OUUT Omaha GLBT Blog: February 2008

Sunday, February 17, 2008

OUUT MOVIE FOR MARCH 9 @ 2ND UU 6:00 P.M.

> Second Unitarian Church of Omaha presents> For the Bible Tells Me So> An award winning film by Daniel Karslake (2007, 99 minutes)>>>> Welcoming Congregation & Social Justice Potluck and Movie Night (free)> When: Sunday, March 9th, Potluck at 5:30 P.M., movie starts at 6:00 P.M.>> Where: Second Unitarian Church of Omaha 3012 S. 119 St, Omaha (just SE of> 120th & Center off Westwood Lane)>> Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm> separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the> Bible an excuse to hate?>>> Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle> International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining> documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and> in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost> solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the> Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without> feeling obliged to kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp (as a> literal reading of scripture dictates).>> Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American> families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt> and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people> of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such> respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox> Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO> offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs> of scripture and sexual identity.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

OUUT Movie for Feb 10 is Cruising

New York City detective Steve Burns Al Pacino receives orders from Captain Edelson Paul Sorvino to solve a series of brutal murders in the gay community. Steve scours the gay bars that caters to same-sex sadomasochism in a desperate attempt to solve the crime. As he infiltrates the scene, he slowly comes loose from the moorings of his own reality, and an innocent victim is tortured by the cops in an effort to exact a confession. The story is based on actual murders that took place between 1962 and 1979. The film gained considerable publicity because of the controversial subject matter while censor argued between an X and R rating for the feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Running Time:
102 mins
Complete Cast:
Al Pacino - Steve Burns
Karen Allen - Nancy
Don Scardino - Ted Bailey
James Sutorius - Jack
Randy Jurgensen - Detective Lefransky

About OUUT -- Omaha Unitarian Universalists for Tolerance

OUUT was formed in 2002 originally as a Interweave (UUA GLBT affiliated group) Group, but now is an independent group affilated with the First Unitarian Church of Omaha (and our friends at Second Unitarian Church of Omaha) and is dedicated to the spiritual, political, and social well-being of individuals who are confronting oppression as lesbians, gay men, bisexual persons, transgendered persons, and their heterosexual allies. It celebrates the culture and lives of its members. OUUT has four primary goals: ** To provide fellowship for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons for support, socializing, and sharing of life issues to members of the church and in the community at large. ** To extend invitation to the larger GBLT community to explore the religious alternative offered by Unitarian Universalism; ** To reduce prejudice by increasing understanding and acceptance among people of different sexual orientations by providing educational programs and workshops to the larger UU congregation and heterosexual community; and ** To support efforts of other community social, spiritual, and political groups to end all forms of oppression, including homophobia, heterosexism, sexism, racism, and ableism.

OUUT GLBT Film Festival -- Second Sunday Screenings

OUUT Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is now in its 5th year of showing gay and lesbian related films -- dramas, musicals, and documentaries. Second Sunday Screenings are held the second Sunday of each month at the First Unitarian Church (3114 Harney near Park Ave in Omaha, Nebraska) in the Common Room on the lower level of the church with the entrance on the west side of the building. Doors open at 6:30 PM and the film will begin at 7:00PM. Current film title showing will be blogged by the Film Festival coordinator (check the blog to the left). Join us for an evening of interesting film and discussion.