| Gay pride week kicks off Sunday with a blessing
The Jersey City Lesbian and Gay Outreach, Inc. and Grace Church Van Vorst will kick off Jersey City Pride Week Sunday by hosting a ceremonial blessing ceremony for same-sex couples. The Rev. Gregory Perez will conduct the service, which will consist of hymns, songs of praise, scriptural and non-scriptural readings, prayer and a special blessing of relationships. Lesbian and Gay couples, their families and friends are all invited to the blessing. Jersey City Pride Week will culminate with the Jersey City Pride Festival on Aug. 26 from noon to 8 p.m. at Exchange Place. For more information, visit www.jclgo.org or www.gracevanvorst.org or call Grace Van Vorst Church at (201) 659-2211, ext. 4. PATRICK VILLANOVA .
Archbishop Conti Dismayed After Firefighters are Punished for ...
By The Universe: The Archbishop of Glasgow has condemned the decision to discipline nine firefighters for refusing to hand out safety leaflets at a gay pride march.Archbishop Mario Conti described the disciplinary action against the Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service (SFR) staff as "dismaying." The nine officers were rapped by SFR after disobeying orders during the Pride Scotia rally in June. Some of the crew involved argued at the time of the gay march that it would be embarrassing for them to turn up in uniform to the event, while others claimed it would contradict their moral beliefs.Bosses have ordered the group, from Glasgow's Cowcaddens station, to undergo intensive "diversity training" as part of their punishment. One of the men involved, a watch manager, was reduced to the rank of crew manager, losing an estimated 5,000 in salary.The others have all received official written warnings about their behaviour.
15 Injured in Estonia’s Pride March
A gang of homophobic protesters used stones and sticks to attack Estonias third annual Gay Pride March this past Saturday, injuring 15 people. Some 500 participants joined the Pride March in Tallinn, Estonias capitalthey carried rainbow flags and placards reading Love Doesnt Ask About Gender, We Have the Right to Be Who We Are, Children of Gays Need Protection Too, and We Heteros Support Gays. A Spaniard who was taking part in a gay seminar in Estonia together with other LGBT activists from Europe was hospitalized with a head injury after a stone was thrown at him during the march, said Juris Lavrikovs of the gay group Mozaika from neighboring Latvia, who was in Tallinn for the Pride march. A skinhead came at me shouting pederast in Estonian and spat in my face two times, he added in an e-mailed account of the days events.
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