August 12, 2019

Camrose Pride CommunityDate:
Monday, August 12th, 2019
Time 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Place: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room
Attendance: Gus B., Nikki F., Lucas H., Stephen, Pastor John Helps (United Church), Brian Nelson (United Church), Zack, Erika, Candy M. (via phone), Robyn G., Amielle C., Ron
Regrets: Margaret H.

  1. Introductions
  2. Guest – Erika – Community Service Learning (CSL) Student for Fall 2009
    1. Student Advisor
      1. Erika works with classes to pair students with community organizations.  Augustana has a course coming up in Human Sexuality and Intimate Relationships taught by Professor Sean Moore, who has been involved with CPC in the past.
      2. Students work for about 20 hours over the semester in whatever way is most beneficial to the organization they’re working with. It is a mututally beneficial relationship, with the student gaining relevant real world experience.
      3. Erika and Dr. Moore are looking for an organization to work with from October to December.
      4. Students can potentially help with events, work on a resource, etc.
    2. Ideas
      1. The student could research best practices in other communities about reaffirming churches
        1. Pastor John Helps suggested a starting point could be the United Church’s Affirming Ministries Program.
        2. He also suggested that many Anglican churches are affirming.
      2. Candy told us there have been student workers with About Time Productions in the past with success.
    3. Supervisor/Contact
      1. Nikki will be the supervisor/contact of the students.
    4. The students are invited to attend meetings.
  3. Guest – Zack Stevens/Robyn Bank$
    1. Fall Bank$ Ball – Saturday, September 7th, 2019
      1. This will be the second annual Fall Bank$ Ball, which is a counterpoint to pair with Augustana’s So You Think You Can Drag in February. There will be some Edmonton drag queens, as well as Camrose’s Sir Racha
      2. Location: Bailey Theatre
      3. Age:14+/Parental Discretion
      4. Sponsorship?
      5. There will be numbered tickets for door prizes and more!
    2. Volunteer Opportunities (free entry!)
      1. Work the front
        1. Ticket sales, etc.
      2. Security
      3. DJ
        1. Tom Merklinger
      4. Decorating – before and after
      5. There are already 6 confirmed volunteers.
    3. Zack will send poster to Nikki to share especially with Erika at Augustana who will both make call outs for volunteers.
  4. BVJ Parade Debrief (TW: Hate Speech)
    1. Hate Signs/Chalk in front of Library during Reading with Royalty
      1. There were two separate posters that stated Bring Rainbows Back to God and God Hates Gays They were held by two protestors who are confirmed as being the same people who protested the Camrose Public Library’s Reading with Royalty and were subsequently banned from the library.
      2. The protestors are from a cult called Superhuman Divinity Ministry. They appear to be the only members. They post extensively to social media, escalating their hate speech.
      3. Pastor John Helps told us the United Church has been receiving monthly packages pushing an anti-gay and anti-Islamic position for over a year now. The United Church would like to take a more public stance against homophobia and hate speech. They have alerted the police about this issue.
    2. Support
      1. Pastor Deborah of Bethel Lutheran sent in her support.
      2. Colleen (Friends and Family) sent in her support from United.
      3. Open Door has also expressed support, stating the cult has been banned from Open Door.
    3. Options
      1. Ignore
        1. We would refrain from sending energy and from giving press.
      2. Responsive Statement
        1. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
        2. We would like to create a message of love, affirmation, and support. This response would also acknowledge and focus on the support of the wider Camrose community in light of recent events. We want to emphasize that we are very thankful for the community support. We would also like to take this as an opportunity to promote ourselves and speak to what we have been doing in the community. We take this seriously, and the safety of our community is of the utmost importance to us. We can use this conflict as an opportunity to educate and reduce risk. We would like to avoid escalation.
        3. PIE: Public. Intentional. Explicit.
      3. Response Venues
        1. Social Media
        2. Booster
        3. Community Event
    4. Nikki will speak to our police liaison, John, about this soon.
    5. The United Church would like to join in on our response. We can ask other community organizations, churches, libraries, and the police. We would also like to contact the Camrose County.
    6. Robyn Bank$ wonders about having increased security for the Fall Banks Ball. The Camrose Police Service have been proactive in the past about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Nikki will contact our police liaison to ask for extra support during the event.
    7. The United Church has asserted that they could be an affirming space in the presence of next year’s parade as the protestors were located near the church.
  5. Guest – The United Church
    1. Pastor John Helps
      1. The United Church is committed to affirming congregations
    2. Speaker – Pam Rocker (Calgary) – Sunday, November 17th
      1. Fees: $1,000 for the day
        1. ~$300-400 for sermon
        2. ~$300-400 for following workshop
          1. Could/should the workshop has a fee to mitigate costs?
      2. Pam Rocker works with people who have undergone conversion therapy.
      3. Gus will contact Pam Rocker as soon as possible. Nikki will let everyone know once we have confirmation of Pam Rocker and the Fall Family Dance dates.
      4. Ellen from Bethel Lutheran church is hoping to share cost. Gus will contact Bethel Lutheran about donations/sharing cost.
      5. The United Church can host Pam Rocker as a guest pastor. They have expressed that space is often the easiest thing for them to provide to support the community. Their sanctuary holds up to 300 people.
      6. They can potentially rally donations via collection place.
    3. Gus hopes to address which churches are affirming in Camrose
      1. There are a range of churches in Camrose, some more affirming than others. It is a potentially awkward subject.
      2. CSL student(s) could potentially do some research within the community.
      3. Pastor John Helps will inquire with his church if the United Church can give any donations (by have Pam Rocker as a designated guest pastor). John will contact Nikki afterwards. We’re thinking about 300 or 400 dollars. John will let Nikki know at the end of the week.
    4. Publicity
      1. How can we broadcast LGBT affirmations to the wider community as the United Church?
  6. Fall Family Dance – Tentative Date: Saturday, November 16th
    1. Space
      1. Bailey Theatre is completely booked. What are some alternative spaces? In the future, we will aim to book the Bailey Theatre earlier, as it offers lightning, bartending, and more.
      2. Alternative Spaces
        1. Elks Hall has been a venue in the past
        2. Retro is queer friendly and Carmen is vocal about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. There is a stage and a bar. They have discounted rate with a non-profit. Gus will contact Retro about potentially hosting once we have confirmation on Pam Rocker’s date.
        3. United Church
    2. We will pair the Fall Family Dance with Pam Rocker to make a whole weekend of LGBTQ+ affirmation.
  7. Camp fYrefly Resource Fair Debrief
    1. While it was nice to be there, interest waned as most students were from Edmonton.
    2. It would be nice for future CPC promotion tables to have some sort of ‘swag’.
    3. Swag Options
      1. Buttons: CPL says it is about 2 cents a button. We could borrow a button maker from the library or About Time Productions..
      2. Branded swag from places like Vista Print. It would be less expensive to bundle an order with another organization. Robyn will let us know the next time the library orders swag.
    4. Nikki – Art Therapy Workshop – Coming Out Stories/Staying in Stories
      1. It was a success, but promoted more questions: How do allies come out? Can we have stories of people who have shifted from homophobia to places of love?
  8. Reading with Royalty Debrief
    1. Success! There were about 70 kids, which is an increase from last year. Candy brought ATPs whole camp. Some kids said they had the best day of their life.
    2. Melissa (Sir Racha) unfortunately couldn’t make it, but will come next year.
    3. See above about protests.
    4. The library would love to have people write letters of support for Reading with Royalty! Please send them to the library. Emails are acceptable. Please send emails to rgray@prl.ab.ca.
  9. Haven Art Therapy Update
    1. There is a pilot group in the works
      1. Alberta Society for the Promotion of Sexual Health (ASPSH) Donation
        1. Tracy Burnett for ASPSH contacted Nikki in June. Donated $2,000 to CMHA in partnership with Haven Art Therapy and CPC for pilot group. Once we have a society we can receive donations of a similar ilk.
        2. The pilot gorup Must be run through Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) framework.
        3. Calgary has a queer centered art therapy group that could be something to model ourselves after. While Nikki can do the therapy part, a community member can be involved as well as support.
      2. Date: There is no date as of yet.
      3. Space: There is no space as of yet.
      4. Age: 16+ intergenerational
      5. Attendance: 10-15 people max
  10. Leadership Positions
    1. Melissa has declined our co-chair offer.
    2. Gus nominates Candy Morningway as new treasurer. Seconded by Amielle.
      1. Candy would like to make the caveat that she is involved with 4 other boards,and would like to maintain a positive work life balance. Margaret has been doing it with CDSS. Margaret will continue being our banker until we have received our status. Candy will contact Margaret about learning her new position.
    3. Gus nominates Zach Stevens as co-chair of CPC. Candy seconds this. Gus will contact Zach Stevens about learning his new position.
  11. Society Status
    1. There is still at least a 7 month backlog.
    2. Nikki had us sign documents for society status. These were also signed by our new co-chair.
    3. After we receive status, there will be an annual return/update required. That is where changes are noted.
    4. It is important to be aware that we are becoming a society, not a charitable organization. We cannot give out charitable receipts, among other restrictions. 
  12. Financial Report
    1. We still have about $3,200.
    2. Nikki will send an email to Margaret about the new treasurer. Margaret will teach Candy about her new position.
    3. Amielle suggest a biannual meeting of planning and budgeting to be a Strategic Planning committee. We need a strategic plan.
    4. Strategic Plan/Annual Calendar
      1. Once we have an Annual Calendar we can do project planning around that.
      2. Michael from Altview will support the creation of a Strategic Plan and will come to Camrose to support that once we have society status. 
  13. Community Event Registration – Thursday, September 5th
    1. Amielle and Lucas will be attending
    2. Lucas will bring trifold, and will update the upcoming events area with the Robyn Bank$ Ball.
    3. Lucas will bring table cloth and get rainbow flags from Gus to decorate table.
    4. Lucas will print email sign up list.
    5. Lucas will print little handouts again.
    6. Amielle and Lucas will be in contact about creating some swag with the CPL’s button maker.
  14. Regular Meetings
    1. ExpressOUT
      1. Monday, August 26th, 2019 – 5:30pm – 7:00pm
      2. Theme: Colouring – Please, bring your own colouring pages/books!
      3. Reminder: ExpressOUT is all ages! Social Gathering of all people that are queer and/or allied. Please let people know.
    2. Regular Meeting for Planning and Connection
      1. Monday, September 9th, 2019 6:00pm – 8:00pm
      2. Where: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room
      3. October and November meeting dates have been rescheduled with the library to work around stats
        1. Tuesdays, October 15th, and Tuesday, November 12th, 2019
    3. Friends and Family Meeting
      1. Monday, October 7th, 2019
      2. Andrea Dyck with the BRSD is very open to working with us to accomplish tasks. Lucas will ensure she is kept in the loop about things that are happening with CPC.
  15. Agend Items for Next Meeting
    1.  Biannual Strategic Planning Meeting
  16. Sharing Circle

August 12th, 2019

Camrose Pride Community
Date: Monday, August 12, 2019
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Place: Camrose Public Library Irving Meeting Room

  • Introductions
  • Erika – CSL students for Fall 2019
  • Zack – Fall Bank$ Ball – sponsorship? Volunteers?
  • BVJ Parade debrief
    • Response to hate signs at parade/chalk out front of library – should we do a public response or ignore it?
    • Have received supportive inquiry from the Colleen Nelson at the United Church, they will support us in any way they can and wanted to check in on how we were doing with the parade hate signs
  • Camp fYrefly Resource Fair Debrief
  • Reading with Royalty Debrief
  • Haven Art Therapy Update – Art therapy pilot group in the works – looking to create a peer facilitator position from the community. Details to come
  • UPDATES: Leadership Team Positions
    • At current, the leadership stands as:
      • Lead Chair: Gus
      • Co-Chair – OPEN – any ideas of who to approach? Melissa has declined
      • Secretary: Lucas
      • Treasurer/Banker: Margaret (through CDSS) is transitioning. Candy Morningway has been invited to become Treasurer – response:
      • Member-at-Large: Amielle
      • Member-at-Large: Robyn
    • Nikki remains as support through the AltView foundation.
  • Financial Report
    • Margaret sends regrets.
    • Nikki has requested she email the Financial Report in to be presented tonight.
  • Society Status
    • Update – signatures on document application
  • Upcoming Events and Plans
    • Community Registration Night, Thursday, September 5th evening – Lucas & Amielle will have our table
      • What do we need?
    • Fall Family Dance – Bailey is booked up and hasno room. Do we want to look at another location? A different date/season?
  • Upcoming Regular Meetings
    • Regular Meeting for Planning and Connection
      • Monday, September 9th, 2019 6:00pm – 8:00pm at the Camrose Public Library Irving Room
      • October and November meeting dates have been rescheduled with the Library to work around stats:
        1. Tuesdays, October 15, and November 12, 2019
    • EspressOUT
      • Monday, August 26th, 2019 5:30pm – 7:30pm
        • Location: Camrose Coffee
        • Theme: Tarot night? Colouring Party?
    • Friends and Family Meeting
      • They will not be meeting for June, July, August, and September. They will return to regular meetings in October.
  • Sharing Circle