ORLANDO'S CATERING WON'T SERVE PRO-CHOICE PEOPLE!

Well folks, its official...the rumors are true. Orlando's Banquets and Catering has caved to the pressure of radical anti-choicers and banished Faith Aloud. Michael Orlando, owner of Orlando's Banquet and Catering, has decided to donate all the profits from the Faith Aloud Awards to radical anti-choice causes to "make amends" for serving us. Furthermore, Michael Orlando has made the poor choice of refusing to serve people associated with Faith Aloud. Basically, Michael Orlando has chosen to ban pro-choice people from all of his venues. In his email to us, Michael Orlando wrote, "After much discussion and deliberation with our family who takes a pro-life stance in our community, we feel we must decline the opportunity to host your event in the future. I hope you understand our position."
We wonder how he can ask that we understand his position when he not only doesn't understand ours but has also chosen to ostracize anyone who associates with our position . When emcee extraordinaire and marriage equality activist Ed Reggi talked to Michael Orlando about the decision to ban Faith Aloud, Michael Orlando told Ed, " this is a right as a Catholic business to refuse anyone that goes against their families beliefs."
How does this make you feel? What can you do? Here at Faith Aloud we encourage you to BOYCOTT Orlando's Banquet and Catering. Don't have your event there, don't attend events there, and tell your friends not to go there. If you want to do more, write to Michael Orlando directly and express your disappointment with his choice to refuse those who support choice. His address is Orlando Gardens, 8352 watson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63119.

Earth Day!

Here are a few thoughts from faith aloud about the intersections of Environmental Justice and Reproductive Justice in honor of earth day! ENJOY!

Reproductive justice is not just about abortion, birth control, or family planning. Protecting our planet is an important factor when discussing reproductive and general health. We must be cognizant of our impact upon the planet and fellow human beings, and work to keep our oceans clean, soil fertile, people healthy and our planet safe.


Where does Faith Aloud stand on
Reproductive Justice & the Environment?

We DO NOT support abortion or family planning as a form of population control

We DO support the ability of individuals and families to make environmentally friendly and ecologically responsible reproductive health decisions.

We Do support responsible parenting that recognizes how badly we have damaged the planet and the health risks that presents.

We Do support the consideration of environmental health when deciding if and how to bring children into the world.



And here is how different faiths view the intersection of reproductive justice and environmental justice:

Jewish traditions highlight a relationship between the environment and responsible family planning:
“Human beings are supposed to exercise their power.. and free will to be wise stewards of Creation. They should help to maintain the Order of Creation even while they are allowed to use it for their own benefit within certain limits established by God (Genesis 2:14).” **

Here's what some Christian theologians say:
“Christ demonstrates what it means to be created in the image of God: he does not grasp his equality, but lets it go to become the servant of all. We need to see that the real image.. revealed in Christ, is to be a humble servant. We need to become servants of creation and thus reveal in ourselves the true likeness of God.” (Colossians 1.15 and Philippians 2.6
7.) ***

And religions such as Buddhism also teach:
“..family planning when people feel it would be a burden on themselves or their environment to have more [kids].” ****


Now tell us your thoughts on the intersection of Reproductive justice and the environment! What have you heard your faith say? What spiritual practices do you use to honor the earth and your own body? Let us know by commenting here or emailing events@faithaloud.org

*Levi, Yehuada Leo “Jewish Environmental Perspectives” http:// www.jcpa.org/art/jep4.htm

** Troster, Rabbi Lawrence “Ten Teachings on Judaism and the Environment” http://www.coejl.org/learn/je_tenje.php

***Brown, Jennifer “A Christian Perspective on the environment” http://www.sageoxford.org.uk/brown2.htm

**** Stacey, Dawn M.Ed, LMHC,”What Do Religions Say About Birth Control and Family Planning?” http://contraception.about.com/od/ additionalresources/ss/religion_8.htm

Hello out there!
Here is a clip of the previously mentioned counseling DVD's that Faith Aloud has produced for clinics. They cost $5 each and can be purchased by emailing Kelli at outreach@faithaloud.org

One small step in taking religion out of goveremnt

Yesterday President Barack Obama took a step towards taking the morality of former President Bush out of government and out of science. President Obama lifted the federal funding restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. This means that for the first time since former President Bush imposed the ban in 2001 scientist in the United States can receive federal funds for doing stem cell research. Scientists in the United States now are free to CHOOSE to study and get federal funding for stem cell research. What a novel idea? A government that allows people to choose? Those who are opposed to stem cell research do not have to do it--they too have a choice, but those who wish to pursuit this type of research are free to do so as well. Hopefully President Obama extends this right to chose to the women of America as well.

VIDEO BLOG

Hey Folks! Our Fabulous teen group, MY FAITH ALOUD, has put together the first of many video blogs. This video is the first half of a blog on ten things faithful teens should do before having sex. CHECK IT OUT. SEND IT TO YOUR FRIENDS! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHHIC1liNZ8








PS the SECOND HALF IS ON ITS WAY! IT SHOULD BE UP NEXT WEEK!

WE ARE IN GAMOUR AND WE HAVE A TOLL FREE NUMBER!

Hey EVERYONE! Guess what? Faith Aloud has made it to the big time! We are mentioned in an article on Glamour.com . It is a great article about the personal nature of abortion. Check it out. Follow the link above or click HERE. We couldn't be more thrilled by this article and we hope it represents a new trend in American thinking about the abortion debate...that there is no debate...just women making their own personal moral decisions.

And if people want help with those decisions, Faith Aloud is here with our brand new nation wide TOLL FREE NUMBER 1-888-717-5010 or as always via our website FaithAloud.org. Faith Aloud will always be the moral and ethical voice of reproductive justice and will continue to work with religious and spiritual communities everywhere to ensure all people have the support, knowledge and freedom to make whatever choices they need to make. Congratulations America...Here's to the new era in reproducitve justice.

From a Pre-Roe essay on choice

The following is an excerpt from a paper written by a high school student in 1970. Enjoy!

"Religion should be the last thing to consider in state and national abortion laws. Many church leaders themselves are opposed to making their own standards mandatory for others. Boston's Richard Cardinal Cushing feels that Catholics do no need the support of civil law to be faithful to their religious beliefs, they should not seek to impose by law their moral view on other members of out society."

Newsweek says what we've always known...

Newsweek's coverstory is something the folks here at Faith Aloud have always known....that there is indeed a religious case FOR Same-Sex Marriage

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081208/pl_politico/16305

Unequal citizens…

Our nation is in schism. While we here at Faith Aloud rejoice over the fact that only one of four anti-choice propositions or initiatives passed (Arkansas’s adoption ban for non-married partners) we are deeply saddened that all three anti-lgbtq propositions to ban same-sex marriage passed. California’s proposition 8 will amend the California constitution to TAKE AWAY the right to marry someone of the same sex. What really saddens me is that other minority groups in California were instrumental in passing Proposition 8. But why? It wasn’t all that long ago that Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere." Isn’t denying any person the right to marriage an injustice? Isn’t the ban on same-sex marriage just the modern parallel of the ban on interracial marriage? It seems people don’t realize that taking away someone else’s rights doesn’t give them more, but rather increases the likelihood that their rights will be taken away too. While I applaud the California voters for voting no on dangerous abortion restrictions that would limit women’s rights, I am perplexed by their simultaneous willingness to take away the rights of other citizens. As we work here for reproductive justice we believe wholeheartedly in the words of Dr. King. We will not allow justice to be threatened on any front, and we continue to fight in solidarity with all those who feel they are unequal citizens in this country. We will not rest until religion is safely out of politics and until the government gets out of our beds, our places of worship, and our private decisions. Justice for everyone, everywhere…yes…we…can.

Talking About Silence…

This morning I was aghast to find that an anti-choice group was not only planning some very disturbing actions in schools on October 21^st but also that they were simultaneously undermining the hard work that LGBTQ folks have done with The Day of Silence. The Day of Silent Solidarity is the anti-choice movements spin on The Day of Silence and it will take place this year on October 21^st in schools across the country. Using the same basic idea behind the Day Of Silence, the anti-choicers are telling students to not talk all day long so they can be in solidarity with the 4, 000 “infant voices” that are supposedly silenced each day by abortion. Over sixty schools have been registered in Missouri including Ladue High School and all of the schools in the Parkway district.
Clearly, this action goes against many of the principles we believe in here at Faith Aloud. Firstly, the name invites an obvious and hurtful comparison between the silencing of LGBTQ folks by our government and our homophobic society to the choice some women make to end their pregnancies. Secondly, this day is a clear attempt to use scare tactics to silence the voices of women. Finally, the day of silent solidarity represents only one of many different religious beliefs on the subject of choice.
We here at Faith Aloud think that actions like this shouldn’t go unnoticed or unchallenged. So we have created our very own day of action in response—on the same day…October 21^st 2008. We know this isn’t much notice but we are moving quickly. Aloud to be Heard is our attempt to let the voices of reproductive justice be heard above the din of the religious right. We will be creating a facebook event, as well as a myspace event, and we welcome you to check those out. We will be advocating people to wear purple on October 21^st in response to the red color scheme of the anti-choice action. More updates will come including flyers that you can pass out and possible places to get buttons and stickers in time for the event. You can start by joining the group, and being aware that at schools all across the country on October 21^st anti-choicers will be trying to silence the voices of people who believe they have the right to decide what happens to their body without condemnation from anyone, the voices of people who believe in a compassionate god/goddess that loves all of humanity.
We are also calling for people to use their voices by submitting their stories of choice...whether it be the choice to terminate a pregnancy, undergo fertility treatments, carry a child to term, adopt a child, use a sperm donor or surrogate, or any other story of choice...these stories can be posted anonymously here or sent via email to events@morcrc.org
Many people in this country have had their voices silenced…so let’s speak up because we are ALOUD TO BE HEARD.



dayofsilence.org –LGBTQ Day of Silence
silentday.org-anti-choice website
myspace.com/morcrc

Theological Musings: Kelli Whitman

I have spent many mornings outside The Hope Clinic at Faith Aloud’s Faithful Presence silently opposing the protesters who chose to scream at the patients who enter the clinic and me as I hold my “I’m pro-choice and I pray” sign. These mornings have often prompted musings on what it means to be a pro-choice Christian who supports reproductive justice. Here are some of those musings: Does my view on reproductive rights stand outside my convictions as a Christian? Do they have to be mutually exclusive or can my religious beliefs in fact be the reason I am pro-choice? I couldn’t do the work I do every week if I thought the two were mutually exclusive. I look at scripture and see a gracious God who created humanity to be in relationship with each other, and trusted humans with the gift of free will. I see a Jesus who taught us to remove the speck from our own eye before pointing out the log in another’s and preached a gospel of compassion and acceptance. I stand on my UCC heritage which declares that “access to safe and legal abortion is consistent with a woman’s right to follow the dictates of her own faith and beliefs in determining when and if she should have children.” I look into our church history and see Augustine’s doctrine of original sin and the way it continues to warp thinking about sex and sexuality 1600 years after he first invented it. And although these convictions help me understand the intersection of faith and social issues, I am all too aware that the protesters also stand on scripture (however out of context it may be) and tradition to point out all the reasons I will burn in hell someday. Does one of us have to be wrong? Can we both be right? Does it matter? And if it doesn’t matter, why do I get up once a month to stare down 80 hateful faces and risk my own personal safety to say it does?