Reconciling Ministries Network of Chicago, Illinois, United States for Tuesday, 22 August 2017 "The latest at RMN: Responding to Charlottesville events, staff transitions, and some great news in Texas" Come join our team!
After serving at Reconciling Ministries Network since the summer of 2014, Rev. M Barclay has announced they will be moving on from their position as Director of Communications on October 13th, 2017. Among other contributions, M has overseen the growth and impact of the communications department for the Network through General Conference 2016, Convocation 2015, more than 15 public complaint processes and corresponding protests, the election of the first openly lesbian bishop, and RMN’s first national gathering of trans and gender non-conforming Christians.
Their passion for intersectional justice, spiritual depth, and trans advocacy coupled with their skills in communications has deepened and broadened the department in vital ways. Their contributions will be missed, even as we trust God’s leading in a new direction.
M remains committed to being a part of this movement, sharing:
“My time at RMN has deeply enriched my life - providing me with not only exceptional opportunities to learn and grow but also to meaningfully engage with some of the most inspiring and faithful change makers I could hope to know. I’m so thankful to have had the privilege of serving the movement in this capacity over the last three years. As I anticipate the birth of a new form of ministry in my life, I am certain my next steps will provide me with the opportunity to remain a present and committed contributor to the Reconciling work for queer and trans justice in The UMC.”
M will remain available for preaching and teaching on matters of faith and justice and can be reached at mxbarclay261@gmail.com after leaving RMN.
An immediate job search for the Director of Communications position is underway. Applications are due by Tuesday, September 5th and can be sent directly to jan@rmnetwork.org. Read more about the position by clicking here.
RMN is grateful for all the ways in which M has contributed to the work of this movement through the department of communications and we wish them all the best in their ministry moving forward. M is a beloved RMN family member and we are their strongest supporters as they move forward. Personally, M has made my first two months at RMN easy. I wish to thank them, not only for their significant work at RMN over the last three years, but also for answering what has to total thousands of questions as I have come up to speed.
If you would like to make a contribution to RMN in their honor, click the button below.
Jan Lawrence
Executive Director
Reconciling Ministries Network
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Come work with us
We're looking for a Communications Director who is eager to join a team of committed and faithful advocates for LGBTQ justice in The United Methodist Church. Do you know someone who would be the perfect fit? Please help us reach them by sharing the link in the button below with your networks.
Learn more about the Communications Director position
RMN responds to events in Charlottesville
Last week, RMN staff gathered together in Chicago to dream and plan and reflect on our work for change in The UMC. Here, we share a little about what's on our minds and hearts...
Visit General Commission on Religion and Race website
Bathroom bill shut down in Texas
United Methodists were among many of the advocates who spoke out, wrote letters, made calls, visited with representatives, and otherwise contributed to the work of trans and gender non-conforming people organizing against the harmful "bathroom bill" in Texas. The work paid off! Special session was brought to an end last week before the bill could be passed.
Thank you to all who contributed to letting your representatives know that in Texas,Y'all means All.
Post Nation
Transgender ‘bathroom bill’ fails again in Texas as special session ends by Sandhya Somashekhar
San Antonio architect Ashley Smith, a transgender woman, speaks at a rally against a “bathroom bill” at the Texas State Capitol in Austin on July 21. (Jon Herskovitz/Reuters)
The Texas legislature abruptly ended its special session late Tuesday without passing a bill regulating the use of bathrooms by transgender people, a setback for Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who had called the 30-day session in large part to enact such a law.
House leaders adjourned the session a day early, and the Senate followed suit after a contentious month in which the two Republican-controlled chambers failed to agree on a number of Abbott’s priorities. By far the most closely watched was the “bathroom bill,” which sought to require public school students and others in state-owned facilities to use restrooms and locker rooms that matched the gender on their birth certificates.
A version passed out of the Senate, but it never gained traction in the House, where leaders have long objected to such a measure. House leaders blocked a version that was passed earlier this year during the regular session. The legislature is unlikely to revive the bill until it convenes again in regular session in 2019.
[In Austin, the air smells of tacos and trees — and city-state conflict]
It brings to an end, at least for now, the latest battle to flare about the rights of transgender people to use the public restrooms of their choice. Conservatives say that letting them use their preferred facilities violates the privacy of others and gives male sexual predators a pass to enter women- and girls-only spaces. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights groups, meanwhile, accuse conservatives of playing on pernicious stereotypes of transgender people and say that barring them from the restroom they choose essentially banishes them from public life.
The debate flared most notably in North Carolina, where lawmakers last year enacted a law similar to the one that was under consideration in Texas. The law prompted several lawsuits and boycotts from celebrities, businesses and sports leagues. Under pressure, the state repealed part of the law earlier this year, leading at least some groups to end their boycott, though LGBT rights activists complained that problematic parts of the law remained on the books.
The failure of the Texas bill was met with relief by LGBT rights activists, who pledged to continue to fight such efforts in the state and nationally. They were joined by business groups in opposing the measure.
“It is now clearer than ever: nobody but a handful of extremists wants laws that discriminate — in Texas or in any state,” Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement. “We recognize that these extremists may not learn from their failures. We remain vigilant and ready to keep fighting.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), an outspoken proponent of the measure, accused House Speaker Joe Straus (R) of standing in the way of the will of the people of Texas. “They don’t want their children showering together, boys and girls in the 10th grade, sharing locker rooms and restrooms,” he said in a news conference. “And women want to be protected.”
The bathroom bill was the most high-profile measure under consideration during the special session, which Abbott called after the legislature failed to come to a consensus on other matters during the regular session. The legislature failed to agree on other bills, including one that would have given teachers a pay raise.
But it sent to Abbott’s desks measures he requested aimed at reining in local governments, including a bill requiring a referendum before cities can annex land. The legislature also approved a bill limiting local government’s ability to regulate tree-cutting on private property, though the measure was weaker than what Abbott requested. A number of liberal local officials had objected to those and other measures proposed by Abbott this summer, which they called a power grab aimed at curtailing local control control.
Lawmakers also approved two bills imposing new restrictions on abortion — one that adds new reporting requirements for doctors who perform abortions and one that bars private health insurance plans from covering abortion as part of their base coverage. Women now must buy separate plans if they want coverage for abortions.
Sandhya Somashekhar is the social change reporter for the Washington Post. Follow @sandhyawp
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