[part 2] [GAIN] Re-sent: Regular news 11/30/00
Kim Carver
said: "I got a letter from a stranger which said they hoped I would meet
a really rich man and settle down to be a devoted wife. That is not my
aim, but you never know."
It was in January that twice-married Reverend Stone, who has an
18-year-old daughter, first declared her intention to change from Peter
to Carol Anne, a name she chose because she thought it sounded "very
pretty".
For anyone determined to make such a transition it was a daunting
decision. But Rev Stone, as a well-known and well-liked priest serving
at St Philip's Church in Upper Stratton for the last four years, had no
idea what the ramifications might be.
The response, however, has been overwhelmingly supportive. She received
the backing of the Bishop of Bristol, the Reverend Barry Rogerson, and
the blessing of her congregation and family .
"My mother only wants my happiness," she said. "Obviously she was
concerned about the pain and the suffering that I have been through but
also because of the operation.
"But at the end of the day, what does any mother want for her children?
She wants them to be happy and successful. My two brothers are also
supporting me."
Rev Stone also drew comfort from her faith in God.
"There is a text in the scriptures that talks about God not letting us
suffer more than we can cope with. I read that and felt it could never
apply to me because there didn't appear to be an end to my suffering.
"But I wrote to the Bishop and when that moment came, the doors opened
and I was able to move forward not only to gender reassignment but to
the priesthood. That was a wonderful answer to prayer.
"I had no doubts about continuing with the priesthood. I have only had
two vocations in life - to be a priest and to be a woman.
"My situation is no different from anyone who has their crosses to bear.
You could go into any hospital ward and ask somebody how they reconcile
their belief in God with the condition they have.
"I have never blamed God. I have always accepted the situation but I
have always hoped something might happen to make a difference."
Rev Stone consulted two psychiatrists before starting hormone treatment
last year and underwent privately-funded surgery almost three months
ago. After the operation and when she began her new life as Carol she
felt a tremendous sense of relief and peace.
"My first reaction was thank goodness everything is right now. There was
a huge sense of normality. There were no angel trumpets - it was just a
sense of good, let's get on with this now," she said.
Normality is what Rev Stone desperately hopes she will be able to enjoy
now. On Sunday she will return to the parish where she says her life
belongs, tending to her congregation.
"After the excitement and novelty I will get back to the bread and
butter work of being a parish priest.
"I have a wonderful congregation. They are full of life, encouragement
and humour. It is no surprise to me that they have been so fantastic. I
am grateful and nothing was taken for granted but they are just a lovely
set of people.
"As a priest you must always be prepared for people to come and go.
There will be one or two who won't be able to make the transition with
me and they will be sorely missed."
She also realises that her sex change will have ramifications for the
church as a whole and others in her position. But she is adamant she has
done nothing but be herself and does not want to be held up as an
example.
"I am just a person who has gone through a major change in life and if
that helps the people who will follow me, then good," she said.
"When you are really up against it and there is nowhere else to go, then
you have to do what you have to do."
Telling the world: Rev Stone pictured with Stephen Oram, spokesman for
the diocese, at a press conference following her operation.
… Copyright 2000 Newsquest Media Group - A Gannett Company
********** GAIN **********
3.
[Received from Miqqi Alicia Gilbert <Gil...@yorku.ca>]
Fantasia Fair is already gearing up for 2001. This year we are beginning
an announcement list called FF-ANN. This is a *low traffic* announce
only list intended to keep the community abreast of developments
regarding the Fair. There will, for example, shortly be an announcement
regarding new *low* prices for early bird subscribers.
To join the list, please send an email to FF-...@gilbert1.net with the
subject line: FF-ANN, and in the body of the message, ONLY your name and
email address. For example:
cu...@isp.com Cutie Smith
Yours,
Miqqi Alicia Gilbert
********** GAIN **********
4.
[Received from Brenda Lana Smith R.af D.
<Brend...@blsmith.freeserve.co.uk> ]
Canadian Federal Elections
The Liberals retain power and the new right is trumped in an election
some gay and lesbian politicos called the most important of their lives.
PlanetOut News Staff
Tuesday, November 28, 2000 / 12:53 AM
http://www.planetout.com/pno/news/article.html?2000/11/28/1
[Editor s note: See item on †trans-candidate€ Jamie-Lee Hamilton. ŻKim.]
In Canada's federal elections November 27, the Liberal Party added a
little to its majority to form its third consecutive government, the
right-wing Canadian Alliance gained a few seats to remain the
Opposition, the gay-supportive Bloc Quebecois (BQ) lost a few seats to
the Liberals, and the Progressive Conservatives (PC) and gay-supportive
left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) both barely managed to hold on to
enough seats to retain federal party privileges. All five party leaders
held on to their seats. The Parliament's two openly gay incumbents,
Svend Robinson of British Columbia and Real Menard of Quebec, were both
returned to office, while at least three openly gay challengers and one
transgender were trounced.
Meanwhile, an Internet "referendum" urging anti-gay Canadian Alliance
leader Stockwell Day to change his name to Doris Day continues to gain
signatures.
Gays' Most Important Election
Prime Minister Jean Chretien had been criticized by his own Liberal
Party for calling the election as relatively early as he did -- he could
have waited another year-and-a-half -- but viewed as a strategy to head
off the building momentum behind Stockwell Day and the newly-formed
Alliance, it can only be said he succeeded: he's the first Canadian PM
since 1945 to form three consecutive majority Governments (and the first
French Canadian to do so since 1908). Once U.S. President Bill Clinton
leaves the White House, Chretien will become the longest-ruling leader
among the industrialized nations.
The Alliance was formed with a vision of uniting its precursor the
Western-based Reform Party with the right wing of the Progressive
Conservative Party to build a truly national party that could defeat the
Liberals. Although Day emphasized that the Alliance had gained seats in
every region, even he was forced to admit that, "The message to us is
not yet, not this time."
While a number of observers judged that Chretien's campaign had
"demonized" Day and the Alliance, Day's own record as a provincial
legislator in Alberta (vocal opposition to gay and lesbian civil rights
protections, fostering, and adoptions; recognition of couples; and even
a small grant for a museum's history project) and the support he
received from anti-gay religious right groups and individuals was quite
enough to frighten most Canadian gays and lesbians. Although lay
preacher Day attempted to soft-pedal his personal values through the
campaign to give the Alliance more of a libertarian face, most media
were unwilling to play along, and he was often met by protesters
chanting, "Racist, sexist, anti-gay, Stockwell Day, go away" (and one
who threw a carton of milk at him). Many politically-oriented Canadian
gays and lesbians felt the imperative to defeat the Alliance made this
the most important election of their lives.
In unofficial results with all polling stations reporting, the new
Parliament will include 173 Liberal (up from 161; 151 is a majority), 66
Alliance (up from 58), 37 BQ (down from 44), 13 NDP (down from 19), and
12 PC members (down from 15). In the popular vote, the Liberals took
40.8 percent, the Alliance 25.5 percent, the PC 12.2 percent, the BQ
10.7 percent, the NDP 8.5 percent, and 2.3 percent went to others.
Couples Rights Engineer Defeated
While all five party leaders won their seats and most Liberal incumbents
returned, Justice Minister Anne McLellan was knocked out of her Edmonton
seat as the Alliance took 24 of 26 seats in Alberta, the party's Western
heart. McLellan played a key role in advancing this year's C-23, the
omnibus bill granting gay and lesbian couples equal standing with
heterosexual couples under federal law; she lost some standing with the
community, however, when late in the process she added to the bill's
preamble a statement explicitly reserving marriage for "one man and one
woman."
Among other considerations for Albertans was McLellan's work on gun
control; her successful Alliance opponent Betty Unger was strongly
supported by the Calgary-based National Firearms Association. While
Alliance heavyweights from party leader Stockwell Day on down made a
special effort to support Unger and defeat McLellan, the Liberals did
not give the same kind of support to their Justice Minister.
Seventh Term for Robinson
The NDP's Svend Robinson (Burnaby-Douglas) became Canada's first openly
gay MP 21 years ago, but in the latest campaign -- his seventh -- his
winning margin was only 4 percent (about 1,800 votes) over Alliance
candidate Alan McDonnell. The Alliance now holds 27 federal seats from
British Columbia, the Liberals 5, and the NDP only 2 even though that
party rules the province. The provincial NDP has a serious image
problem, though, since Premier Glen Clark was forced to step down in the
face of a criminal investigation, something Robinson's Alliance opponent
tried to use against him in the campaign. Oddly it was his Liberal
opponent Francesca Zumpano, herself a former NDP member, who attacked
Robinson on so-called "family values." Robinson last month introduced a
private member's bill to extend marriage to gay and lesbian couples,
hoping to win the issue attention in the national campaign (see
PlanetOut News of October 6).
Colorful and articulate, Robinson has always had a high media profile,
so much so that he's been criticized for it; one satirical newspaper
column this year had him coming out again after running out of other
ideas for grabbing headlines. But he's always been willing to put
himself on the line, from being arrested in anti-logging protests in the
past to being disciplined by his own party earlier this year after
bringing forward a constituent petition to remove the reference to "God"
from the preamble to the national constitution. Robinson's own partner
Max Riveron supports the federal Progressive Conservatives, although he
helped with Robinson's campaign.
Robinson, 48, told the Vancouver Sun, when asked why he ran again this
year, "How many jobs are there where you can work at a local level on
gut-level human issues, help steer the direction of your country and
also be involved in international issues [as the NDP's spokesperson on
foreign affairs]? I really do love this job." Winning his first election
immediately after law school, the only other job he's held was a brief
stint at McDonald's.
Gay, Trans-Candidate Both "Fry'd"
In nearby Vancouver Centre, openly gay Progressive Conservative
candidate Lee Johnson was a distant fourth as incumbent Liberal
Secretary of State for Multiculturalism Hedy Fry swamped her opponents.
Johnson's chances had seemed much stronger earlier in the campaign as
the 26-year-old high-tech company vice president took up the issue of
federal compensation for owners of condominiums with leaky roofs. But
seven-year incumbent Fry has long been popular in the
gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender community, which she gained a special
understanding for years ago when one of her non-gay sons became the
victim of a mistaken gay-bashing.
Even Alliance candidate John Mortimer made a significant effort to woo
Vancouver's gay vote.
Running fifth in the field of ten for the Vancouver Centre vote was
transgender sex workers' rights activist Jamie-Lee Hamilton who
wisecracked during the campaign that, "Hedy is toast and I plan to Fry
* Message split, to be continued *