco's Pride celebration, we were unable to sponsor an Episcopal presence at the Pride celebration this year. We plan to resume this tradition in 2001, and hope that lots of you will step forward to take part in the planning. In addition to General Convention, this fifth year of Oasis/California has indeed been a significant one. We said goodbye to the last of our founding Board members, as their terms of office expired and they passed their torches to new members. The vacated Board seats were filled by representatives chosen by Oasis Covenant Congregations, specifically to give greater voice to those congregations, and to improve the flow of information in both directions. We hope that this tightening of the link with the Covenant Congregations will create an avenue for each of them, in concert with the Board, to take on a piece of the Program Plan and to put it into action. We plan to devote our energy in the future to further expanding and developing the Suburban Caucus; to help raise awareness of the particular issues affecting Bisexual and Transgendered persons; and to launch a quarterly newsletter to keep the people of this Diocese informed of Oasis' activities. As is true of many young organizations, Oasis/California has had to devote some attention to getting its infrastructure in place. We're in the process of examining and evaluating the Oasis Congregations process- soliciting feedback from congregations, and revising our curriculum and materials. In addition, the main area of skill which seems to be lacking on this Board is that of Fund Development, so we will soon begin looking for someone to assist us in this area. We hope that you will find the efforts and direction of Oasis/California worthy of your support and involvement. Please use the enclosed envelope to make a financial donation, and/or call the office to discuss how you might personally join in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of California. The Rev. Terri A. Grotzinger Return to Oasis/California Home Page.
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