Our program is going to tackle the issue of coming out over the holiday season. Time and time again, at PFLAG, we hear that people choose the holidays to come out to their families. Is this a good idea? We’ve got a therapist and professor at UGA, Dr. Stephanie Swann to speak to our group to tackle this question at the “most wonderful time of the year”!

Dr. Stephanie Swann, Ph.D., MSW is currently a faculty member of the University of Georgia School of Social Work and an adjunct faculty of Smith College School for Social Work. She is the founder of YouthPride Inc., a social service organization that serves LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 24. In addition, she maintains a private psychotherapy practice in which she specializes in working with adolescents and adults dealing with issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Her research on adolescent sexuality appears in journals such as Adolescence and the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services. Dr. Swann continues to serve as a member of the National Advisory Network of the Child Welfare League of America/Lambda Joint Initiative to Support LGBTQ Youth Involved with the Child Welfare System. She also remains a reviewer for the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services.

Here’s a humorous look at coming out over Christmas…in song!

 

Dale, a PFLAG Atlanta father writes,

There is no place like home for the holidays, so the song goes. Indeed, this is the time of year when people’s thoughts turn homeward, when families gather to enjoy old traditions and renew family ties. However, not everyone is welcome home. Some are welcome only if they are willing to pretend, for a parent’s sake or perhaps a sibling’s, that they are not what they truly are. For those who have been rejected by their families because of their sexual orientation, or for those whose families are either unaware of or uneasy about their loved one’s sexuality, the holidays can be an isolating and depressing time. Expectations about the holidays run high for many people who have a “Hallmark card” vision of what family gatherings should look like, a glowing ideal that centers around hearth and home. The reality can be painfully different.

This is the time of year when college students return home, people take family vacations, and loved ones eat holiday dinners together. It is a time for honesty, openness and, in the spirit of church and family, compassionate understanding and care of others, a time for unconditional love. PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has created some holiday survival tips for gays and lesbians who have been “in the closet” or alienated from their families. There are also tips for families that have had difficulty accepting the sexuality of their children, sisters, brothers or friends. PFLAG reminds people that “coming out” is a process which often requires patience from everyone involved. The group asks families to remember that it takes courage and trust for a gay person to reveal his/her homosexuality to parents and other family members. And, it takes caring for family members to re-examine what they think they know about homosexuality, become more informed, and move beyond the misconceptions that many carry. PFLAG members believe that homosexuality is not a choice, but a God-given trait, set at birth and as natural for them as heterosexuality is for others. Medical and mental health groups agree. So do several churches. PFLAG applauded several years ago when the U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops urged parents, in their pastoral letter, not to reject their homosexual children. The Bishops said that “…homosexual orientation is not freely chosen…God does not love someone any less simply because he or she is homosexual.” However, all people are not so well informed or accepting of differences.

PFLAG reminds people that (for Christians) love came down at Christmas in the form of a child and love is the bottom line.

When: Sunday Dec 18th

Time: 2:45 pm to 5:00 pm

Where: First Metropolitan Community Church (located behind the McDonalds on N. Druid Hills Rd near the I-85 intersection)

1379 Tullie Rd. Atlanta, Georgia 30329

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You will find us in the Social Hall – come in through the glass doors in the front.



Attending a PFLAG meeting is always FREE and all are welcome!

What can I expect at a PFLAG meeting?

No one who attends a meeting is ever made to feel that he or she must speak. We all know the value of quiet listening. And no one who does speak is expected to reveal more than he or she feels comfortable with. But in the warm and supportive atmosphere many newcomers find that they are able to put troubling thoughts and fears into words for the first time and receive reassurance, guidance and facts. All conversations are considered confidential and are not discussed beyond the room.

PFLAG literature is available as you come in and our free book and video library is open. Most meetings begin with a speaker or program. We break for refreshments, then meet for an hour of support in small groups. We generally end our meeting with a casual invitation to all interested parties to share dinner with us at a local restaurant.


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Directions to MCC

From the North or Northeast

1. Take I 85 Southbound to North Druid Hills exit.
2. Turn left to cross over I 85.
3. Go one block to traffic light at Tullie Rd.
4. Turn left on Tullie Rd., go past MacDonalds.
5. The church is the next building but entrance to parking lot is off the next street on the right.
6. Turn right and enter lot immediately on your right.
7. Park and enter building thru the side door facing the parking lot

From the South

1. Take I 85 Northbound to North Druid Hills Road exit.
2. At top of the ramp turn right.
3. Go one block to traffic light at Tullie Rd.
4. Proceed with steps 4 to 7 above.

From 400 Southbound

1. Exit at Sidney Marcus Blvd. (Exit 2)
2. Turn left at end of ramp.
3. Stay to the left as it feeds into Buford Hwy.
4. Proceed to North Druid Hills Rd. There’s a CVS Store on the left corner.
5. Turn right , cross over I 85.
6. Go one block to traffic light at Tullie Rd.
7. Follow steps 4 to 7 above.

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