Tag Archives: Montrose

Good luck getting your same-sex union blessed by the Episcopal Church in Dallas

Posted on
Stanton.James

James Stanton

A resolution in the works for years came to fruition this week when same-sex blessings were approved by the House of Bishops at the Episcopal General Convention.

The blessing is a recognition of the couple’s commitment by the church and blesses their union together, much like a wedding ceremony without the legality. The Episcopal Church became the largest denomination in the U.S. to endorse same-sex unions with the resolution, which passed with a vote of 111-41 with three abstentions and approves the blessings for three years.

However, Dallas’ heavily LGBT Episcopal Church of St. Thomas the Apostle won’t likely perform the ceremonies at all. The Rev. Steve Waller, openly gay rector at St. Thomas, told Dallas Voice last month that he had not asked for permission to perform the blessing if it was approved at convention because conservative Dallas Diocese Bishop James Stanton wouldn’t allow them.

Bishops have the authority to approve or ban same-sex blessings in parishes in their diocese as outlined in the resolution.

“We would not be given such permission by our diocese,” Waller said. “I can’t speak for the bishop, but I suspect he will toe the line and not grant permission. Our bishop has been pretty clear that he didn’t want to do that.”

Waller could not be reached Thursday for comment on the resolution’s passage. Stanton didn’t return calls last month or Thursday asking whether he would allow the blessings.

The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth’s provisional bishop, the Rt. Rev. C. Wallis Ohl, told Dallas Voice that he would retire soon and would leave it up to the next bishop to decide if the blessing will be allowed.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the passage brought tears to gay couples at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Houston’s heavily gay Montrose area.

“I’ve had people in tears” over the approval, said the Rev. Lisa Hunt. “It’s one thing for us as community to say you’re welcome and then to have rites that you can’t do … now they can really believe that the welcome is true.”

St. Stephen’s and St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin were the first two parishes to be granted permission to perform the blessings by Bishop Andy Doyle of the Diocese of Texas. Hunt said she plans to perform them as early as November.

The convention, which began last week and ends today, also approved new anti-discrimination language for transgender clergy and church members.

—  Anna Waugh

Eighth annual Starbucks auction supports AIDS Foundation Houston

Posted on

Love it or hate it Starbucks is an ubiquitous fixture of urban life, combining the “where everybody knows your name” charm of the local bar with the “first taste is free” seediness of the corner drug pusher. For the Montrose at Hawthorn Starbucks (3407 Montrose) that position at the intersection of community and addiction carries with it a major social responsibility. Which is why for the last eight years the employees of Montrose’s most fabulous Starbucks have sponsored a silent art auction to raise funds for AIDS Foundation Houston.

This years auction is March 2 from 5-9 pm. The organizers  are still seeking donations from local artists and businesses to help round out this year’s selections. Visit sbuxauction.weebly.com for more information on the auction and how to donate.

—  admin

Canasta for a good cause, this Sunday at Tony’s Corner Pocket

Posted on

The American novelist Mary McCarthy once quipped that Canasta has the advantage of “doing away with the bother of talk after dinner.” But the classic Uruguayan card came popular among the aged and experiencing a rebirth among hipsters has much more to offer. While Canasta may not have the high-stakes glamor of Baccarat, or the back-room luridness of Poker it harkens back to the halcyon days of the 1950′s when it was first introduced to the United States, with smartly dressed men and more smartly dressed cocktails. It’s that paen for a more stylish age that has caused this once nigh-forgotten game to experience a rebirth of late.

If you’ve caught the Canasta bug there’s an opportunity this Sunday, Feb. 12, to indulge in all the melds your heart can muster at Tony’s Corner Pocket  (817 West Dallas). Brunch and registration start at noon with “Pick a Partner” at 12:30. Then at 1 pm single elimination tournament play kicks off. Canasta is played with teams of two, but don’t worry if you don’t have a partner to come with you. Single players are welcomed. Registration is $10, with half of the proceeds going to the tournament winners and the other half benefiting Montrose Grace Place, a non-profit helping homeless youth.

Register early by e-mailing houstonglbtcanasta@yahoogroups.com

—  admin

Sign of the Times: Love Love Love

Posted on

Just in time for Valentine’s Day some enterprising street artist has posted reminders to all of us in the Montrose to love. Look for these signs scattered around the neighborhood next to the various exhortations to stop and yield.

At Richmond and Montrose

Continue reading “Sign of the Times: Love Love Love” »

—  admin

Starbucks art auction to benefit homeless youth charity

Posted on

There are times in life when the strangest ingredients can come together to make something wonderful: wasabi and chocolate, curry and cranberries, peanut butter and pickles… That’s the case with Montrose Grace Place, a charity serving homeless youth in the Montrose area. Take one part 90 year old Lutheran Church willing to help without preaching, add a desire to serve homeless youth regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, mix with a passel of volunteers of all religious backgrounds (Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and more than a few Atheists), let steep in a community desperate to help queer homeless youth and voilà, a vibrant charity that has provided food, clothing and, most importantly, interaction with adults who give a damn to dozens of kids over the last two years.

Of course all that doesn’t happen without expense. Despite Grace Lutheran Church donating space and volunteers donating hundreds of hours of labor Grace Place still has some expenses. The employees of the River Oaks Starbucks (the one at 2050 West Gray, not the one at 2029 West Gray or the one at 2030 West Gray) wanted a way to pitch in so they organized an art auction tomorrow evening, January 1 starting at 6 pm. The auction features donated works by local artists as well as works by the Grace Place kids themselves. Stop by for a latte and some art to go.

—  admin

Twelfth Night celebration is in the pink

Posted on

In the liturgical calendar of the Christian church twelfth night is the last day of the Christmas season. (Remember the 12 days of Christmas? They start on December 24 and end December 5) Twelfth night also kicks off the carnival season that culminates in the celebration of Mardi Gras. The Krewe of Olympus, Houston’s own predominately gay Mardi Gras Krewe, welcomes the season in style with “Pretty in Pink:” a twelfth night fundraiser benefiting the Montrose Counseling Center. The festivities are Saturday night, January 7 (’cause who wants to party on a Thursday?) starting at 7 pm at the Counseling Center (401 Branard) and include traditional king cake as well as an open bar, hors d’oevres and a Mardi Gras mask auction. In keeping with the theme guests are invited to wear their best outfits in shades of pink (be it blush or bashful).

The Krewe of Olympus started in New Orleans in 1970 before moving to Houston. According to their website:

We are one of the largest predominately gay Krewes in the United States, although our membership is open to all. Our principal aims are to present theatrical and educational events that perpetuate and continue Mardi Gras traditions and to raise money for community charities. Since moving to Texas, we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Houston and Dallas Charitable Organizations. We are a 501(c)(3) non profit organization.

Tickets for the event are $35 and are available at the door.

—  admin

Sign of the times: coffee karma

Posted on

Spotted at the Starbucks at Montrose and Hawthorn:


“The man with the good karma who drove home to get a coat hanger after I locked myself out my car thank you – there is something in this for you!

—  admin

Spectrum rides the Hill Country this weekend

Posted on
Spectrum members bikes’ parked on Cedar Springs.

This weekend, Spectrum Motorcycle Riders Club of Dallas will join other Texas LGBT motorcycle clubs for a Pride Ride through the Hill Country near San Antonio.

“We were honored to receive the invitation from our sister group in Houston to participate in a ride through the Texas hill country,” Spectrum-MRC President Jerry Garner said.

Spectrum will join Montrose Motorcycle Riding Club and Austin Freedom Riders.

“This event will allow Spectrum to meet with other like-minded GLBT motorcycle groups and view some beautiful Texas landscape,” said Garner.

The ride takes place Sept. 9 through 11.

Spectrum Motorcycle Riding Club is an organization for GLBT and GLBT-friendly riders. All types of motorcyclists and their passengers are welcome, as well as those who have an interest in learning to ride. The group was founded in 2004 and received not-for-profit status this July. Garner said that this would allow the group to raise money to support the LGBT community.

Spectrum will be the lead entry for the 2011 Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade on Sept. 18. Riding with Spectrum will be Neil Patel from Logo’s new show, The A List: Dallas.

For more info, email jerry@jerrygarner.info.

—  David Taffet

PHOTOS, VIDEO: Dedication of memorial garden for LGBT crime victims in Houston’s Montrose

Posted on
Photo by Brandon Wolf (via Montrose Memorial Garden on Facebook)

The Houston Press reports:

Last night, throngs of people bearing candles filled an empty parking lot in Montrose, just off the main gay bar drag of Pacific Street. A block or two from here, Paul Broussard was murdered in 1991. Aaron Scheerhoorn was stabbed to death outside a nearby nightclub just half a year ago.

The list of GLBT-identified victims slain in this area is long: at least 35 since 1979, according to a list compiled by the Aaron Scheerhoorn Foundation for Change. Last night, politicians, GLBT allies, and parents and friends of murdered children gathered to remember them.

Charles Armstrong, owner of four gay nightclubs in the area and controversial subject of our cover story “Mayor of Montrose,” provided a landscaped corner of his parking lot for the Montrose Remembrance Garden. There, a Texas lilac tree of the “Montrose purple” variety was planted by Scheerhoorn’s foundation in memory of all victims.

Instant Tea contributor Daniel Williams reports at his Legislative Queery blog that speakers at the dedication included Texas Sens. John Whitmire, Mario Gallegos and Rodney Ellis, and State Rep. Garnet Coleman:

All four spoke at length about the decade long fight that led Texas to pass hate crimes legislation in 2001, and about the anti-bullying and teen suicide prevention bills passed this session by the legislature. Only Garnet Coleman mentioned Texas’ hate crimes statute still excludes the transgender community (an omission he has tried to correct).

Watch video from the dedication below. To view more photos, go here.

Continue reading “PHOTOS, VIDEO: Dedication of memorial garden for LGBT crime victims in Houston’s Montrose” »

—  John Wright

What’s Brewing: Wedding bash continues in NY; Houston LGBT memorial; El Paso benefits fight

Posted on

Your weekday morning blend from Instant Tea:

1. Hundreds of gay couples tied the knot on Sunday in New York on the first day same-sex marriage was legal in the nation’s third-largest state. The festivities continue today with, among other things, the first group wedding involving about 50 same-sex couples at Niagara Falls — which was also the site of some of the first weddings early Sunday. The first couple to marry in Manhattan, according to the Associated Press, was 77-year-old Phyllis Siegel and 85-year-old Connie Kopelov, shown above, who’ve been together 23 years. From The AP: Witnesses cheered and wiped away tears after the two women vowed to honor and cherish each other as spouses and then kissed. “I am breathless. I almost couldn’t breathe,” Siegel said after the ceremony. “It’s mind-boggling. The fact that it’s happening to us — that we are finally legal and can do this like everyone else.” Outside afterward, Siegel raised her arms exultantly as Kopelov, in the wheelchair, held out a marriage certificate. Watch video from the first day of same-sex marriages in New York below.

2. A memorial to honor victims of anti-LGBT violence will open this week in the heart of Houston’s Montrose gayborhood, Culture Map Houston reports. The garden’s roots stretch as far back as the 1991 hate crime murder of gay banker Paul Broussard, whose killer was recently granted parole. “This garden is about recognizing our community and how fragile each one of us is,” says Sally Huffer of the Montrose Counseling Center. “When one person disappears, it leaves a void.”

3. A straight El Paso woman is fighting an anti-gay group’s efforts to recall Mayor John Cook and two council members for voting in favor of restoring domestic partner benefits for city employees. As we reported last week, the group led by anti-gay Pastor Tom Brown filed its notice of intent to recall the mayor and two council members on July 18. On Thursday, Jodi Casey began her campaign against Brown’s group by asking people to switch their Facebook profile pictures to the image at right. Casey is also considering forming a political action committee to organize a rally in support of the elected officials. “There’s so much negativity by these supposed Christians,” Casey told The El Paso Times. “They’re giving Christians everywhere a bad name.”

Continue reading “What’s Brewing: Wedding bash continues in NY; Houston LGBT memorial; El Paso benefits fight” »

—  John Wright