questioning the effort to gain marriage equality for same-sex couples they will be silenced ‘ with the label of homophobia. We must continue strengthen our efforts within communities of faith to create avenues for people who seek education and guidance about marriage equality. 1 In Vermont, many clergy members have led efforts to cre- ate this space for their faith com- munities. The Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force is working with these leaders to offer other supportive clergy members and lay leaders the opportunity to sign the Declaration of Religious Support for sarne-sex couples to civilly marry. The goals are to provide clergy members and lay leaders an opportunity to take meaningful action in support of marriage equality and to provide people of faith a community to find answers to their questions. Ask your supportive clergy member or lay leader to sign the Declaration. Download the Declaration‘ at http://www.vtfree- tomarry.org/advocacy.php. To learn more about the work of clergy members for marriage equality, contact Robyn Maguire at field_director@vtfreetomar- ry.org or call 388.2633. R.U.1 .2? Seeks Cadre Serve your community and make new friends!! Help people in our community to get information, counseling and referrals_ on HIV prevention, quitting smoking, other health issues, civil unions, gay tourism, mental health, etc. Those looking for ways to serve their community are invited to attend volunteer training work- shops at R.U.l .2? Queer Community Center in Burlington and join the Center’s Volunteer Cadre. The Center Cadre will, among other activities, provide front reception desk hospitality for those visiting the center. Over time, the Center Cadre will assist ~ the Center with public communi- cation as R.U.1.2?QCC continues to develop its services in ' Vermont. The Cadre will also _ offer social opportunities for its members. The first training workshops are scheduled for Saturday after- noon, 24 January (4-hour train- ing) and Monday and Tuesday M evenings, 26 & 27 January (2 hours each night). Snow date: 28 January). Required training for Cadre membership is 4 hours. Reservations are necessary. Call ' the center, 802 860 7812, or e- mail rwwolff@innevi.com. The workshops will be con- ‘ ducted by Center Staff and Board of Directors Member Robert William Wolff. Wolff is coordina- tor of the Center Cadre program. Kisses for the UU The First Unitarian Universalist Society’s' Welcoming Congre- gation Committee in Burlington is requesting pictures from the GLBT community of couples kissing, especially from Civil Union celebrations! In celebra- tion of our intentionally diverse community, we want to celebrate our lives and loves by exhibiting the photos on our UU bulletin board in the lobby by the parlor. Pictures can be submitted via email at rivera- sail@yahoo.com in PDF, gif, jpg, or tif file format or mail a copy to Miguel Angel Bemard— Rivera, 37 Northshore Dr. Burlington, VT 05401. If you have any questions, please call 802-864-2246. Winter Is a Drag, Let's Make It a Ball Planning for the 11th annual Winter is a Drag Ball is well underway. The event will take place Saturday, February 11, 2006, at Higher Ground in South Burlington. Presented for the fourth in a row by The House of LeMay, this is a benefit for the Vermont People with AIDS Coalition. ' The night will begin at 7:30pm with a seated Cabaret show featuring a wide variety of entertainment. At 9pm, The Boom Boom Room will open up with Elliott Matos returning again this year to DJ. There will be larger production numbers presented throughout the night as well as the crowning of the King and Queen of the Drag Ball. At 10pm, the»Cabaret Lounge will transform into the Diva Disco Lounge where DJ John Martin will host drag per- forrnances and play the disco hits of Drag Balls past. Tickets for the event are $15 before the show and $20 on the day of the show and are avail- able at Higher Ground: www.highergroundmusic.com. Performers are needed for all three venues (Cabaret, Boom Boom, and Diva Disco) and any- one wishing to perform should contact houseoflemay@hot- mail.com as soon as possible. Undoing Racism in Vermont Passing on this great training opportunity coming up in Boston. This is the same group that did a Vermont training back in June which sparked the community work of O.U.R. in Vermont (Organizers Undoing Racism in Vermont, also formerly known as March OR Move/CURe VT) who have worked on the South Burlington Police Department recently to address issues of racism within the department. This growing collec- tive has brought together a very unlikely group of activists. We are religious conservative funda- mentalists, radical queers, people of color, womyn, men, youth, white folks and people of various economic means. This truly is a _ ial, srzrorrrl iwmrz, irwesmrrarzr gsroperty mrtgeges, home’ ccgzziry, arm‘ rrgfzrrrzncing. .Em-tr . s 5 C! RTG For Preappruval. Rate, er Financing lnimmation. Contact: unique and historical collabora- tion of organizers who are focus- ing to address racism in our state. Should you wish to get involved with the Undoing Racism work with O.U.R. in Vermont or the ongoing monthly potluck/com- munity gatherings that gather to discuss racism in our lives & community, please contact Lluvia Mulvaney-Stanak (lluvia@out- rightvtorg) & I will give you the 2006 gathering dates. The training in Boston (details below) was very impact- ful for the 10 members of Outright Vermont who attended back in June & we highly rec- ommend that you or other activists/community. folk you know attend. TRAINING: Undoing Racism Training by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond Jan 13-15th, Boston, MA. The Undoing Racism training is intended show us that organizing skills alone are not sufficient to build the kinds of coalitions nec- essary for a broad-based move- ment for social change. Racism is the single most critical barrier to building effective coalitions for social change. Racism has been consciously and systemati- cally erected, and it can be undone only if people under- stand what it is, where it comes from, how it functions, and why it is perpetuated. Co-sponsored by the Haymarket People’s Fund. For more info, 617- 522- 7676 or email Tommie@hay- market.org. V . To learn , more about - HIV testing ~ Benefits of knowing your HIV status - Treatment, support and . counseling opfions info 2 <1: ca: (.9 CD cx: 0.. U) 9.. <1: 2 I Call Vermont AIDS Hotline: 1-aoo- . . 882- ' AIDS .