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LGBTQ support

To the editor:

For the past 18 months, the Adirondack Unitarian Universalist Community has been working to be certified as a “Welcoming Congregation” for members of the LGBTQ community. The certification comes from the national office of our denomination, and there are steps we have to take to win certification.

The main focus of the work we are doing is education of our congregation and the wider community. In our congregation, we’ve held participatory workshops and educational programs. In the community we’ve helped to sponsor a vigil for the victims of the June 2016 Orlando massacre and joined with other faith organizations in a service to memorialize transgender people who have been murdered simply because they are transgender.

Another community educational event that we are sponsoring is the upcoming LGBTQ Film Festival. It is being held on four consecutive Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Cantwell Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library. The first film, on Oct. 5, is “The Out List,” a movie about high-profile people who are LGBTQ. The second, on Oct. 12, “Lady Valor: the Kristen Beck Story,” features a 20-year member of the Navy SEALs who transitioned to Kristen upon retirement. The third, on Oct. 19, is “Breaking Through,” a documentary about elected officials — judges, local council members, even a U.S. senator — who are LGBT or Q. The final evening, Oct. 26, features two films: “Facing Fear,” a story of reconciliation and forgiveness, and “Queer Spawn,” about children from lesbian or gay families.

We’re very proud to be offering this film series to the Saranac Lake area. In these times of divisiveness, understanding and acceptance can go a long way toward eliminating prejudice and bigotry. Please join us on Thursday evenings in October, won’t you?

Ann Mullen

Saranac Lake

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