JOSH NOBLITT FOR GA STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 59

Join Us for Our Campaign Kick Off!

Monday, June 1, 2015 12:40 PM

From:

"Friends of Josh Noblitt" <stephen@theoblandergroup.com>

To:

jeaverydvm87@att.net

You Are Cordially Invited to Our Campaign Kick Off Event for Josh Noblitt for State House Thursday, June 25th, 2015 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Augustine's 327 Memorial Drive SE, Atlanta Sponsorship Levels $2,500 Primary Max Out - $1,300 Runoff Max Out $1,000 Gold - $500 Silver - $250 Bronze $101 Requested to Attend RSVP stephen@theoblandergroup.com or (404) 873-3600 Learn more about Josh and the campaign by visiting our website! Contributions are limited to $2,500 per individual, corporation or PAC for the 2016 Primary Election, $1,300 for the Run-Off Election for a total of $3,800. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Host Committee Zane Adams Marci Alt Miracle Balsitis Sean Bishop & Reggie Scotts Cedrick Bridgeforth Olu Brown Milton & Fran Carroll Robin Frazer Clark Whitney Deal Dana Everhart Glen Paul Freedman Hon. Leslie Grant Jimmy & Laura Hamilton Jonathan Jones Aaron Kimble Joshua Lesser Larry Lucas Matthew Malok & William Whittaker Jatisha Marsh Benedict Maulbeck Stephan Moore Eric & Joyce Norman Michael Prudent & Craig Pigg Anupama Vishwamitra Christine White (Host Committee In Formation)

Paid for by Friends of Josh Noblitt

PO Box 150728
Atlanta, GA 30315

*** Was surprised finding this email in my inbox. We most certainly don't care much for one another. "Beth (Senior Pastor St. Mark United Methodist) nothing but a catholic Fag Hag." ~(Simply Jim:  Methodist Fag the Political Catalyst)~ "SHE'S METHODIST NOW!!!" ~(Rev. Joshua Noblitt:  Minister of Social Justice)~ Said this to Joshua the night I first joined members of St. Mark for their Wednesday evening catered dinners; but not until after having first participated in Rev. Dr. Beth's Wednesday afternoon Bible Study 101 class. "Are we ever going to be able arraigning this meeting  I'm wanting?" ~(Simply Jim:  Mature Methodist Crackhead)~ "Not going to happen." ~(Rev. Dr. Beth LaRocca-Pitts:  Senior Pastor)~ "That's indifference. I'll just keep coming back then." ~(Simply Jim:  One Pearl, Total Pig, Anti-Christ)~ "You do that!" ~(Rev. Dr. Beth:  Actually Laughs Hearing This)~ "You know what? I think I...WILL...join members of St. Mark for dinner tonight.  Will this be possible without reservations?" ~(Simply Jim:  Radical Fairy The Methodist Fag)~  "Oh we always plan a few extra plates." ~(Simply Beth)~ Walking into the dining hall and seeing Rev. Joshua Nobblit sitting at a table eating alone, I'm having to admit, felt as if a gift from God having landed in my lap.  But I didn't realize this until after he explodes in response to me having insulted St. Mark's Senior Pastor, stood up, excuses himself, then walks off leaving me sitting alone at the table.  SIXTH~(6!9)~SENSE And this is the point I must have somehow knew without even having to think about it first; It just came out: Within a conversation between two gay men,  there is absolutely nothing wrong with our Rev. Dr. Beth being a "FAG HAG". Unless... she happens to be a "CATHOLIC FAG HAG". So much for Rev. Joshua Noblitt's ecumenical spirit. Someone needs telling our Rev. Joshua for me: It's not how often you say "No"; it's how often you say "Yes". Therefore could not care less how bounded, centralized, or fuzzy his ecumenical set... he's stil'a slut! My only problem with Beth is how at ease, comfortable, she seems with her indifference. Mark 9  King James Version  (KJV) 9 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. And that's still pathology! Somewhere..? ~(Simply Jim:  Anti-Christ, Armilus, Dajjal)~

REV? DR? BETH LAROCCA-PITTS: CATHOLIC FAG HAG PAID A METHODIST ADMINISTER..?

  

"When I was 12 year old and a member of St. Joseph's 

Roman Catholic Church in Athens, 

I realized that I would never be happy in life if I had to do another job other than the job 

that 

the priest at St Joseph's did."

~(Rev. Dr. LaRocca-Pitts)~

Beth LaRocca-Pitts has been a member of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church since 1983, though she has been preaching for longer than that! "When I was 12 year old and a member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Athens, I realized that I would never be happy in life if I had to do another job other than the job that the priest at St Joseph's did. So I started attending my mother's church, Athens First UMC and at age 14 I joined there. I also got a lay speaker's certificate at age 17 and began preaching around the district."

When it Was time for college, Beth decided on Duke University instead of the University of Georgia, where her father Joe had taught for nearly 40 years in the College of Pharmacy. She graduated in 1981 and then went to Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. In 1983 she was ordained a deacon in the North Georgia Annual Conference, then in 1984 returned to take her first appointment at the Bishop Circuit in lower Oconee County. The circuit then included Bishop, Farmington, High Shoals, and Salem UMC's. In 1986 Beth was ordained an elder, and in 1984 she returned to school for her PhD at Harvard University. There she majored in Old Testament Studies through the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations department. She also continued her archaeological research trips to Israel during these years, which she had begun as an undergraduate. All told, she has served on the staffs of four digs to date: Ein Nabratein, Sepphoris, Beth Shemesh, and Tel Ein Zippori.

At Harvard, Beth met her husband Mark, a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, a student at Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD candidate also in the Near Eastern languages department. Beth fell for Mark, in part, because he spoke Hebrew better than she did, having lived in Israel for three years after undergraduate school at Indiana University. Beth and Mark were married in 1991. In 1993, they returned to Athens where Beth was appointed to serve as an associate pastor at Athens First, and Mark worked at Athens Regional Medical Center as a patient representative. In 1996, Beth was hired by Duke Divinity School to teach Old Testament. Mark went to work at Duke Medical Center as a chaplain. While at Duke in 1998, they were blessed with the arrival of their twins, Joe and Ellie! In 2001, Mark was hired to be one of the staff chaplains at Athens Regional and the family moved back to Athens as soon as the Duke School year concluded in 2002. Beth was then appointed to serve Snellville UMC as associate pastor and served there two years and began teaching part time in the religion department at UGA.

Then, in 2004, the opportunity came for Beth to serve as senior pastor at Watkinsville First United Methodist Church, which is a scant 4 miles up the road from the church at Bishop where she began her ministry. She liked to tell people "I haven't come very far in 25 years!"

In June 2010, Beth and her family moved to Atlanta to be a part of Saint Mark. We are blessed to have them here.

***

Faith & Religion: 

Breaking ground on LGBT faith

Founded: 1872

Began reaching out to LGBT people: 1991

Approximate membership: 1,862

Estimated LGBT membership: 90 percent

Saint Mark United Methodist Church is one of several prominent churches that line Peachtree Street — also the route of Atlanta’s Gay Pride parade. In 1991, the church’s members made a decision that might seem simple today, but forever altered the church’s course.

As the gay marchers came by, church members passed out slips of paper reading, “Everyone is welcome at Saint Mark.”

“In that the Baptists were hiring armed guards at the time, that simple message had a big impact,” said Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Beth LaRocca-Pitts.

The next year, Saint Mark also passed out water to marchers — as they have continued to do ever since.

“We continue to do it because it changed our church’s life. We would have died as an aging congregation of fewer than 300 members if we had not been joined by the LGBT community,” LaRocca-Pitts said. “That parade saved us and opened up a whole new era of ministry and life here that we could not have imagined.”

Saint Mark’s membership is now mostly gay, and the church is now one of only three in North Georgia that are part of the Reconciling Ministries network. But while Saint Mark disagrees with the United Methodist Church’s stands against ordaining gay people who are in partnered relationships and denying marriage rites to gay couples, it has not chosen to join the handful of UMC clergy and congregations that have openly broken those rules.

In part, that’s because Saint Mark is one of the few UMC congregations with a majority LGBT membership, and leaders “choose our battles carefully” because they don’t want to risk the safe harbor they offer for LGBT worshippers.

For now, that means Saint Mark won’t host same-sex weddings and clergy can’t perform them. Instead, LaRocca-Pitts said, they can refer same-sex couples to other churches, and Saint Mark clergy may take a small role. They also offer “family blessing services” for those married elsewhere.

Change comes slowly, and Saint Mark doesn’t want the denomination to schism over LGBT inclusion.

“What we want is to convince our WHOLE church that God’s love and acceptance is available to all people,” LaRocca-Pitts said. “For this reason we go slowly —because we want the whole church to change.”

***

ALL VOICE BELONG AT THE TABLE: Meet the gay pastor running for Georgia House — Project Q Atlanta

"I just feel like I'm in a good place in my life and career to throw my hat in. These seats don't become available that often. When the opportunity presents itself, I want to be there to be a part of that. It's an exciting time to be in this district."

~(Josh Noblitt)~

Meet the gay pastor running for Georgia House — Project Q Atlanta: Nevermind that Josh Noblitt could also offer state lawmakers an added dose of pastoral patience – he's a social justice minister at Saint Mark United Methodist Church – and conflict resolution – he's a licensed marriage and family therapist. Noblitt, a 37-year-old Democrat, is running for the District 59 seat. State Rep. Margaret Kaiser, the gay-friendly incumbent, says she won't seek re-election in 2016 and instead will run for mayor in 2017.

Noblitt says the open race provides a "launching pad" to continue his decade of community activism in his southeast Atlanta neighborhood as a state lawmaker.

'All voices belong at the table(?)'

Noblitt became enmeshed in public safety issues after he and his then-boyfriend were robbed at gunpoint while picnicking in Piedmont Park in 2010. Noblitt forgave his assailants and held a rally in the park after the incident. The robbery helped spur a town hall meeting with police officials and Mayor Kasim Reed, who later invited Noblitt to deliver the invocation as he re-opened several recreation centers that serve the city's youth.

Noblitt was later appointed to the police department's LGBT advisory committee and helped organize the first-ever NOH8 campaign shoot in Atlanta. In 2012, he was named a grand marshal of the Atlanta Pride parade. He has also served as a volunteer chaplain for Atlanta police and worked for more than eight years in the federal public defender's office.

"I've seen the criminal justice system from the perspective of being a victim of violent crime and serving as a chaplain for the Atlanta Police Department has given me a unique perspective," Noblitt says.

Pair that experience with his leadership role in civic groups – he's served as president of the South Atlanta Civic League and vice chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit Y – and as a gay man, and Noblitt says that gives him the experience to help make Georgia "more hospitable and economically feasible for everybody."

"All voices belong at the table," he says. "I know and have relationships with a broad group of people and I see that as a strength."

***

Victim of hate

Could Josh Noblitt's attack mend the rift between the APD and the LGBT community?

For as long as the case against his attackers lazily lurches its way through the clogged channels of the justice system, Noblitt won't likely have the opportunity to do the same kind of outreach with his perpetrators. "I would love for an opportunity to be able to sit down with each of these kids, maybe even their families, and just hear their story and introduce myself to them and kind of do that exchange. In this criminal justice system, there are some artificial walls that are up that make it hard to navigate without them compromising their rights in the process." He will, however, have another chance for outreach: Noblitt was one of nine people appointed to the APD's newly formed GLBT Advisory Board, a body Officer Powell says will act as her "eyes and ears in the community." Meanwhile, the four minors who were arrested in Noblitt's attack will be tried as adults. All six of the alleged attackers face a minimum of 10 years in prison for armed robbery committed with a firearm.

***

Police advisory board urged to take action

Joshua M. Noblitt. Minister of Social Justice at Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Midtown. Noblitt also serves as a mitigation specialist at the Federal Defender Program, Inc. for the Northern District of Georgia. He has also served on various boards and organizational leadership teams, including the board of directors for the Reconciling Ministry Network, an organization dedicated to full inclusion for GLBT people in the United Methodist Church both in policy and practice. Noblitt was attacked in Piedmont Park in July.

***

Defendants in Piedmont Park gay bashing plead guilty

The attack was deemed an anti-gay hate crime by the Atlanta Police Department at the time. The defendants on Tuesday pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and Sam Johnson pleaded guilty to additional charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a robbery. The men faced one to 20 years in prison. Fulton Assistant District Attorney Fasha Lewis recommended 10 years for each.

Sentences handed down by Judge Alford Dempsey:

• Benjamin Johnson, who has been out on bond and under house arrest after serving a couple months in youth detention, was sentenced to five years but instead of serving time in prison, he will be under intensive probation.

• Sam Johnson, Benjamin’s older brother, who has been in jail since the day of the attack, was sentenced to five years to serve 15 months with time served and was to be released later Tuesday.

• Jarvis Johnson, a cousin of the two other men, has also been in jail since July 2, 2010. He was sentenced to seven years to serve two years with time served, leaving nine months to serve.

Before Alford handed down the sentences, Noblitt addressed the defendants in open court.

“I am a gay man. I am also a pastor, a brother, an uncle. I want you to know that,” he told them as they stood before the judge.

“I also would like to know more about your stories. My heart breaks for your families and you all. I harbor no ill will. In a weird way, I care about you all.”

After the hearing, Noblitt said he hoped the young men would examine their feelings toward gay people.

“I’m hoping that by being confronted by someone who is gay and shows mercy, maybe that will be enough — we’ve got to work to change one heart at a time,” Noblitt said.

Caprice Johnson, mother of Sam and Benjamin Johnson, was in tears during the court hearing. She was grateful for the judge’s sentences as well as Noblitt’s mercy and hugged Noblitt tight outside the courtroom. She said she would be happy to have Noblitt visit her home and talk to her sons and said she raised them not to hate anyone.

“We don’t have a problem with homosexuality. We are all one in God’s eyes. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ,” she said.

Noblitt said he had concerns about his attackers going to prison, especially because of their age.

“Time will tell and my hope and prayers are that they will be productive,” he said.

Cases are still pending against three other defendants — Daequan Lewis, age 15 at the time of the crime; Jamal Bryant, 13 at time of crime; and Tyrone Smith, 16 at time of crime. All are charged as adults.

***
"I would like to request your help in getting copies of this file being held under my name with the Emory Police."
~(Simply Jim:  Methodist Fag the Political Catalyst)~

"UH-HUH!  ABSOLUTELY NOT!   NO WAY!"
~(Rev? Josh Noblitt)~

"I even willing to pay for your service through this business of yours outside of the church."
~(Simply Jim:  Ex-Ex-W.A.S.P.)~

"...(silence)..."
~(Rev? Josh Noblitt)~

mit·i·ga·tion

[mit-i-gey-shuhn]

NOUN

1.

the act of mitigating, or lessening the force or intensity of something unpleasant, as wrath, pain, grief, or extreme circumstances: Social support is the most important factor in the mitigation of stress among adolescents.

2.

the act of making a condition or consequence less severe: the mitigation of a punishment.

3.

the process of becoming milder, gentler, or less severe.

4.

a mitigating circumstance, event, or consequence.

"Rev. Dr. Beth LaRocca-Pitts 
(Senior Pastor St. Mark United Methodist Church)
is 
nothing but a Catholic fag hag."
~(Simply Jim:  Anti-Christ, Armilus, Dajjal)~

"SHE'S...METHODIST...NOW!!!"
~(Rev? Joshua Noblitt)~

***

Could not care less 

how 

bounded, centralized, or fuzzy 

our 

Rev. Josh's ecumenical set.

It's not how often you say, "no"; it's how often you say, "yes."

He's stil'a slut.

Not even an ecumenical slut.

***

“A truly virtuous man would come to the aid 

of the most distant stranger as quickly as to his own friend. 

If men were perfectly virtuous, they wouldn’t have friends.”

― Montesquieu