Welcome, and thank you for posting this event here.  "Bridging the Gap" sounds like something we've been discussing on our Affirming thread. 

And thanks for the link as well.  Hope to see more of this type of participation from other GLBTT2 groups out there in cyberspace, and to learn of more such workshops and opportunities for learning.

Interesting name!

That's pretty cool, I like the website .

I'm bumping this 'cause it has fallen down the page, and I want it to be seen.

That's awesome. I definitely like the title, too. After watching "For the bible tells me so" I find it very inspiring.

I would love to be able to attend this conference but, unfortunately, cannot. The name is brilliant! I also note that James Loney will be one of the guest speakers -- will you be making CDs available of the sessions? I have posted the link on my Facebook page.

Wow!  What a wonderful conference.  I would love to hear more about the Graceful Engagement of Scripture - I think many could benefit from that.

Thank you for sharing.

LB

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.     Jane Howard

HI..just wanted to give people a brief update about our conference...we now have our advertising going out in our local area - Sault Ste. Marie.  You can download the brochure and/or poster from our site as well.  The televsion ad, through CTV, is going national in two weeks - local radio spots, and web advertising on www.sootoday.com as a link. 

Chris and I would like all who have posted comments on the conference and the LGBT discussions that have taken all over the place on WonderCafe....

Thank you for posting this. The conference will make for a great opportunity to evangelize. Everyone needs to hear that God loves them and wants to save them through belief in Jesus Christ. I will notify the local evangelical churches.

ANd what if they are already people of faith Jae? 

good lord, jae, what the heck has gotten into you today??

i'm amazed that you don't end all your recent post with evil laughter or something... you sound like a demon today.

i want to go to this, but it looks like there may be a conflict with another church event on the very same weekend...

good grief.  i'm going to see what i can do about this...

Jae, you are beginning to revert back to the old Jubilee. Who "s**t"  in your cornflakes this morning?

Never said there weren't believers there, Gord. On the other hand, I doubt they all are. I'd say the same about any other gathering of people as well. Including a meeting at a church.

Oh goodness graciouse no Jae...don't tell evangelical churches in the area to go and "recruit" people. That's a VERRY VERRY BAD IDEA! You'll just be starting a fight.

On a lighter note, thank you for posting this ^_^ I'll deffinately check out the site.

You appear to be assuming that there are few enough believers to make evangelizing in a large way a needed action.

You also appear to be assuming that there are more "true Christians" among the evangelical churches in the area.

Huge assumptions for anyone who is not God to make.

If even one person at the conference does not follow Jesus, I want that person to be witnessed to. As for the churches, I believe that as evangelical churches they are interested in evangelizing.

In my experience, the Evangelical churches aren't exactly pro gay. You telling them to go "Evangelisize" the people is like giving them a map that sais "strike here".

Good backpeddling. Too bad your motives were so transparent in your original reply.

 Just for the record the Greek euangelion (evangelion) means "to bear good news" and I just hesitate to call hard-line right wing congregations evangelical because I ask myself, "What good news comes from them?"  Usually my answer is NOTHING!!!

It's good news if you believe the same things they do!

If you don't...well...then the news is less good.  But they'll take great delight in telling you that news as well.

Seems we made the news in Sault Ste. Marie today......

How gay is the Sault? More gay than you'd think

Posted By Michel Purvis

If Stratford, Ont., is “the gayest small town,” in Canada, just how gay is Sault Ste. Marie?

It could be gayer, but it's probably more gay than you think, say members of the community who are working toward acceptance.

“I would still call it uptight. There are people there that are friendly, definitely, but there are still problems with employment and things like that,” said Harry Stewart, organizer of a conference next month in Sault Ste. Marie that will tackle religion and gay family values.

Outlooks magazine dubbed Stratford the nation's “gayest small town” after editor Randall Shirley visited the southwestern Ontario city, population 30,000, and discovered not only a thriving gay community, but a surprising level of openness.

You won't find that in the Sault. That is, unless you dig beneath the surface, said Sean Meades.

People who live in the Sault seem to believe their hometown is “much more conservative than it is,” said Meades, 23, one of the drivers behind the Safe Places Initiative, and who has worked extensively to combat homophobia in the Sault.

“What I run into mostly in Sault Ste. Marie is not conservative attitudes, it's people complaining about Sault Ste. Marie, people complaining that it's a conservative town, that there's no diversity, that it's this and that, and it's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophesy,” said Meades.

Because of that, people stay closeted, feeling they can't be openly gay, or they can't walk down the street holding their partner's hand, he said. In turn, it has the effect of making the city appear “a lot less progressive than it really is.”

Stewart, 50, said it is definitely easier now for young people to find the support they need, even in the North.

He and his partner Chris, both members of Zion United Church in Thessalon, were the first married gay couple in the Algoma District.

Stewart, 50, said he has found Thessalon to be “embracing,” with a surprising number of gay residents

...read more at http://www.saultstar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1708877

Thanks for that.  And if you in the 'Soo were to borrow a page from Stratford your town could vie for the "Gayest Town". 

I've heard there are a plethora of wonderful B&B's in Stratford.  These have also contributed to the gay-friendly atmosphere there, catering to same-sex weddings and anniversaries.  Brings in tourists.  Holding hands in Stratford is also fine.

News story - http://www.saultthisweek.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1733433

Viewing of the movie "For The Bible Tells Me So" has been scheduled for September 17th, in Sault Ste. Marie.  See news article (above) for more information.

"For the Bible Tells Me So - Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. The movie "For The Bible Tells Me So" will be shown on Thursday September 17th, at Soo College in the Multi-Meida room at 7:00 p.m."  This is in Sault Ste. Marie - the conference registration is going well.