Michiana's Rainbow Gazzette

About Michiana's Rainbow Gazzette

Hatred. It is a strong word filled with negative connotation. It is used against people for various reasons; the color of one’s skin, religious
affiliations, nationality, personal appearance, and even against those
whom people choose to love. It is also used as a justification to commit crimes, including murder, against others.

We, at the Michiana Pride Coalition and Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette, strive to bring together a community that will fight hatred and bigotry
of all forms. Our mission is to educate the community on issues
concerning gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons, to promote
equal civil rights, teach tolerance, and to create a gay/straight
alliance.

The History of Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette

1985 to Present In 1985, a small GLBT support group located in Elkhart
formed anewsletter called the GLBT Newsletter. The support group later branched out to start The Church of The Good Shepherd In Exile (GSX), a
non-denominational church which was to serve the needs of the GLBT
community of Michiana.

A couple of years later, the Elkhart support group dispersed and left the
newsletter to GSX who renamed it The Shepherd’s Pen. At this time the
newsletter, edited by Rev. Larry Ort, became the official newsletter of
GSX for announcements and other church information. Later, the newsletter
got a new name (again), a new look, and a new mission—The Michiana’s
Rainbow Gazzette.

2000 became a year of uncertainty for the MRG. Rev. Larry Ort retired
from GSX for health reasons, and GSX held its’ last service in September
of that year. The MRG was left without a home. During this time, the
formation of Michiana Pride Coalition was taken place. Glenn James, who
was the co-editor of the MRG at that time, approached members of the
Pride Coalition about becoming the new publishers of the MRG.
After a couple of meetings and hours of discussion it became clear the
Rainbow Gazzette had a new home.

In January of 2001, the Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette merged with three
local newsletters: Open Arms which serves the Lesbian community , PFLAG’s
newsletter serving parents, family and friends of Lesbians and Gays, and
Planned Parenthood’s GLBT SpeakOut! which addresses health issues of the
GLBT community.

Together, they created a new Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette which celebrates
diversity, promotes equality and teaches tolerance within our community.
We certainly hope you have enjoyed MRG Online. Comments and suggestions
are always welcomed, and very much appreciated.

Mission Statement

Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette exists as a media source to disseminate news
and educational information in a diverse and unbiased manner to help
promote the improvement of the overall welfare of the gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgendered, and heterosexual community in Michiana and all
surrounding areas.

Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette is a freely distributed newsletter published
by the Pride Coalition of South Bend, Indiana. All submissions to
Michiana’s Rainbow Gazzette, including advertisements, letters, articles,
poetry, artwork and community events, must be received by the 10th of the
preceding month.

Via E-mail:
General Information: mail@rainbowgazzette.com
Submissions: submissions@rainbowgazzette.com
Events: events@rainbowgazzette.com
Advertise with us: advertising@rainbowgazzette.com
Aunt Stevie: auntstevie@rainbowgazzette.com
Web Services Department: customerservice@atomikk.com

The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual authors and
contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of MRG
or the Pride Coalition. We reserve the right to exclude and/or edit some
or all of the material submitted, due to the nature of the article and
available space. All submissions must be signed and come with a valid
phone number, but the author's name will be withheld upon request.
Michiana Pride Coalition is a 501(c)(3) agency organized under PFLAG
South Bend/Michiana chapter.