March: In like a lamb, out like a lion?

Ok, old queer people - time for some good news:

We, the lgbtq+ Seniors of the Inland Northwest, celebrated our 7th birthday in February. Yep, amidst Valentine cards and chocolate cake with rainbow icing, we turned 7. Improbable, but true. It's not that we managed to survive - we have actually been able to thrive.

Did you know that:

For over five years now, we have had a weekly Zoom call on Fridays. On average, over 14 people a week every week tuning in to share a bit about themselves. Conversations range from weeding to housing, travel to dying, aging to grandparenting and so much more. To date, we have had 364 zoom Fridays, and counting.

Speaker Fridays, generally the third Friday of the month, have featured people working with grieving, sexuality, lgbtq+ refugee issues, lgbtq+ housing, understanding Medicaid and Medicare, dementia, local politics, and much more. While there is no record of the speakers, there have been about 60 talks so far.

We developed our own website, which is on its way to becoming an important vehicle for us to communicate

We have been able to gather for a monthly potluck at UU Spokane every month for seven years. Ok, there was that darn covid year, but other than that what a massive amount of good food and fellowship has been consumed.

We have had consistent taco Tuesday gatherings on the first Tuesday of the month 

Lunch on the Town, somewhere in Spokane, is a no host lunch on the 4th Wednesday of the month, an in-person event for our tribe to gather.

Working with the INBA and Spokane PRIDE we co-hosted a quarterly gathering last December. It is a gathering of regional lgbtq+ organizations so that we can better share information and work together.

Members have spoken about and been on panel discussions at events regionally about issues we face as lgbtq+ elders.

We have had a consistent presence at Pride events in Coeur d'Alene and Spokane, letting others know we exist for all seven years. Last year we expanded to include representation in other regional communities as well.

This monthly newsletter, started about three years ago with roughly forty addresses, just topped over 300 recipients this month.

ThThank you to everyone who has contributed to our seven-year-old community. You have helped make us a safe haven space that is a platform of support and care for each of us. There are a lot of people who have pitched in to make all this happen:  shout-outs to Dan for his expertise, Nancy for her steadfastness, UU for putting up with us, and of course the steering committee members emeritus, Jackie, Mae, Christopher. And, to current members, Ken, Hannah, Gianni, Jeffrey, Deena, Nancy, Doug, Christine, and Camryn.

     News of Note:

Ryan Oelrich, a counselor specializing in grief counseling, gave a very well-informed talk on the process of grieving in February. We are grateful to him for sharing his knowledge with us. Contact Nancy if you would like to access a recording of his talk. 

We have two guest speakers for our 3rd Friday talk on March 21. They will share about their work in assisting individuals and families leaving red states to relocate in safer areas.

Calendar of Events for March

Due to the current political climate, event times and locations are included in the email to members.