People Make the Place
Explore how it's possible to change a basic space into an inspiring place that welcomes diversity. In the first hour, a panel of parents, relatives, and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender loved ones and IYG youth will share stories about how being in a safe place of unconditional acceptance and support has inspired them.
Panel members will discuss how they felt when walking into a PFLAG or IYG meeting room for the first time and how their life is enriched each time they return. The audience will learn about the initial struggle, then the eventual path one takes through education and awareness to reach a special place of comfort and connectedness with nontraditional families and diverse people.
In the second hour, Reverend Barbara Child of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis will help us explore in small groups how people, more than spaces, make places inspiring. She will discuss the role of safety and security in a place of sanctuary. What is more important: the physical location or what happens there? How can we make places inspiring for others? Each person will brainstorm specific ways they can transform their own common spaces into places in which others are inspired to accept and support diversity of all kinds. Participants will write a self-addressed note (to be mailed a few months later) with a reminder of their commitments.
An art display of places that have inspired Indiana Youth Group members will illustrate their own personal stories of safe spaces.
Elie Wiesel, a Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor said, "Sanctuary is often something very small. Not grandiose, but a small gesture toward alleviating human suffering and preventing humiliation. The sanctuary is a human being. Sanctuary is a dream. And that is why you are here and that is why I am here. We are here because of one another. We are in truth each other's shelter." We hope you'll join us in our classroom and be part of the transformation from an empty space to a sanctuary where families come together, grow together and move toward a greater understanding of what it takes to inspire others. Light refreshments will be served.
Sunday, November 08, 2009 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
at St. Luke's United Methodist Church
100 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN 46260
Special Venue Instructions: Enter in the Youth Wing (North door)
Questions? Call 317-545-7034 or e-mail info@indypflag.org.