#united methodist church

[junebugwriter]

I guess I never had much of a chance.

I just started watching Jessie Gender on Youtube's essay about masculinity and... it hit like a goddamn truck. So much of what she talks about in her past so closely mirrors my own, it's downright eerie. Down to the fact that I was an Eagle Scout. Although, to be fair, it sounds like she had a much better time in it than I did, considering I never really made many friends in my boy scout troop, and I never worked any of the camps.

But to the point... I really did echo a lot of her experience. I tried my hardest to be a man. To live up to the ideals of masculinity that society enforces. But I was never going to be anything close to that. I was always too fat, too sensitive, too emotional, and too unathletic to ever be anything close to Western Masculinity (tm).

I did try though. I was desperate to be seen as something close to approaching masculine, but it came out in such strange ways.

For those who don't know me in person, I grew up in the United Methodist Church, quite literally. My dad was a pastor all his life, and that's the only life I knew growing up. As such, we lived life "in a fishbowl," as we'd call it. That means we were supposed to be the Model Family. Above all reproach, under all scrutiny. If any of us stepped out of line, we were going to be reprimanded for it. Do you folks on here have any idea what that does to a kid? My parents loved me, to be sure, and I bear them little ill will. They did their best under the circumstances. But we were a religious family in Texas. There's very little non-conformity afforded to us. My mother, God bless her, she already bucked tradition. She wasn't exactly feminine, mostly. Sure, she wore dresses, wore makeup, even went square dancing with my dad. But she had little time for the trappings of femininity, and only wore them under obligation. She did not enjoy being a pastor's spouse, for the most part. She endured it, for my Dad's sake, but she made no secret that she wasn't going to pretend to be some Stepford Wife bizarro Tammy Faye Bakker. Not her.

So I grew up with my dad, a uniquely anxious person, stressed about how me and my brother were going to make it. My dad was a pretty old-school guy, but at heart he was a bleeding heart liberal, as much as one could be in Texas in the 80's and 90's in religious circles. There's not a single Democratic president he didn't vote for. He was Democrat til he dies. Yet... that could never be public knowledge. Not in the church. Not in Texas. So already, we became bearers of secrets. Mom isn't a pastor's wife. Dad isn't a Republican. And so we were taught to bear our own secrets.

I'm neurodivergent. I have ADHD. And I am almost entirely incapable of telling a lie. (Ask my partner, she knows!) But little secrets... that was a matter of survival. Little secrets, for the benefit of the Image. Everyone has them, I learned. But God help you if your secrets ever got out.

So I learned, and learned, and learned some more. I'd ask questions, and to their credit my parents answered most of them truthfully, if they could. But there were some things you do not question.

One of them was gender. But I did not know that word.

How could I?

Not in that environment. Not in the fishbowl. Not in Texas. Not in the church.

Girls did x, boys did y, and that's that. Girls were x, boys were y, and that's it. End of discussion. Black and white.

There were signs I did not conform. I loved the show Barney and Friends... until I overheard kids at school call it a show for girls and little babies. Not a show for boys.

Overnight I stopped watching.

I used to sleep with a blanket every night. I loved, adored that little blanket. I found solace in Linus from Peanuts, and his little blue blanket. But my father chafed at its ever-presence. He never said anything against it, but he didn't have to. I could tell. So my mother, God bless her, she stitched me and my brother some pillows with fun animal designs on them. They substituted for the blanket. Father approved, as they had things like tigers and killer whales on them, which were Boy Approved (tm) things to like.

But then there was the ladybug puppet. It was a cute little stuffed ladybug that fit on my hand, and it even had an extra leg so as to be anatomically accurate. I slept with that every night.

Until my mother told me that dad didn't want me to do it anymore. He was worried it was too "feminine." And she said it in a very sing-song voice, a teasing tone I grew all too familiar with.

So into the closet the puppet went. And me with it.

I became hyper-vigilant about what could be perceived as "feminine" from there on out. I watched what I did like a hawk, trying never to ever raise the annoyance or ire of my dad or my peers. But it was never enough. As anyone who has ever had to play that game of gender chess, there was never going to be any chance for someone who is a trans girl to ever be anything but, even if they didn't know that was what they were.

I didn't hear the word "transgender" until I was in grad school. By then, I had already felt a call to ministry. By then, I had long ago locked up all gender nonconformity in a closet back when I was in grade school. I had lost an entire childhood, teenhood, early young adulthood. And by then, I felt like they described what being trans was like, as if it was for someone else. Glad I didn't deal with that issue!

But I did. I simply did not allow myself to question things. Did not allow myself to break the box I was put in as a child. Because I was a white guy, going to be a pastor. I figured I would just be that all my life.

Life has changed about three times since then. I only allowed myself to ask myself the hard gender questions in October of last year. I was 35. I'm turning 36 this next month.

I'm starting my life over again, a fourth time. But I'm actually looking forward to the future, for the first time in my entire life.

Because now it actually exists.

#lgbtq #gender #transgender #childhood #church #religion #christianity #biography #jessie gender #ministry #united methodist church #texas #the south #queer #in the closet #trans femme #trans feminine #personal

[thedooristhebluecushion]

Get to know me, I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️

Tagged by @kattahj, I’m honored 🥰

Last Song?

Did a stupid story thing on Instagram where you searched your name & posted the first song that came up didn’t think it’d get me questioning my life:

Keep your chin up, but every once in a while…

Have a good cry.

Well, go on and make a good livin', girl, don't forget,

To make a good life.

Favorite color?

Hunter Green & Mustard

Currently watching?

Cherry Magic Thailand - it restoreth my soul.

Pit Babe - how dare this spicy show give me feelings?

Cooking Crush - Off/Gun perfection

For Him - I genuinely don’t know why I keep watching this one.

The Sign - but I’m 5 episodes behind bc it’s staaaaresssing me out.

Last Movie?

I have been watching The Cherry Magic Movie on repeat because it heals something inside of me I can’t explain.

Sweet / Spicy / Savory?

Yes. Mainly Buffalo Sauce. Which if done right is somehow all three. But if I had F/M/K it’d be:

F*** - Spicy

Marry - Savory

Kill - Sweet

Current Obsession?

My job occupies a lot of my thought & when it doesn’t it’s bc I’m distracting myself with BLs tbh so I guess those.

Last Thing You Googled?

United Methodist Book of Discipline 🤦🏻‍♀️

Selfie or another pic you took

I was outlet shopping & came across these Crocs and just… could not compute? Are we really here? Who’s buying these? Godspeed I guess.

Anyway let’s try to forget these Crocs exist… I’m tagging @kwalker31, @negrowhat, @firelise & @telumendils who will probably ignore this like they do all my texts.

#personal #tell me more #learn about me #cherry magic #pit babe #cooking crush #for him #the sign #cherry magic the movie #united methodist church #fuck marry kill #crocs #Youtube

[oldshowbiz]

Photographic evidence that Hollywood and Highland was also filthy in the 1980s.

#highland ave #united methodist church #hollywood blvd

[thefrankshow]

God Gets Snail Mail

#photographers on tumblr #original photographers #snail mail #stroudsburg #united methodist church

[aprilthewriter]

I just wanted to give some encouragement to any LGBTQ+ Christians out there who are feeling lonely on their journey and like they don’t belong anywhere. It took some time and a lot of navigating my faith and my queer identity and the pain of leaving the church I grew up in, but I’ve found several churches (all progressive UMCs, but there are lots of other churches that affirm LGBTQ folks--and I know not all UMCs do) I can call home, and I’ve found lots of virtual spaces too where I can bring my full self and my gifts. I just led a song during worship today, and the music director and a bunch of church ladies complimented me afterwards. And they all know I’m a lesbian. And there are rainbow flags in the church and we do a bunch of cool service projects and drives for the community. The focus is on loving God and loving neighbor, and there’s no other place I would rather be. 

Even if you’re in an area where affirming churches are scarce and you don’t have the resources to start one, there are online communities (DM me and I can send a bunch of links) and there are so many LGBTQ+ Christians out there, using our gifts to serve the beloved community of God. You are loved and you are not alone, and I know that you will shine in whatever ways you participate in spirituality/religion.

#faithfullylgbt #exvangelical #queer christian #lgbt #lgbtq #methodist #umc #united methodist church #methodism #my boy John Wesley would have affirmed queer people ok #gay christian #christian #affirming theology #church #jesuslovesyou #jesus loves you #god loves all #god loves you #god loves everyone

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

#Ryan Burge #Southern Baptist Convention #United Methodist Church #decline of religion #leaving religion #empty the pews #church membership #religion #religion is a mental illness

[libraryogre]

A friend of mine is a Methodist minister. Lovely woman, I've known her and loved her for a quarter of a century. Very progressive, dotes on her now adult son.

As you may know, the Methodists move their pastors around every few years. Last church I was a member of we only stayed until that pastor moved on, because while he did great sermons, his replacement less so. And during her time in ministry, she's had a few different congregations.

She just got moved to one of the most racist towns in in her state. Infamous for its number of KKK members.

She is white; she's not in immediate danger due to her skin color. But, Thor, watch over my friend. May she a beacon that leads folks from hate, but keep her safe.

#united methodist church #thor

[gwydionmisha]

#LGBTQIA+ #United Methodist Church #Religion #News

[protestantdenominationpoll]

Submission Form

I think most of y'all kinda know the drill here. Submit as many denominations as you want (INDIVIDUALLY), but don't spam the form.

This poll is for PROTESTANT denominations and sub-denominations. Do not submit catholicism, JWs, or Mormons. This poll can also include "non-denominational" organizations so long as they have multiple churches and a distinct interpretation of faith. For example, the IBLP and the New Independent Fundamentalist Baptists can be submitted.

You can also submit denominations just because they suck and you want to see them beaten into the ground.

Here's the link. I'll be taking Top 32 make it into the bracket. The submission form will remain open until I feel that response is sufficient (so probably like 2000 responses).

#protestant #baptist #mennonites #amish #christian #christianity #christian denominations #bracket polls #pentacostal #anabaptist #evangelical #charismatic #lutheran #united methodist church #methodist #episcopal #seventh day adventist #quaker #religion #presbyterian #holiness church #jesus christ #jesus #kjvbible #christian discourse #ruleposting #196 #r196 #r/196 #rule

[divinum-pacis]

#religion #christianity #protestantism #methodist #united methodist church #schism #united states #article #divinum-pacis

[junebugwriter]

Defrocked

(CW: emotional abuse)

I used to be a pastor. Let me explain.

I grew up in the United Methodist Church, and when I received a calling to ministry, that's where I decided to get ordained. To do that is a long, involved process called "candidacy." There are a LOT of requirements to getting ordained, the biggest hurdle usually being a Master's degree in Divinity, or an M.Div. While it was difficult, getting my M.Div. was perhaps one of the most fun, life-giving and enjoyable years of my life. It also gave me a lot of hope for the future.

During my time as a student, I decided to be a part-time student pastor. I got my license, and become a lay local pastor, and worked at a small-town congregation about an hour from my seminary in Texas. Honestly, if I could have chosen to be their my entire career, I would have. That church was the most loving congregation I think I have ever been a part of, and you could not ask for a better church to be a part of going through ordination processes.

However, as all things go, my time there ended. I finished my M. Div., and I began the next step in candidacy: being a Commissioned Elder. This means that I was a pastor in a probationary period of about 2 years in which I get to do ministry in a more expanded capacity. The way it was supposed to work --the way I was TOLD IT WOULD WORK-- was that I would receive interviews from three different churches to see which was the best fit, and I would be able to have input into where I would go. Sounds wonderful! That is not what happened.

I was given (1) interview with a potential church, and that one went very well. I loved the location, loved the potential senior pastor, and all of it looked great. However. The Cabinet--a group of district superintendents and the Bishop-- decided otherwise. That church I interviewed for? They gave it to another guy, because he was from the same area as that church.

Me? I was assigned to [Redacted] First UMC.

I received a phone call from the District Superintendent that I was under, and she told me to expect a call from... let's call him Pastor Dick. Pastor Dick was the senior pastor at [Redacted] and the bishop had appointed me to him.

"Why?" I asked.

"Listen," she said. "Sometimes... things don't go the way we plan. But I promise you'll be okay at that church."

Friend, I was not.

Pastor Dick used to be a District Superintendent and was KICKED OFF the Cabinet by the current Bishop. The two were mortal enemies. He had an axe to grind. He did not want an associate. Pastor Dick, I would go on to find out, was an inveterate narcissist, toxic and emotionally manipulative in every way. He was a Good Ol' Boy, and didn't much care for our Woman Bishop and her more progressive leanings.

I was to be his associate pastor. I had to make this work.

The next year and a half under Pastor Dick was, to that point, the most difficult time of my life I had ever experienced, rivalling High School, in which I was mercilessly bullied. Dick was a technophobe--man had a flip phone, and didn't even have a computer. He had his emails printed out by his administrative assistant EVERY MORNING. I do not actually know what he did during the days. I assume it was mostly phone calls with parishioners or his buddies. The man had as a part of his pay package a MEMBERSHIP IN THE LOCAL COUNTRY CLUB. There was nothing the man loved more than hearing the sound of his own voice. It was a constant barrage of hot air from him every day, all day.

At this time, I was just being diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Being under Pastor Dick made my anxiety, vertigo, and depression spike as well. I called out frequently. I did what I could to not be in the office. Pastor Dick did not like this, not one bit. I needed to be in the office! Why? I honestly don't know. I tried writing a sermon once in a coffee shop, and he threw a holy fit.

Most pastors, when they are an associate, usually get a worship service of their own to coordinate. At a church that size with almost 2000 members, this seemed obvious. But Pastor Dick thought otherwise. He did not want me to have a Sunday Service. No, he wanted both of those to belong to him. Never mind that people usually liked my sermons better. Never mind that I needed opportunities to preach for my candidacy.

So he thought around the issue. He told me to create a Saturday worship service--you know, like a lot of big city churches with lots of people have, to reach a new kind of crowd!

Hey gang, do you know why those big churches have Saturday worship? It's because their Sundays are overflowing with people, and those are the overflow services. Our Sundays? They were pretty well attended, but FAR from overflowing.

Still, this was my chance. I coordinated with my worship guy. We crafted an ancient-future worship service, with stripped down acoustic music and really challenging theology. We were going to be dynamic! Interesting! And we had a blast. We had a solid group of people regularly attending, having communion with us, becoming a community. It wasn't gangbusters successful, but it was OURS. And we loved it.

Until a "consultant" came, and killed it. He saw what we were doing. It was intentionally different from "marketable" church worship experiences. No big lights, no loud music, just a group of people, singing to acoustic guitar, an academic sermon, using new versions of ancient liturgies... and he hated it. He said it was a waste of time and energy.

The next week, Pastor Dick cancelled it. We didn't even get a final worship service to send it off.

The superintendent, different from my previous one, saw my time there as a failure. He decided to move me mid-year to a two-point charge, deeeeeeeeep in the piney woods. In the second poorest county in Texas. Two small, struggling churches. I would be the only pastor. No mentors to help me. I was failing, and he wanted me shoved off to a corner to rot.

I languished in those churches for three and a half years. I did my damnedest. I built connections. I tried to be a good pastor. I started initiatives. I did what a pastor ought to.

But here's the rub. I was a twenty-something pastor in a church entirely filled with retirees. I was an urban-suburban-leaning young pastor, who would ideally have been best suited to a larger church in the city and given a mentor pastor who gave a damn. Instead I was given a narcissistic abuser, and a sabotaged shot at success. These towns I was sent to? They were dying. <2000 people maximum. And they wanted me to get a massive growth of attendance? I barely spoke these people's language! I tried, though. I did my best, walked with them all through all kinds of difficulties. I did funerals, went to the hospital regularly. But there's only so much I could have done. The die was cast.

The truth was, the bishop had found in me an acceptable loss. I didn't look like what a pastor should look like, talk like the kind of marketable pastor-talk they wanted, and generally did not fit in the box the church had for me. I fought it. I fought my failure tooth and nail. But I was isolated. Alone. My partner and I were the youngest people in those churches, and we didn't have any friends. She put her career on hold for me. She had no prospects for her career out there. We both were miserable, but dammit, I still showed up every Sunday.

Yet the church did not see this. They merely counted my mistakes as failures, and called me ultimately responsible for not single-handedly saving two dying churches in dying, impoverished towns. The church denied me. They gave me the choice of either voluntarily discontinuing and leave the ministry, or proceed to the Board of Ordained ministry and have them discontinue me. Either resign, or be forcibly removed.

I gave up. I had weathered ten years of the candidacy process. I had given everything I had to the church. I was more depressed than ever. I was heartbroken. And they hung me out to dry. Told me that "many are called, but few are chosen."

I call bullshit. They knew what they had done by sending me under Pastor Dick. They knew that no fresh-faced seminarian would survive under him. They knew that he would take me down with him. And I still managed to last three and a half years after him, clawing for every inch of ground I could.

But the church did not care. So I picked up my things and left. I had thankfully seen the writing on the wall beforehand. I applied for PhD studies and was accepted within a week of that meeting which defrocked me. I left my home in Texas, and headed west, to California, where I am now.

I'm writing my dissertation now. Academia is far from perfect, but it's a damn sight better than being in the ministry, at least for me. I might actually have a future as a transfemme theologian, one I would NEVER have as a pastor in the UMC.

The church needs good pastors. I would support anyone who wants to take that calling on.

It's just not me. I'm done with fighting the ministry. I can answer my calling in Academia.

So what was this? Just a release on the pressure valve of my anxiety, anger, and frustration. But it's also my story, more or less. There's more to it. I could tell you about how gaslit I was. I could tell you all the times Pastor Dick was a dick. I just might! But for now, this will do.

To end on a lighter note, my mental health has never been better since leaving the ministry. I never would have figured out I was trans in the ministry. I suppose it was necessary to let that dream die to become the person I was meant to be all along. As much as it hurts to admit, it was for the best.

#ministry #church #united methodist church #transgender #academia #candidacy #texas #religion #narcissist #emotional abuse #pastor #vent #bio #biography #blog

[oldshowbiz]

Hollywood Tours & Gifts: 6819 Hollywood Blvd

#hollywood blvd #united methodist church #hollywood #1980s

[coolantoniomartin]

Jeanette Santiago (born August 13, 1972 in San Juan, Republic of Puerto Rico), born Antonio Santiago, is a former amateur boxer, actress, singer, wikipedian, professional model and boxing and fashion writer and critic. Among the things she loves are her family, airplanes, boxing, music, movies, acting, writing, friends and women. Her ex girlfriends or significant girls in her life include Thelvenytssie Hernande, Loyda Morales, Rosemary Guerrero, Jennifer Gibson and Amna Zamir, a native of Pakistan.

At age 7, Jeanette formed part of the children's chorus at Santa Juanita Disciples of Christ church in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, which allowed her to sing at the El Morro Castle in San Juan and at the Edificio de Fomento, among other places, and on a Sandra Zaiter television show on Puerto Rico's channel 7.

At age 9, she was diagnosed with diabetes. However, this hasn't deterred the positive spirited Jeanette to live a full life with as much fun as possible.

Most of her teenage years, Jeanette lived at Bonneville Apartments in Caguas, Puerto Rico. She also lived at Bayamon, Humacao and at Los Robles Apartments in Cayey, Puerto Rico.

At age 12, Jeanette entered a boxing ring for the first time in her life, but after receiving a few good punches, she thought it over and gave it up, and started to pursue an acting career. She did not abandon the gym before having a tremendous fight with a guy named Rafael, in Cayey, however...the fight in 1986 between Jeanette and Rafael inside that ring was so good, a lot of people who saw it said they reminded them of Rocky and Drago in Rocky IV. They were Jeanette’s nine longest minutes of her life, and in round three, they even wrestled each other to the floor, where they kept on hitting each other until separated, and then promptly went back to swinging at each other with everything they had but while on their feet. The fight was declared a draw by everyone who saw it, but Jeanette is very proud to have been a participant of it even if it was only a 'draw'. After returning to Caguas, Jeanette went back to the gym in Cayey to say goodbye to everyone, and there it was :a small picture on the wall depicting Jeanette and Rafael swinging at each other..:)

In Cayey, Jeanette was the leader of a group named the "T-Birds", after the gang portrayed in the movies Grease and Grease 2. Her group mates were Javier, Ruben (nicknamed "Macho"), Ricardo ("Ricky") and William, who sadly died in a swimming pool accident months later. Her girl-friend Thelvenetsy Hernandez was likewise the leader of "The Pink Ladies".

It should be mentioned also, that in Cayey, Jeanette tasted musical fame for the first time. Her girl-friend Thelvenytssie had a school band. It included her friends Hilda Rodriguez (coincidentally, this was also the maiden name of Jeanette's grandmother from his father's side), Ana and Carmen Rivera (Ana, also coincidentally, also shared her name with Jeanette's grandaunt from her mother's side). She wanted to spend more time with Jeanette and she attended some of her boxing sessions in Cayey. So she wanted her to do the same for her and so, she (Jeanette) started attending her band's practices all the time after which she asked Jeanette to join it. With Jeanette becoming the first-and only-male member of what then became "The Fantastic Five" (before that, it was "The Fantastic Four"), Jeanette enjoyed wild popularity among the girls at Benigno Fernandez Garcia middle school in Cayey. The group actually released a poster once (using the Walgreens' photo services, which produce posters, coffee cups and other things off personal photos) , which was widely distributed in the school. Jeanette (bad boy pose) laying back against a tree, Thelvenetsei hugging her neck and the other girls sitting in front of them on the ground.

Months later, Jeanette, at age 14, joined the adult singing choir at Ebenezer Methodist church in Caguas.

In Caguas, Jeanette enlisted at Gerardo Selles Sola Junior High, where she continued being a well liked student and teenager-she introduced herself to other students on her first day there by wearing a blue jacket and dark sunglasses inside the classroom and announcing herself as the "Teen Wolf"- but a harrowing event early in 1987 changed her life as a student: One late January morning in 1987, as she was being dropped off by her grandfather, she suffered a low sugar reaction and fainted. Her grandfather quickly transported her to the local, municipal hospital, from where she was placed in an ambulance and escorted by a pair of motorcycle policemen who happened to be there for another patient, to the local regional hospital. This event prevented a relationship she was developing with a girl named Zoraida to go on and, eventually, it also stopped Jeanette’s school going days: As Jeanette had to go up stairs to take class every day, teachers became afraid that next time, she could faint while on the stairs and they decided it was best for her to study at home and come on Fridays to school to drop off his homework. Jeanette had the late miss Ramirez of social studies to thank for her efforts towards that decision to be taken.

To this day, Jeannette is thankful to her late grandfather for driving her to the municipal hospital, therefore saving Jeanette's life, but she wishes she could know who the doctors, the ambulance driver and the policemen that day were too so she can thank them.

Months later, at the 9th grade graduation ceremony, Jeannette was awarded a "comeback of the year" special medal in a ceremony attended by Caguas mayor, Angel O. Berrios himself.

Jeanette attended high school at the old CEM in Caguas on Saturdays only from 1987 to 1989-at a class where she was the only male member all those years-giving her ample time to befriend other teens of every age and a chance to meet other women her age and to engage in her other interests: studying the history of boxing, acting, singing, dancing and playing basketball.

Jeanette has been in many plays, and in 1998 earned a model's degree from John Casablancas' Elite Model Management, hoping this would help her career move forward. It didn't, but in 2001 she was able to find a small role in one major film, Eight Legged Freaks. Incidentally, Jeanette also appeared, as an un-paid extra, in the 1982 film Una Aventura Llamada Menudo, during the film's last scene at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport.

For a short time, long haired Jeanette-as Antonio- was also a member of a teen band that had 7 boys, all but one boy residents of Bonneville Apartments in Caguas. The band was named "Corporation S.O.S." (and "Compania Al Rescate" in Spanish) and included 16 year old Jeanette, her brother, 9 year old Jose, 12 year old drummer Josue Rivera, 14 year old guitarist Marcos Padilla Jr., 12 year old rapper Eduardo Montanez, 15 year old keyboardist Carmelo Lopez and 21 year old Pablo Jose "Junior" Diaz. Although they all sang lead at various songs, Jeanette was the main lead singer, and the band tasted a small measure of popularity among girls around their small town. But they couldn't go forward and shortly after, they broke up , remaining just as friends. Since, Josue Rivera was rumored to have passed away, but he is alive. Because of the boy band long haired fashions of the era in Latin America, Jeanette-as Antonio- adopted a more androgynous look which was fairly popular among the girls who knew him. Considered a bass at the church choir, Jeanette sang as countertenor instead at the band because of the type of music (Spanish pop-rock) Corporation S.O.S. performed.

The rationale for the band's name was that "Just like a corporation, (we) all do different things in the group. And we are here to save Spanish rock music and sing it the way it's supposed to be (thus S.O.S. was added)".

This music group also took acting classes at a municipal arts school in Caguas, under the tutelage of the well known theater actor Carlos Cruz, since they foresaw a future that also included perhaps acting in film and television. Jeanette remembers spending many hours rehearsing singing and dancing moves during this era.

The formula this group used was to simply listen to songs on weekdays, then have the musicians on the band emulate the musical sounds with their instruments during a recording session, usually carried out at one of the members' homes. Then, if they had an act at a birthday party or the such, they'd bring the musical tapes with them; that way, they could all dance and sing to their songs while the musicians (Marcos, Josue, Carmelo and Pablo Jose) could be also heard on the background playing the music.

"Corporation S.O.S" tried to emulate the success of other teen boy bands of the time such as Menudo, Los Chicos de Puerto Rico and Los Chamos. Their songs were Spanish covers of other artists' hits, such as "Padre Benitez", a song in which band members confessed their love for a church going girl to a fictional priest and which was a cover of Billy Ocean's Caribbean Queen. Another example was "Jesus", a prayer-like song that was actually a cover of The Beatles' Hey Jude (they also covered other Beatles songs), as well as "A bailar!" (a cover of The Hooters' And We Danced) and "Chica del Campo" (a cover of The Pet Shop Boys' West End Girls) and Jeanette sang lead on "Muchachita", which was a cover of Elton John's Nikita. Jeanette met Rafo Muniz around this era, and so Antonio and his bandmates appeared on a television show named Control Remoto during 1989, shown on Puerto Rico's WAPA-TV, where they were allowed to sing a version of Chantelle's merengue song "Queriendo y No (Aunque Tu No Quieras)", which Jeanette sang on lead that day. The reason the band was given by Rafo Muniz for only that song to be allowed on that show was that the show had it's own in-house band and they had rehearsed the Chantelle song the week before but not the other songs, plus Muniz had permission from Chantelle to play their song on his show. Luckily, this was a very famous song at the time and the kids knew the lyrics to it.

Among other songs the band covered were Toto's Africa and Madonna's Who's That Girl ("Quien es esa Nina?"), Survivor's Eye of the Tiger ("Ojo del Tigre"), Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine ("Eres Una Medicina Venenosa Para Mi") and Starship's We Built This City ("Construimos Esta Ciudad del Rock"), Bananarama's Cruel Summer ("Cruel Verano-Y Yo Aqui Sin Ti"), Nothing's Gonna Stop Us ("Nada va a Parar Este Amor"), Boy Meets Girl's Waiting For a Star to Fall ("Esperando Que Una Estrella Caiga"), The Dream Academy's Life In A Northern Town ("Hey, Mama"), The Hollies' The Air That I Breathe ("Jugar al Parchis Contigo"), Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ("Los Muchachos Queremos Pasarla Bien") and Dennis DeYoung's Desert Moon ("Bajo La Luna"). Two Spanish-language songs the group did cover from time to time was Luis Miguel's La Incondicional, which Jeanette sang on lead, and Miguel Bose's "Amante Bandido", sung by Jeanette's brother José.

As of 2022, the kids on that band remain friends. Jose works as a salesman for Alaska Airlines; Carmelo is a policeman (and a former singer with a local police rock group in Caguas) in the United States; Eduardo a tattoo artist in the United States, Pablo Jose a teacher at Universidad de Puerto Rico's Caguas branch, Josue works in the United States as a handyman, Marcos owns a auto parts store in Caguas, Puerto Rico and Jeanette writes at Wikipedia while keeping trying to further her acting and modeling career.

Although the band had few fans, some of them were fervent: Jeanette received, among other things, cardboard posters with her name and hearts on it from fans, and one time, a rabid fan who felt ignored by her attacked her and bit her on her arm at a parking lot before she was separated by others who were nearby. In another incident, Jeanette, her brother Jose and their band-mate Josue were at a Kay Bee Toys store at Plaza Centro Mall in Caguas when they were recognized by the same fan who bit Jeanette and by a couple of her friends and had to beat a hasty, comical getaway from the store. At malls and locations near Bonneville Apartments, this type of thing happened to them from time to time.

Among the things that brought Jeanette joy during that era were singing, dancing and hanging out with fans.

Apart from the boys in the band, Jeanette's best friends in Caguas included Yuyo, Juan Carlos, Ramon Berrios, Carlos Martinez, Heriberto Cruz, the Campagne (pronounced Champagne) brothers, (Avelardo, Avidair and Alexis), Libertario Sauri, William Luciano, Victor Manuel "Manny" Flores,the Gomez brothers (Ezequiel and Edwin), the Ortiz siblings (Lizzy and Edwin), Elizabeth Santiago, Manet, Silkya Hoyos , Sylvia Berrios, The Negron-Perez siblings (Ahmed, Samuel, Heira and Helga), Angel Benitez, Ariel Benitez, Angie Quinones and many others.

On April 29, 1990, Jeanette was involved in an emergency landing at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, incoming from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Upon approach, she and the other passengers were ordered on a head between the knees landing position. The Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 in which she was flying  then had a hard landing and many overhead bins opened roughly. Emergency vehicles were awaiting the plane on the runway, nevertheless the plane landed safely and everyone was uninjured. The plane was later towed to a maintenance hangar. Eastern's employees told passengers that due to a major congestion at the Atlanta airport the Eastern jet in which Jeanette was had to spend an inordinate amount on go around and the plane apparently fell low in fuel, requesting immediate priority landing afterwards. This was done by the plane's pilots probably to avoid another tragedy like Avianca Flight 52 which had crashed in similar circumstances just months before.

Jeanette became an ice cream saleswoman, occasional model and autograph collector during the 1990s, a time in which she met several celebrities, such as Bill Clinton, the six former Menudo members who formed El Reencuentro (plus several other Menudo and band director Edgardo Diaz during a separate meeting) Wilfredo Gomez, Gladys Knight, Silvester Stallone, Hilary Duff, Muhammad Ali, several NBA and WNBA stars and more, in addition to talking on the phone with such celebrities as Elizabeth Smart, Richard Steele, Ivan Calderon and Juanes as well as talking with Princess Anne of England and with Kenneth McClintock and Puerto Rican governor Luis A. Ferre in person. She also underwent a religious retransformation at the time and claimed to people that the most important person she'd met was God. The 1990's and early 2000s were generally a crazy and sometimes chaotic time for her where she experienced life in the fast lane: she lost her virginity, was engaged to a woman after meeting her only two weeks before and clubbing, raves and parties were the norm for her. Jeanette around this time started experimenting in the gothic sub-scene of the 90s, influenced by her fiancé at the time Rosemary Guerrero and by the movie The Craft (and, specifically, the character "Nancy Downs"), and she enjoyed such musical acts like Marilyn Manson, Eminem and Kittie during that era, before re-finding God in her life. As of 2020, Jeanette still tries to buy gothic and emo looking clothing from time to time but has re-adopted the androgynous look of the late 80s when she was in the Caguas band, and she sports shoulder length long straightened hair again. Many times, people confuse her for a cisgender woman. As of 2021, Jeanette wore her hair similar to actress Robyn Lively's in her film Teen Witch, somewhat similar to her hair-do on this photo:[1] Because of a period with the coronavirus, during 2022 it became impossible for Jeanette to maintain that hairstyle, and she re-styled her hair in early January 2022, opting to change her hairstyle to a still long but more manageable style instead.

During Jeanette's years as an ice cream man, she developed what many around her called " (the then) Antonio's 'teen-idol' fan club", a group of mostly teenaged girls who'd come to his ice cream truck sometimes to see her.

As a professional model, Jeanette participated in a few local fashion shows and television commercials.

On March 13, 1997, Jeanette was playing street basketball and her brother Jose little league baseball at an adjacent park, when Jeanette and a number of basketball players were witnesses of the UFO event now known as the "Phoenix Lights". That night, the group saw a "V" shaped aircraft descend just over them, then disappear on the dark skies, leaving a trail of lights of different colors.

In mid-1999, Jeanette, by then 27 years old, tried to revive her years in a teen musical act and formed a band named "Five-Four" which was comprised of her and a teenager boy and three teenaged girls, all Phoenix area locals. Some original songs were written and the band's name registered by Jeanette with the Library of Congress' copyright office, but nothing came of the project. The idea for this group was to form a band that would be a mix of The Backstreet Boys or NSYNC and The Spice Girls, acts that were popular at the era.

1999 also was the year when a lot of the craziness, turmoil and wild moments happening with, to and around Jeanette during this era took place as she led a walkout off a church in protest of the church's policy of kicking members out for minor transgressions such as laughing during services and then got involved in fist fights in swimming pools, hotel rooms and at the church itself. 1999 was also the year in which she attended some of the wildest parties she was to.

On December 12 of 2002, Jeanette was playing American Football when she tried to stop a player from scoring a touchdown, got run over, hit the ground with the back of her head and suffered a concussion. But she kept playing and was ok.

In January of 2003, Jeanette was involved in an unfortunate incident when a guy named Bobby Lane, arguing for Jeanette to pay him two dollars, told Jeanette he didn't (f word) care if Jeanette was a diabetic and he dint (f word) care if Jeanette's sugar went low, then smacked Jeanette across the face and provoked a brawl inside a moving car, after Jeanette tried to make sense with him by telling him that she needed those two dollars to buy candy in case her sugar did go low. While Jeanette's fists went bloody after hitting Bobby on Bobby's head, Jeanette deeply regretted this incident, as she hates street violence. It was quite a dramatic scene-Jeanette was pulled away from the car by her brother and ex band-mate Jose as she kicked Lane's groin and kept yelling at Lane until she was placed on a sidewalk. Despite hurting Lane more than Lane hurt her, it was Jeanette who ended up at the hospital, because she ended up with her knuckles’ skin torn off and her knuckles bleeding.  

April 3 of 2003 Jeanette visited the doctor, who, despite finding Jeanette in otherwise great physical condition, told her that the football fall suffered on December 12 caused her small, non-life threatening brain damage.

Around this time, Jeanette developed a severe addiction to Xanax, which she later overcame by going through an outpatient rehabilitation program.

April 21 of 2003, Jeanette and her family suffered an Anthrax scare at home, when a lady threw a white powder just outside their home door. Four cop cars came after a call was made by Jeanette to the 911 emergency system. It was determined the powder is probably just baby talc. The lady was also reported by other neighbors to have been bothering around the rest of the day.

During this era, Jeanette was a member of two large, international, extended groups of people who were co-related, mostly teenagers, who colloquially called themselves "The Beverly Hills 90210 of Phoenix". These included-at various times-her, her brother Jose, sister Nilda, girlfriends Rosemary Guerrero and Jennifer Gibson, sisters in law Leah Warner (who tragically died in 2010), Lora Shimkus and Heather, brother in law Nick Skrdla and others, such as Bobby Lane, Shane Manson, Paul Willmore Jr., Danielle Newby, Brandon Goad, Chinese-American Lily Yen, Myshell Lynn, Jamye Enk, the Chinese Tim Mak, Vietnamese Hua Hong, Japanese Ayanori Watanabe, as well also as Mexican-American Ivonne, twins Vanessa and Ivy Brown, Kurt Rowdell, Kurt's girlfriend-Mexico's Marisela Estrada, Heather's ex Stevie, and Stormy, among others. This motley crew of people mostly adopted a devil-may-care attitude and lived to have fun mostly. Not all of them were in Jeanette's group of friends at the same time; a few of them never even met some of the others but they were in Jeanette's circle of friends. The core members of the first group were Jeanette, Jose, Nilda, Paul, Bobby, Shane, Heather, Danielle, Lily, Tim and Myshell.

Among that first group's favorite activities were meeting celebrities for autographs, going to the movies and to restaurants late at night, bowling, speeding at highways and freeways, going on egging and toilet paper throwing trips, clubbing (at the time, there were several nightclubs in Phoenix that catered both to adults and to teenagers) partying, gambling and attending nude bar shows (in the latter three activities, only the group's over 21 years old members participated) and attending church at First Baptist Church in Glendale-including sports nights on Fridays where they enjoyed American football, baseball and basketball games-where the first group met the members of Jeanette’s secondary group of friends.

Separate from those two groups, in 1997, Jeanette joined a group of goths from his neighborhood that also included Stevie plus Stevie's brother Brian and others like Big Steve, Big Steve's brother David, Nicole and others.

Jeanette's group of friends roamed all over metropolitan Phoenix, breaking havoc all the way from southern Peoria and by the train tracks in Glendale to the economically rich areas of Scottsdale and south to Chandler by way of the I-10 freeway. There were a couple of instances when they even had run-ins with the police, but they were never charged with any misconduct. For their adventures and partying lifestyle, the groups usually used a red Pontiac Firebird convertible, an El Camino car or Phoenix's public bus system, although on one memorable incident, Jeanette, Jose, Tim and Hua were riding in Hua's car when Hua turned to the right while over a bridge and almost flew onto the freeway below them.

Her father is Tony, who Antonio was proud to say that decided to join the Wikipedia project on May 23, 2004.

Jeanette un-officially became a candidate for President of the United States when she voted for herself at the 2004 United States Presidential Elections. Jeanette is an identified Democrat and a vocal supporter of Puerto Rico's Independence movement. She again voted for herself in the 2012 Presidential campaign, which this time would have counted as an official vote since Jeanette was over 35, unlike at the 2004 elections.

jeanette was proud to initiate Wikipedia’s own version of Sportscenter.

As of February, 2006, Jeanette became a writer at the boxing website, ringsidereport.com. She left the site and later started being harassed by the site's managers. Jeanette became a writer for Doghouseboxing.com, where she joined her friend, legendary actress Sunset Thomas. At Doghouseboxing.com, Jeanette wrote the popular weekly entertainment and boxing gossip column, "(the then) Antonio's Reliable Source". A fashion fan also, Jeanette around this time joined a fashion and entertainment website as a fashion critic. The site was named Backseatcuddler.com, and Jeanette was somewhat of a peculiarity, being both an internet boxing and fashion critic at the same time.

In July, 2011, a shooting originated in front of Jeanette's house. Jeanette ran inside and she jumped on her sleeping, 6 year old niece Nina, to shield her. Luckily both were uninjured.

Jeanette nicknamed her dogs, "Cookie" "Cookie Kardashian" after the Kardashian sisters, "Jonas" (2008-2019) {originally named "Jonas" by her niece Nina after Joe Jonas) "Jonas Escariot" after Judas Escariot , "Zidian" (2008-2022) "Zidian Zarate" after one of Jeanette's favorite boxers, Mexican Carlos Zarate, "Max" "Max Factor" after cosmetology legend Max Factor, "Chance" "Chance Callahan" after the character "Harry Callahan" of the "Dirty Harry" film series and "Hulk" Hulk Hogan after the legendary wrestler.

Jeanette is an accomplished Street basketball player and in 1986 earned a medal for playing for a second place team in a junior high school tournament, along with team-mates, friends and neighbors Avidair Campagne, William Luciano, Libertario Sauri and Alfredo "Alfi" Rivera (older brother of her later band-mate Josue Rivera). Excluding 2021 due to the Covid-19 situation, she has been playing street ball for 36 years, the 30th anniversary of her first street ball game ever taking place on April 14th, 2014. In 2014, playing with a lot of pain on multiple areas, Jeanette averaged 5.9 points (counted on 2 and 3 points shots), 2.0 assists and 12.8 rebounds per game, on 61 percent shooting.

As of 2019, despite several extra injuries to her shoulders, feet, fingers and toes, she continued to play street basketball on an almost daily basis, against teenagers, men and women of all sizes and ages. During 2020, because of the COVID-19 situation, she only played in one game.

On November 5, 2021, Jeanette tested positive for the coronavirus She went into isolation immediately. She has recuperated and was, at the time, expected to test negative soon.

On Mother's Day, 2022, Jeanette was re-tested for Covid-19 and came out negative. She was battling a hard flu at the time.

*El grupo de los banquillos

"El grupo de los banquillos" is (or was) a very exclusive group of teenagers at Bonneville Apartments that hung out by an area named "los banquillos". Only teens who were considered "cool" were accepted there. When Jeanette first moved there in 1984, she was not accepted at first. At that time, members of that group included Elizabeth Santiago, Rafael "Rafa" Abreu, brothers Edwin and Tito, Norma Iris Gonzalez and others. The group had a similar membership structure at the time to that of the very Latin boy bands in which Jeanette was later involved in that members changed constantly, in this case usually by moving away from the apartments, or when "sponsored" by another member into becoming one. Jeanette moved to Cayey in 1985 but, upon returning to Caguas in 1986, was, again, not initially invited to join, despite having a few good friends in the group, such as Heriberto Cruz and Libertario Sauri (Elizabeth Santiago, who had been a very good friend of Jeanette, had also moved to Cayey by the time Jeanette returned to Caguas). But, in late 1988, her friend Silkya Hoyos, whom she had first met at Los Robles Apartments in Cayey, moved to Bonneville Apartments and was quickly accepted into the group. She, in turn, "sponsored" Jeanettes membership and so she was quickly accepted also. Jeanette has been forever thankful to her for that gesture. The people who hung out at "los banquillos" included her, Silkya, "Luis Loco", Cano, Virgen Rosa, Libertario Sauri, Manet and others. Jeanette was later able to promote someone into the group herself, her band-mate Carmelo Lopez. Members of this group had to dress "cool" and speak about music, arts, movies and-(usually among the males)-sports. Jeanette experienced both great happiness (what in Puerto Rico they call "la pavera") and depression during this time of her life, with a lot of unstoppable laughter, but also experiencing some personal pain during the era due to a broken heart caused by a girl she loved named Angie Diaz, sadness which was alleviated when she joined the band "Corporation S.O.S.".

Personal life

As far as her sexuality, Jeanette identifies as straight, with sexual and romantic experiences with women. She was once, however, bisexual. Gender-wise, she identifies as transgender (a woman inside a man's body) with non-binary tendencies. Jeanette is what in LGBTQ circles is described as a "trans-bian" eg. a transgender female who likes women. Her internet nickname in transgender-friendly pages is, well, "Jeanette", after the Spanish singer, who is one of hier favorite singers.

Ever since she was about three years old, she identified as a female but did not know how to outwardly express this.

Accordingly, she sometimes dresses male and other times, female.

She has been involved in a number of relationships, including one on her younger days with a fan of his named Angela. She was engaged to Rosemary (Rosa Maria) Guerrero for six months in 1996 and 1997, having met her only two weeks before their engagement, and they almost got married during August of 1996, about one month after they had met. They went to a court to get married by a judge, but upon arriving at the judge's office, they decided they were not ready for marriage and, holding hands, ran from the place. She also had an on and off relationship to another lady for many years until meeting Amna Zamir of Pakistan. Ultimately,  she and Zamir also broke up.

Working as an ice cream saleswoman led Jeanette to dating a number of her clients. This and her many antics as a "bombastic, loud, funny and crazy showwoman" saleswoman led her to claim on a number of times that she was "the long lost (sister)" of such people as Madonna, Macho Camacho and Gloria Trevi (the latter two of whom Jeanette met in person) among others.

Jeanette has no children of her own.

*Culture

Culturally-wise, she enjoys the American culture but specially all the Hispanic ones-specially, among those, the Puerto Rican and the Mexican ones. Being Puerto Rican but having lived 31 years in Arizona where she has met several Mexican friends and celebrities, (as well as one Mexican fiance, Rosemary Guerrero), she identifies first with the Puerto Rican culture, secondly with the Mexican and Mexican-American ones, and thirdly with those of other Latin-Hispanic countries, although, again, she also enjoys American culture and finds British and Australian culture interesting as well. She has been told by some Puerto Rican family and friends that her Spanish accent has taken a bit of a Mexican tinge, which, after 31 years living in Arizona, can be expected. she, her brother and sister have also spent time touring Sonora, Mexico, where they enjoy the people, the tourist sites, food and beaches.

Since dating Guerrero, and influenced by movies such as The Craft, Jeanette has enjoyed shopping at stores such as Hot Topic, Spencer's and the such. Jeanette enjoys the goth culture but does not demonstrate it in public as much as she used to during his young age.

*Religion

Jeanette believes in God deeply and identifies as protestant Christian. She has been baptized at various churches, including Disciples of Christ as a child, United Methodist as a teen and the Baptist church as a young adult. She prays on an almost daily basis.

Her religion notwithstanding, she once dated a Muslim woman, Amna Zamir of Pakistan, dating her secretly. Due to their difference in religions, her parents did not know that they were dating, as they thought the couple to be just friends.

#transgender #boxing #basketball #menudo #los chicos #los chamos #cayey #caguas #humacao #bayamon #puerto rico #mexico #phoenix #first baptist church #music #united methodist church #disciples of christ #the craft #hot topic #spencer's #autograph #celebrities #bonneville apartments #corporation S.O.S. #god #faith in god #pakistan #christianity #islam #eastern airlines

[christianitywithouttheinsanity]

If you've been following this story at all over the last few years, you've known this has been happening. The UMC has been divided over the issue of LGBTQ+ inclusion amongst it's clergy and it reached a breaking point when members voted in a nearly split decision to not allow it. This caused many to wish to take their membership and their entire congregation and leave the conference. But the division of congregants and assets is not an easy question to resolve.

So be in prayer for our church family that is going through this.

#christian #church #news #united methodist church

[plethoraworldatlas]

The United Methodist Church’s General Conference will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 23 to May 4, 2024. Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting of the church’s legislative body comes at a critical time for the United States’ second-largest Protestant denomination.

In 2022, conservative Methodists announced a break with the UMC, forming the Global Methodist Church. These leaders believed that the UMC had become too liberal, drifting away from orthodoxy. The issue at the heart of the split, however, revolves around the UMC’s long-standing battle over LGBTQ+ rights.

This denominational split draws comparisons to one in 1844, when Methodists divided over slavery. As a scholar of American religious history and Methodist studies, I see parallels but also great differences between the current schism and the one in 1844.

Both schisms center on predominant social issues of their eras. The current schism, however, comes at a time when United Methodists, like other American churches, must navigate a changing religious landscape — one where church membership is declining, especially among younger Americans.

#religion #christianity #united methodist church #methodist #religious studies #schism #Oh cool it was delayed three times during lockdowns. Massive delays over controversies never turn things into a powder keg.

[beardedtheologians]

4.11.24 Beadcast with Bishop Ken Carder

This week on the Beardcast we sat down with ⁠Bishop Kenneth Carde⁠r to talk about his new book ⁠Shifting Margins: From Fear and Exclusion Toward Love and Belonging. ⁠ Connect with the Bearded Theologians at ⁠https://www.linktr.ee/Beardedtheologians⁠ You can find the Beardcast on ⁠Youtube⁠, ⁠Apple⁠, ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Castbox⁠, ⁠Amazon⁠, ⁠Google⁠, or wherever else you listen to Podcast.

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#Beardcast #beardedtheologians #beards #Bishop #Bishop Kenneth Carder #Blogging #God #Holy Spirit #Jesus #love #Matt Franks #New Book #podcast #theology #United Methodist Bishop #United Methodist Church #vodcast #Zach Bechtold