
Welcome to the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of PFLAG
If you need support before our next meeting, or have questions about our meetings, please contact us at pflagcenpa@yahoo.com.
SECOND MONDAY OF EACH MONTH
at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise indicated)
MEETINGS
We hope will come out to not only support the chapter but to become reacquainted with friends and to offer support to others who need it.
MEETING DATES FOR 2023
February 13
March 13
April 10
May 15
June 12
July 10
August 14
September 11
October 9
November 13
December 11
There is plenty of free parking. Just enter through the side door on the right as you drive into the driveway and head toward the rear of the building. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!
Our Location
St. Paul's United Church of Christ
626 Williams Grove RoadMechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055
Our meetings are very low-key. We rarely have a speaker or presenter. Instead, we give everyone a chance to listen or talk about what is on their mind, such as sharing their stories of coming out or acceptance of others' coming out, and so forth. We do our best to provide information and support regardless of the circumstances. Although you yourself may not need support at this time, we welcome you to return to the meetings to offer support to someone else. It is through our listening and learning that we all benefit.
You will be greeted warmly! Join us!
Please note that in the event of any bad weather, we follow the closure policy of the Mechanicsburg School District.
FOR OUR FRIENDS WITH TRANS CHILDREN
_________________________
Welcome to our chapter of PFLAG.
Just who are we?
Our Vision.
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people
are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
- Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ
- Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ
- Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ
Our Vision.
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people
are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
- Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ
- Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ
- Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ
ur
Vision. PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all
people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. - See more at:
http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=237#sthash.qAKvA7fW.dpuf
Our
Vision. PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all
people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. - See more at:
http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=237#sthash.qAKvA7fW.dpuf
Our
Vision. PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all
people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. - See more at:
http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=237#sthash.qAKvA7fW.dpuf
Our
Vision. PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all
people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. - See more at:
http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=237#sthash.qAKvA7fW.dpuf
Our
Vision. PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all
people are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. - See more at:
http://community.pflag.org/page.aspx?pid=237#sthash.qAKvA7fW.dpuf
The family voice of
a just America
Our Vision.
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people
are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
We’re parents, family members and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) people. We know how to educate a misinformed society about homosexuality because many of us were once misinformed ourselves.Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
- Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ
- Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ
- Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ
Our Vision.
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people
are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
- Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ
- Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ
- Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ
With more than 35 years experience of building bridges of understanding about LGBTQ people, PFLAG is the family voice of love, acceptance, celebration and justice for people of all sexual orientations.
We learn from and support one another.
With lifetimes of myths and misinformation about homosexuality, many people don’t know where to turn when a loved one comes out.
PFLAG’s 500+ affiliates nationwide provide direct support to those needing answers to their questions. Confidential support group meetings offer a non-judgmental outlet for feelings. Meetings provide the truth about gay/bi/trans people and may include speakers, film/video presentations, book reviews and ongoing discussions. But most often people seem to enjoy our "We're here for you" listening format. Those who initially come for help ultimately become those who help others.
PFLAG’s publications, available online at www.pflag.org, address many questions asked by those who are on their journey to understanding and acceptance of a loved one’s – or their own – orientation.
PFLAG’s 500+ affiliates nationwide provide direct support to those needing answers to their questions. Confidential support group meetings offer a non-judgmental outlet for feelings. Meetings provide the truth about gay/bi/trans people and may include speakers, film/video presentations, book reviews and ongoing discussions. But most often people seem to enjoy our "We're here for you" listening format. Those who initially come for help ultimately become those who help others.
PFLAG’s publications, available online at www.pflag.org, address many questions asked by those who are on their journey to understanding and acceptance of a loved one’s – or their own – orientation.
We advocate for equality
We inform and educate our community
Making a safer world for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) people and their family members and friends mean dispelling negative myths about LGBTQ people, including:
Safe schools - We carry out a commitment to safe and inclusive learning environments for LGBTQ youth by accepting invitations to meet with educators and counselors to create awareness about issues face by young people.
Safe and inclusive faith communities - We are not a religious organization but know that inclusive worship environments are important to LGBTQ people and those who love them. We respond to faith community groups, community religious leaders, and congregations to encourage moral leadership in fostering tolerance and acceptance of a faith community's diverse makeup.
An informed speaker or panel of speakers is available for your school or church event dealing with diversity or inclusivity. Just drop us a line at pflagcenpa@yahoo.com to make a request.
Creating a safe and just world
PFLAG's family voice has a rich tradition, begun in 1972, when a courageous mother marched alongside her gay son in New York City' gay pride parade. She also called on society to treat all of its citizens with
understanding and to provide equality for all, and she has been joined by tens of thousands of voices over the years -- both straight and gay -- to make PFLAG the respected family voice on issues crucial to LGBTQ people, their parents, their families, and friends.
About our families
LGBTQ people come from families who live in all corners of the earth, from every culture, religion, and ethnic group. One of every four families has an LGBTQ member. Rejection of these people by their families is a tragedy for each person in the family unit.
LGBTQ+ people are naturally oriented
People's sexual orientation or gender identification is
neither chosen nor something taught. It's not just "a stage" they are going through or something that will change with the "right person." The LGBTQ child is often aware of his or her situation at a very early age. For LGBTQ people, their orientation is natural and normal.
Gay people are emotionally healthy
The American Psychiatric Association has long recognized that homosexuality is not a disorder. It has stated that there is no credible evidence that sexual orientation can be changed and that attempts at change can be harmful. LGBTQ persons establish stable, long-lasting relationships and have families.
Our Vision.
PFLAG envisions a world where diversity is celebrated and all people
are respected, valued, and affirmed inclusive of their sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
Join
us Our Mission. By meeting people where they are and collaborating with others, PFLAG realizes its vision through:
- Support for families, allies and people who are LGBTQ
- Education for ourselves and others about the unique issues and challenges facing people who are LGBTQ
- Advocacy in our communities to change attitudes and create policies and laws that achieve full equality for people who are LGBTQ
Membership
in the Central Pennsylvania
Chapter of PFLAG gives you a chance to meet others with family and
friends who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ). In
addition, we regularly have LGBTQ members and guests present to provide
their advice and counsel
Perhaps you need to come and listen to the stories of "coming out" and acceptance. Maybe you feel the need to tell your own story. Our meetings give you an opportunity to do just that.
You'll be amazed as you see distraught parents grow into strong advocates for their children. You'll enjoy the fellowship of families who have come through some difficult times and emerged as closer and more loving than ever. You may want to just watch and listen at first, but when you're ready to talk, you'll find sympathetic friends who will help you along your way.
We participate in the annual Pride Festival in Harrisburg each year to let festival-goers know what our services are.
Through your membership, you'll be able to lend your support in many ways to our goal of championing our loved ones, educating the public, and ending discrimination against glbt people.
Attend our monthly chapter meetings
We want to meet you!
We invite you to join us at 7:00 p.m. on the second Monday of each month (with some exceptions noted at the top of this page) for support, education,
and fellowship. Our meetings are held at We want to meet you!
St. Paul's United Church of Christ
626 Williams Grove Road
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055
There is plenty of parking around the church, and it is a facility where we can meet in confidentiality. Enter and follow the sign to the nearby meeting room. You need not identify yourself by name, but if you do, that information and everything you share is kept in confidence. See a map here.
Occasionally, we meet at times different than the monthly meeting. You will find the place and times of those events at the top of this page.
What's it all about, anyway?
Learn more from books and Internet resources.
This page
contains information on books about people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) and their families and friends. Many are available in
our chapter library, and you may borrow them when you attend our meetings.
Others are available in public libraries or in the Gay/Lesbian or Gender
Studies sections of your favorite bookstore. Most will be available from online
booksellers, too.
We're also providing links to other important Internet sites that will help you to understand LGBTQ people and show you how to advocate on their behalf for equal rights and social justice.
National PFLAG
www.pflag.org
Human Rights Campaign
www.hrc.org
LGBT Community Center of Central Pennsylvania
www.centralpalgbtcenter.org
Gay-Lesbian-Straight Education Network (glsen)
www.glsen.org
PFLAG Publications
Several
excellent foundational publications are available from PFLAG's national website. You can view and download free PDF versions or
purchase them. Here's an example:
"Our Daughters and Sons: Questions and Answers for Parents of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual People." One of PFLAG's most popular publications, this is a "must read" for parents who are forming new and honest relationships with a loved one who has come out to them. This booklet answers several commonly-asked questions about having a gay child. It includes a list of related resources. Also available is a Spanish-language version.
Other titles include:
"Be Yourself: Questions and Answers
for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth"
"Faith in Our Families: Parents,
Families and Friends Talk about Religion and Homosexuality"
"From Our House to the
Schoolhouse: A Safe Schools Publication"
"Bisexuality Resource
Packet"
Basic reading from other publishers
You
can shop for any of these titles on Amazon.com while supporting PFLAG at
the same time. PFLAG will receive a minimum 5% rebate from your
purchase. Simply click on this link to find out more
about PFLAG's corporate partnership with Amazon.com.
The Best Little Boy in the World
John Reid/Andrew Tobias
John Reid/Andrew Tobias
When The Best Little Boy in the World
was first published in 1973, Andrew Tobias could write about what it had felt
like to begin to accept his homosexuality, but he couldn’t bring himself to
sign his own name to the book, for fear of embarrassing his parents. And so it
was “John Reid” who became a hero to the thousands of gay males who found in
this memoir a mirror for their own experiences. Although the book appears
rambling at times, Tobias always has a clear sense of where he wants to take
readers with the story. He treats his closeted adolescence and college years,
and his stumbling first attempts at “doing a thing” with other gay men, with a
self-effacing humor that exposes his pain without descending into self-pity.
Beyond Acceptance
Carolyn Griffin, Marian Wirth, Arthur Wirth
Carolyn Griffin, Marian Wirth, Arthur Wirth
Beyond
Acceptance
deals with a variety of issues facing heterosexual parents of gay children,
from facing what the neighbors will say, to worrying about AIDS and social
ostracism, to feeling angry and guilt-ridden. Frank, informed, and filled with
insights and practical suggestions.
Bi Any Other Name, Bisexual People Speak Out Loraine Hutchins, Lani Kaahumanu
The
book is divided into four main sections that focus on a particular concern for
bisexuals: coming-out; personal stories; community; and politics. Finally there
is a history of bisexual activism in the USA. Most of the pieces are essays of
a fairly personal nature but there are a few interviews, some poetry, and some
visuals; there are even some non-bisexuals writing about their friends and
family who have come out to them.
Different Daughters
Louise Rafkin
Louise Rafkin
Among
the watershed books for lesbians in past fifteen years, Louise Rafkin’s Different
Daughters provides support for the rainbow notion that love is what makes a
family. Revised and expanded to include a few more contemporary issues like
transgenderism, bisexuality, and gay parenting, these 30 brief memoirs by
mothers of lesbians will comfort any mother who worries that her daughter will
never be happy, or find a long-term, stable love, or be accepted by those
around her. Even hostile parents can find some reassurance here in stories
about mothers who were at first horrified by their daughters’ lesbianism and
have struggled to achieve an uneasy peace with them.
Free Your Mind
Ellen Bass, Kate Kaufman
Ellen Bass, Kate Kaufman
This
very accessible basic guide for youth and those who care about them includes
many valuable, practical suggestions and pointers to additional resources. Bass
and Kaufman cover it all in chapters from “Friends” and “Love” to “Religious
Life” and “Living in Your Community.”
Homosexuality and Christian Faith
Walter Wink
Walter Wink
Issues
surrounding homosexuality threaten to divide the Christian churches and the
people within them. This unique resource presents short pieces from some of the
nation’s most prominent church leaders—Protestant and Catholic, mainline and
evangelical—who address the fundamental moral imperative about homosexuality.
Together they invite the reader to open his or her heart to the Spirit, to
tolerance, and to Gospel values. Through personal testimony, factual
clarification, and moral suasion, they provide much-needed clarity on the
biblical witness and biblical authority, the nature or character of
homosexuality and sexual orientation, and many related topics.
Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?
Letha Scanzoni, Virginia Mollenkott
Letha Scanzoni, Virginia Mollenkott
A
classic work of gay spirituality—newly revised to reflect today’s issues,
including gays in the military, the AIDS crisis, and genetic research on
homosexuality.
Now That You Know
Betty Fairchild, Nancy Hayward
Betty Fairchild, Nancy Hayward
If
the coming out process is difficult for gay people, it is often equally difficult
for their parents. Confusion, anger, and fear frequently cause fathers and
mothers of gay men and lesbians to disavow, strike out against, and even resent
their children. For many parents, a child’s coming out feels like the ultimate
rejection—not only of their dreams and hopes but of their own heterosexuality.
In Now That You Know: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Their Gay and
Lesbian Children, Betty Fairchild and Nancy Hayward—the mothers of,
respectively, a gay man and a lesbian—have charted the rough seas that almost
every parent of a gay person travels.
The Other Side of the Closet
Amity Pierce Buxton
Amity Pierce Buxton
Illustrated
throughout by riveting personal narratives, The Other Side of the Closet traces
the family’s journey from initial trauma to eventual transformation. This
invaluable source of information for spouses, families, and professionals is
based on Dr. Buxton’s eight years of research, including interviews with 1,000
straight spouses and children, her own personal experience, and her counseling
work with spouses of gay, lesbian, and bisexual partners.
Parents Matter
Ann Muller
Ann Muller
The
mother of a gay son, Muller makes two key assertions in this simply written and
sympathetic exploration of families with homosexual children. The first is that
lesbians probably have greater difficulty being accepted by their parents,
which she attributes to rigid sex-role definitions that keep some people from
approving of single, successful women. Second, she contends that Freudian and
neo-Freudian psychology have sent the negative message that the combination of
a dominant mother and weak father “causes” gay children. The author’s
discussion of these arguments is strengthened by research and interviews with
71 parents, daughters and sons, and she concludes that parents’ attitudes
matter greatly to their homosexual children because gay people are “harshly
judged by the larger society.”
Prayers for Bobby
Leroy Aarons
Leroy Aarons
Very
painful and personal, this is the story of a mother’s struggle to reconcile the
tension between her deeply held religious beliefs and the suicide of her gay
son. Mary Griffith came from a religious family and raised her four children to
believe in God and live a Christian life. Their conservative Presbyterian
church was the center of family life for every family member except Mary’s
husband, Bob. When 17-year-old Bobby confided to older bother Ed that he was
gay, the family’s life changed. Mary convinced Bobby to pray that God would
cure him and to seek solace in church activities. Bobby did it all, but the
church’s hatred of homosexuality and the obvious pain his gayness was causing
his family led him increasingly to loathe himself. Excerpts from a diary he
kept, family photos, and letters written by Mary to her dead son make the book
intense reading for both high-school and public library patrons.
Straight Parents, Gay Children
Robert A. Bernstein
The
courageous and levelheaded Straight Parents, Gay Children, Armistead
Maupin comments, “shows the parents of gay children how to stop merely
tolerating their kids and start being their heroes.” Robert A. Bernstein made
this essential move to “heroism” himself after his daughter Bobbi came out to
him and her stepmother in the mid-1980s, when she was 19. Soon after, they
attended a meeting of P-FLAG at a nearby church, and Bernstein realized that he
had joined a small but powerful group of people unable to support the continued
oppression of their gay loved ones.
Stranger at the Gate
Mel White
Mel White
This
is the account of a deeply religious man’s coming to terms with his gayness and
the impact that process had on his life. A former ghostwriter for Jerry
Falwell, Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, and other religious-right personalities,
White offers a compelling story; gay readers raised in a fundamentalist
Christian environment will find themselves saying, “That happened to me.” This
is not really so much about being gay and Christian in America as it is the
story of one individual’s struggles. To describe what it means to be gay and
Christian is truly a difficult task; perhaps there is no one concrete
definition.
There’s Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You
Loralee MacPike
Loralee MacPike
MacPike,
an English professor at California State University, tackles the perplexing
problems lesbians and gays face in coming out to their children. The
first-person accounts she collects bypass typical psychotherapy parlance and
intellectual analyses, cutting directly to the art of speaking—and listening—to
one’s children. The stories, bittersweet, poignant or downright sad, provide a
window on the remarkable diversity in the lesbian and gay community.
What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality
Daniel A. Helminiak
Daniel A. Helminiak
Helminiak, a Roman
Catholic priest, has done careful reading in current biblical scholarship about
homosexuality. While cautioning against viewing biblical teaching as “the last
word on sexual ethics,” he stresses the need for accurate understanding of what
the biblical “facts” are and concludes that “the Bible supplies no real basis
for the condemnation of homosexuality.”
Thank you for visiting our website. Please contact us at pflagcenpa@yahoo.com if you need more information or if we can assist you in any way. We're all in this together!
LOOKING AHEAD
Meeting Dates for 2023
January 9
February 13
March 13
April 10
May 15
June 12
July 10
August 14
September 11
October 9
November 13
December 11