• PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

• I’ve been thinking recently about just what Kinship means to its members. What does Kinship do, and who benefits from Kinship’s existence? In fact, it made me think about what it would be like to do a  Kinship version of It’s A Wonderful Life (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/).

I’ve been thinking recently about just what Kinship means to its members. What does Kinship do, and who benefits from Kinship’s existence? In fact, it made me think about what it would be like to do a  Kinship version of It’s A Wonderful Life (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/).

Strategic planning for any organization can be daunting, but it’s a necessary thing for the growth and health of that organization. In past strategic planning sessions for Kinship, we’ve talked about how much an all-volunteer organization can do, how we can encourage more members to be involved and to lead, what our goals are regarding the Adventist denomination, and what our goals are regarding our members and their needs.

HAPPY MAY TO ALL KINSHIP FAMILIES & FRIENDS

Wow, it’s springtime already! Our wildflowers are springing up in the foothills, green grass is bursting out for our deer to enjoy, and the male turkeys are busy attracting some girlfriends.

We have sent out almost 900 copies of UnClobber to LGBT people AND to families and Adventist Church leaders.

We thank you for your support of this project, and we are aiming to have more conversations and create change in ourselves, our families, and our local communities.

 A Victorious Failure

BY JErRY MCKAY

After Colin’s unwanted sexual advance, one would think I would have fled Reading. Or, at the very least, pulled Keith, Colin’s colleague, aside and proposed an “I’m asking for a friend” scenario. I didn’t. Instead, I was completely silent. I did not speak to Sharon, Colin’s wife. I continued to interact with friends at Quest as if nothing were amiss. I did not call my parents or reach out to Perry who, of all people, expressed concern about my going to Reading.

As well, in the weeks that followed, I said nothing to a string of visitors. My college roommate Kelvin and his wife visited me. Robert came to Reading in the first week of July. My sister spent a week with me at the end of July. While each interacted with Colin, I was silent about the sexual abuse. In fact, I gave the impression that all was well.

EKM2021 will be held in a natural environment in the little community of Westelbeers, between the cities Eindhoven and Tilburg in The Netherlands.