Well let me see! I am 54 years old. I was born and raised in Michigan, the Winter Wonderland!

I have 4 brothers all older than me, two of which are deceased.

I am very happily married to my wife of 7 years. We met online!! She is 36. I was blessed with 3 daughters in my younger years and have 6 beautiful grandchildren aging from 5 to 17. My grandchildren are all biracial beautiful gems whom I love with all my heart. Annie and I are also working on having a baby through a sperm donor so hopefully this year I will be a mom again!

I am an Interfaith minister and was ordained 3 years ago through Lighthaven Interfaith Seminary through UOU. I started my own ministry 2 years ago and have been having services and such in my home. Recently someone has offered to give my a building for my ministry if I can pay the back taxes on it which I am busting my behind trying to raise by the end of March! ($5000) This building will be a place to hold my spiritual home base and a food /toiletry/pet supply pantry and a safe haven for youth with tutoring, reading, workshops, TV, pool table and other activities. Although it will be open to all youth my goal is to have a safe place for LGBT young people to come to and be themselves and feel totally accepted. There are too many youth suicides in this country! I am very excited about having this youth program!

Other than working on my ministry I cook, clean the house , take care of our kitty, Sweet Pea and dog, Butterfly. I love to cook!!! I also homeschool two of my grandchildren, ages 12 and 13, named Traveon and Heaven. That is great fun and very rewarding!

I grew up the youngest in a family of 5 with alcoholic parents. I think from the time I was born until I was 17 we moved about 9 times. I was sexually abused when I was 2 and half years old but I can actually forgive the perpetrator now and actually am grateful for the times I considered painful in my life. They helped to form the person that I am. I don't think I turned out half bad.

I voluteered 10 years ago for the local Sexual assault program for two years averaging being on call for local hospitals and the police department about 48 hours a week and putting in about 40 hours a week in the office as a voluteer coordintor. As a result of this I received a crystal award from the community for volunteer of the year in our county along with a few other people. This was a very nice and unanticipated reward for my service.

I also managed a health food store for approximately 7 years which I enjoyed very much.

I have had much exposure to AIDS in my life time. I had one brothe, my exhusband and three freinds die from AIDS. I helped care for my brother and was with him when he passed. I took care of my exhusband and stayed with him at his house caring for him and was with him when he passed. AIDS is not a pretty thing. I also have a brother who is HIV positive right now but he is very health and we intend on him staying that way. He has been positive for about 15 years now.

My mother died about 7 years ago and I miss her very much. My father is still living but I never see him because he cannot except my lifestyle and the fact that I am married to a woman. I do love him and forgive him because he is living as he knows how just as I am.

I used to have my own Day Care/ PreSchool for several years called Happy Monents..that was a very enjoyable time..I love children!!

I didn't come out or accept my sexuality until I was 45 years old. I was very lucky to meet my wonderful wife and to be given this oppurtunity for happiness. I have learned many things in my life but I think one of the most important is this. Whatever our reason is for being here and no matter if this is all real or not, we are experiencing it and while we are experiencing we should make the most of it. This physical life is too short to waste any of it. It goes by very quickly. That is one of the main things that made me accept who I am and be proud of it. I am making the most of every moment of my life now and will not waste a moment.

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

Wow Rev.Kathy, that is quite a story : ) Enough to fill a book!

You mention Annie, is that your wife's name? Is Annie having the baby from the sperm donor? Does she have children?

You said you met online??? Care to share more detail?

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May your awareness be perfection

Yes, Annie is my wife. She will be having the baby. She has never had children. I can see it in her that she will make a very good mother and it is exciting thinking of sharing this with her.

There used to be a chat room called the Michigan Room on Gay.com (it has changed a lot since then!). I was in there going through various rooms and there was someone in one but they were not talking. I said something like "It sure would be nice to have someone to talk to" and then Annie was there and we started talking. This was in November of 1999. She lived in Ann Arbor which is a ways from here but in February my brother and I and a freind went there to meet her (in a public place). Through the next several months we met on and off and talked on line every night for about 4 or 5 hours. Because of our age diferrecnce I intended on nothing more than freindship. We became very good freinds. finally in May she came to stay for a weekend and I guess thats when things started to go in another direction. We started dating on May 27th. Shortly after that I asked her to marry me. She moved in with me in July and we were married on September 24th, 2000. My oldest grandson was a ring bearer and my two oldest grand daughters were beautiful flower girls. My two oldes daughters walked me down the aisle in my tux and gave me away and Annies parents gave her away. My brother and my youngest daughter sttod up for me and two of Annies freinds stood up for her. One of the best decisions of my life.

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

It sounds like your family and hers support your choices of being gay. Was it always like that? If not, what did you do to bring about that change?

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May your awareness be perfection

While my mom was still alive she had a hard time accepting my sexuality because she already had two gay children and one had died from AIDS. I was her "little girl" and it wasn't as easy to accept but she did and she grew to love Annie. My dad found out from someone else before I had the chance to tell him and will not accept it. Annie's parents accepted it very well. Her brother is also gay. My daughters are lovely. When I told them about myself they just laughed and said we already knew that we just wondered when you were going to figure it out. My youngest daughter is gay and had already come out to us. There father was gay and had died from AIDS years after we divorced. and a couple years before I came out. My oldest brother will not speak to me. He does however speak to my brother who is HIV positive. When my mom died my brother did everything to make me miserable because Annie was there with me at the funeral home. She comforted me as a good freind would have done (nothing that should have been thought inapprprite) and he simply saw it as two lesbians being inapropriate in public. He insisted that Annie not ride in the family car at the funeral so I didn't either. As a result none of us did and we let my mothers siblings ride in the car. I have been told that when my father dies if I take Annie to the funeral he will have me removed from the funeral. It should be interesting. So yes some are very accepting and others are not. But I forgive them and love them because of Spirit within them.

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

You say you have a ministry. What caused you to start your own ministry and not just join another already established organization?

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May your awareness be perfection

RevKathyV, although you say you are married, I know that this was not "legally" possible anywhere in North America in 2000, and only became possible in Canada in 2005.

How do you define "marriage" in your case, and have you considered the possibility of doing it in a rather more "legal" way at some point, perhaps in Canada?

(By the way, you might find a post I put up elsewhere interesting, because it is about the finest speech given in the Canadian Parliament as the debate over same-sex marriage was being bitterly fought. It contains a story of a couple of American women who came here to be married. The reason they could marry before the Federal Government passed a law making same-sex marriage legal in all of Canada is that before then, from mid-2003, some of the provincial courts had ruled it unconstitutional for the provinces to refuse to issue licenses. The federal government was just making it consistent across the country.)

I particularly like this part of Bill Siksay's speech:

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evangelicalhumanist: Greek "eu"=good and "angelos"=messenger. Spreading the good news of Humanism.

Vivian,
The reason I started my own ministry is because there are none that I know of that are truely Interfaith. They all seem to lean towards Christianity (or something else)which to me is more nondenominational not Interfaith. I cannot be part of a church that doesn't accept all paths as legitimate. I try to include teachings and view points from all the great thinkers, spiritual leaders and philosophers alike. I also provide services from weddings to baptism to Jewish to whatever that reflect the home teachings of the person that would be requesting them. I want a place where people of any faith can come and feel welcome and experience some growth and perhaps help others in their gowth while they are there. I was ordained under the auspices of Universal Oneness United. I do not totally believe everything the founders of the organization believe but I have the freedom to do things a little bit different if I so chose, and also people in my ministry do not need to believe everything I do. It makes for interesting yet respectful conversation and sharing. If someone comes to me with a problem I try to help them resolve it keeping their path in light so I don't conflict with them. I will also at times give my own possible thoughts and beliefs and they decide for them which they accept as truth and we will continue in that manner. I am not here to argue their beliefs or try to convert them to anything..just help them along the path they have chosen.

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com

That's great Rev.Kathy. Thanks for opening your life and sharing your life with us in such intimate way : )

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May your awareness be perfection

EH, I view marriage as the commitment and favor doing that in a ceremony type setting. I belive, though I maybe mistaken that marriage was around before government stepped in and started making laws about it. I would like to have my marriage legalized though for many reasons. Out of respect and being treated as an equal by society is one reason. The other rewson is if there is a law of marriage there is no reason why I shouldn't beable to have that right. I would also like the same protections that legally married partners enjoy. And also the protections..like if Annie were to become very ill I would want to be treated as her sppouse and not be perhaps even excluded from visiting her in the hospital because I am not legally a family member. I had though about coming to Canada and getting legally married but it wouldn't be recognized here so there is really no point. I have already had the ceremony and joy of my wedding. So I guess I will just have to wait until it is legal here and than legalize our marriage. BUT in my mind we are just as married as anyone else. Thanks EH!

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RevKathyV

http://www.myspace.com/divinelightinterfaith



www.divinelightinterfaithministry.com