Ex Gay movement conference in Orange County this Saturday

Dear friends of justice and equality for all people: 

 Two important events in the next two weeks in Orange County.  I am concerned enough to let you know about two conferences that are happening in Orange County.  Please read and forward the information that is pertinent in this email to any supportive and interested parties.  Thanks in advance! 

EXODUS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN IRVINE, JUNE 23RD THROUGH 26TH 

As you probably are aware by now, the Exodus International "Freedom" conference will be held this year again at Concordia University in Irvine, California, June 23rd through 26th.  Exodus International professes to offer freedom from homosexuality, which they label as Same Sex Attraction or SSA.  The organization has close ties to the Religious Right. 

For more information on the Exodus International "ex-gay" conference, you can go to the Exodus International website at the following links: 

http://www.exodusinternational.org/ 
http://www.ExodusInternational.org/content/view/1049/37/ 
http://exodusfreedom.org/ 

To see the PSA of Exodus International about this year's conference, go to this link and take note of the red "Don't Walk" sign throughout the video: 

http://vimeo.com/11588721 

The theme of this year's Exodus International conference is "Moving Forward."  I am not sure what that means, given the ties that the organization has with right-wing organizations, but it gives me cause for concern.   

This year's conference will be the 35th for the organization, which started in Anaheim, California, as the EXIT Ministry of Melodyland Christian Center.  For long-term Southern Californians you may recall that Melodyland used to be located across from Disneyland. 

In light of the anniversary, Orange County has been chosen once again to host an Exodus conference.  This may seem innocent on the surface, given the anniversary and the location of the organization's founding, but I do not think it is that simple.  Exodus International strategically hosts its conferences in target locations where they believe that they can sway a sizable percentage of people to support their cause. 

LBGT AFFIRMING RESPONSE TO THE EXODUS "FREEDOM" CONFERENCE - PROCLAIMING TRUE FREEDOM! 

When Exodus International had their last conference in Irvine at Concordia University in June 2007, Irvine United Congregational Church (IUCC) hosted an affirming response to the ex-gay "Freedom" conference.  In 2007, the very successful Ex-Gay Survivors Conference brought healing for many people who had gone through ex-gay ministries.  This year, once again, IUCC is hosting a conference that offers a hopeful response to Exodus International's message of "Freedom From Homosexuality."  This year's LGBT-affirming, one-day conference will be held this Saturday, June 19th. 

For more information and to register for the "Orange County LGBT Affirmation Conference - Orange County's Response to the Exodus International Ex-Gay Conference," please check out the following: 

http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/06/9082/ 
http://www.iucc.org/ 
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/ 

MORE INFORMATION ON EXODUS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES AND ON THE ORGANIZATION 

For more information on Exodus International's past "Freedom" conferences, you may want to check outhttp://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/tag/exodus-freedom-conference. 

An excellent report on the ex-gay movement can be found at 
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2007/winter/straight-like-me. 

As most of you know, I spent more than eight years in the ex-gay movement and led an ex-gay ministry for about three of those years.  My experience is anecdotal, at best, but it is not only my experience.  Many others share similar stories.  When I was involved with Exodus International and various ex-gay ministries in the 1980s to early 1990s, Exodus International was not widely accepted within the evangelical Christian church.  That all began to change when Focus on the Family and other right-of-center organizations seized upon the opportunity to promote "family values" in the 1990s.  Soon Exodus International began a public policy wing and grew from a fledgling, mostly volunteer organization to a well-funded, "family values" right-of-center organization.   

While I can point to some positive aspects of my years of experience in the ex-gay movement, I also feel that I experienced what amounted to a type of brainwashing.  I had to struggle for many years to find my faith again and it took me years to break free from depression that could be very problematic at times.  In short, despite whatever constructive elements of my ex-gay experience there may have been, in the end I felt that my involvement posed more problems than it resolved. 

If you wish to read more about my experience with Exodus International, you can check out the following links: 

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2007/winter/coming-out 

My clarifications on the above interview appear at http://www.queerty.com/ex-gay-comes-clean-on-exorcism-20071211/and http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2007/12/former-ex-gay-minister-recounts-spiritual-rape-by-living-watersdesert-stream/. 

http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20001011edclarke4.asp