Spirituality: Food for the Soul

BBE works to impact the community of black gay men by working on an issue for several months and ultimately completing a project that will help to inform and support our community. Previous projects have focused on Housing (Home Sweet Home Brochure) and Health (Strong and Healthy Brochure). The goal of the current project is to help the brothers improve their overall health by becoming aware of and utilizing various spiritual options. The current topic is Spirituality: Food for the Soul. The project involves several phases:

Phase I: Sept. and Oct. -- Outings and Visits by Pastors -- Pastors from several churches in the Bay Area, e.g., Glide, East Bay Church of Religious Science, City of Refuge, came to BBE workshops in order to teach more about their philosophies and how they work with black gay communities and HIV/AIDS issues. The following Sundays, BBE brothers attended those respective churches.

Phase II: Oct. -- Leadership Retreat -- BBE brothers attended a 3-day retreat in Sonoma County. They engaged in a variety of experiential activities, e.g., creating portable altars, skits on spirituality and health, creating a Sunday morning worship service, meditation walks. These activities increased their understanding and ability to develop their own spiritual philosophy.

Phase III: Nov.-Jan. -- Community Project -- BBE brothers will work for several weeks creating a guide of spiritual resources that have been reviewed and that the brothers personally endorse. There will also be a Community Forum in conjunction with the National Black Church Week of Prayer March 4-10, 2007 on Spirituality, Religion and Black Gay Men.

If you want to be involved, it's still not too late. Contact Community Development Manager -- Micah Lubensky, mlubensky@sfaf.org or (415) 487-8022.