Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) is a faith community within the Religious Society of Friends. The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers or Friends) is a loose knit religious or spiritual movement founded in England in the 17th century by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity. ...

Purpose

From a minute approved in 1999 [1], FLGBTQC states: The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers or Friends) is a loose knit religious or spiritual movement founded in England in the 17th century by people who were dissatisfied with the existing denominations and sects of Christianity. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

We seek to know that of God within ourselves and others. We seek to express God's truth in the Quaker and in the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual/transgender communities, as it is made known to us.

It is our hope to offer an oasis to those who have been spurned by the world at large. We are learning that radical inclusion and radical love bring further light to Quaker testimony and life. Our experience with oppression in our own lives leads us to seek ways to bring our witness to bear in the struggles of other oppressed peoples.

FLGBTQC publishes a semi-annual newsletter, which is received by 1,500 individuals and Quaker Meetings worldwide.

The group maintains a collection of Marriage Minutes by Quaker Meetings regarding Same-Sex Marriage. FLGBTQC has also sponsored the publication of Each of Us Inevitable, (ISBN # 1199-01161-4), a collection of talks about coming to terms with one's identity and direction. Same-sex marriage is marriage between two people who are of the same characteristic sex. ...

Membership

FLGBTQC holds twice-yearly Gatherings, one in February and one in July at the Friends General Conference Annual Gathering of Friends. Most participants live in the United States, which is where all of the February Gatherings (and all but one of the July ones) have been held for over twenty-five years. The Friends General Conference (FGC) is a Quaker organization in the unprogrammed tradition of the Religious Society of Friends which primarily serves affiliated yearly and monthly meetings in the United States. ...

History

FLGBTQC's origin comes from groups founded in the 1970s, when gay and lesbian Friends were first becoming visible in North American Quakerism. Initially, these Friends founded a group called Friends Committee for Concern. The group has since changed its name three times: first, to "Friends Committee on Gay Concerns (FCGC)", then to "Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns ("FLGC"), and most recently, to "Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC)". This most recent name change occurred at the Gathering in February 2003, at Ghost Ranch, in New Mexico. Look up February in Wiktionary, the free dictionary February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre retreat and education center run by the Presbyterian church, close to the village of Abiquiu in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. ...

Links

Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns