BGMC: Evolution is both a declaration of fact and an expression of hope — a commentary on how far we’ve come and an acknowledgement of how much more work needs to get done. Civil rights and social justice are the hot-button issues of our time, and they speak not only to everyone under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, but to all walks of life.

The national conversation we’ve been having is such that we’re all asking one another to ‘step up’ in various ways, to open our minds to new ideas, new perceptions and new ways of thinking about our relationships to other people. Even the most open-minded individuals among us are being asked to rethink their assumptions, check their privilege and find new ways of relating.

But while we certainly need to continue the hard work involved in widening our scope of acceptance and understanding, it’s also important to acknowledge the good traits that exist in us at the core. We must remind ourselves of our inherent, human beauty… and celebrate it.  Because in the end, we wouldn’t be pressing each other (and ourselves) to evolve our thinking if we weren’t good people. Good people, merely trying to be even better.

With that in mind, BGMC’s premiere events for the upcoming season are themed as positive traits at which we can enthusiastically point, thus acknowledging the best qualities in one another. Each begins with the qualifier, “You are…”

BGMC’s fall concert series, also intended as a commemoration of National Coming Out Day (October 11, 2019), is titled You Are Light and will run October 19 and 20 in Kenmore and Orchard Park, respectively. Our winter holiday series, You Are Peace is scheduled for December 7 and 8 (Williamsville and Elmwood Village) with a third show the following Friday, December 13, in Orchard Park.