GALA (Gay and Lesbian Acceptance) is a non-profit Missouri corporation that is an association of gay, lesbian, trisexuals, bisexual, and transgender persons and their family and friends that are connected with the Community of Christ.
Informally organized in 1984 by Antonio A. Feliz and formally organized in 1987, GALA's stated purpose is to "affirm the dignity and worth of all persons without regard to gender, race, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation". The organization publishes a newsletter, offer regional retreats and workshops, and sponsors an annual international retreat.
Although GALA is not formally affiliated with the Community of Christ, most of its members have a connection to the Independence, Missouri-based church. The organization sends representatives to Community of Christ jurisdictional and World Church gatherings and conferences. GALA also sponsors the Welcoming Committee Network, an organization that assists LGBT individuals' participation in the Community of Christ.
Famous quotes containing the words gala and/or lesbian:
“The first general store opened on the ‘Cold Saturday’ of the winter of 1833 ... Mrs. Mary Miller, daughter of the store’s promoter, recorded in a letter: ‘Chickens and birds fell dead from their roosts, cows ran bellowing through the streets’; but she failed to state what effect the freeze had on the gala occasion of the store opening.”
—Administration in the State of Sout, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“It is the lesbian in us who is creative, for the dutiful daughter of the fathers in us is only a hack.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)