COLAGE

At a press conference in Houston Wednesday, Jay Bakker [pictured] issued an open invitation to families from Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church - the largest church in the U.S. - to share a picnic with LGBT families in Houston’s Levy Park on Saturday, May 10, 2008.

We'll be in Cape Cod July 26 thru August 2 celebrating new and old friendships with families like yours. Each summer, Provincetown is transformed into a huge playground for kids with GLBT parents. And Family Equality Council is once again hosting a large part of this massive event. COLAGE will again offer its workshops and activities too.

Current estimates indicate there are more than seven million LGBT parents with school-age children in the United States.

A new report called: Involved, Invisible, Ignored: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents and Their Children in Our Nation’s K-12 Schools, examines and highlights the school experiences of LGBT-headed families - using results from surveys of LGBT parents of children in K-12 schools and of secondary students who have LGBT parents.

The Convention & Visitors Bureau describes Saugatuck and Douglas as "harbor villages that celebrate diversity". And the area is populated with liberal-minded voters who rejected a recent vote to ban gay marriage. This month Saugatuck/Douglas is preparing for a six-day gathering for dozens of gay and lesbian families by hanging rainbow flags in the downtown area.

Parenting can be challenging and there are times when you wish for more support. If you want to reach out and you're searching for a local group, learn more about Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE). COLAGE has supported and educated families run by gay and lesbian parents since the 1980's.

Taking part in meaningful conversations with conservatives about same-sex parenting can be frustrating. Our friends at COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) provide the following information as a tool for debate:

• Same-sex couples raising chidren live in 96% of all counties nationwide in the United States. (2000 U.S. Census analyses by the Urban Institute and Human Rights Campaign)

Family Pride Coalition is partnering with R Family Vacations to create “Provincetown Family Week”, a week-long LGBTQ family adventure in one of the most gay friendly destinations in the world. It is a chance for our children to meet other children with LGBTQ parents and for parents to meet other parents and share experiences.