LGBT Families

St. Timothy's is excited to offer support to newcomers in Canada. Our goal is to provide conversational language practice through informal instruction and feedback in a welcoming and diverse community. We invite all new immigrants, English language students, visitors to Canada, parents of children temporarily attending schools in Toronto, foreign university students, and anyone looking to enhance their language skills. We aim to build community where friendships can flourish, in order to help participants establish meaningful connections, learn about life in Toronto, and access practical resources as you settle in to this new city and country. We begin every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. with a time to socialize and connect. Our formal program begins at 10:30 a.m., and each week we will have different activities and topics, including practicing English conversation, reading short articles, learning about common pronunciation and grammar mistakes made by ESL speakers, etc. Our volunteers would love to get to know you and offer gentle and constructive feedback to help you improve your English! We also offer Individual career mentoring, including job search, mock job interviews, and helping you improve your resumes and cover letters.

send your 6$ to academynewstar@gmail.com

Mom's Basement is a fun and intimate place out on the Danforth, with a nice selection of craft beers. They host trivia on the last Tuesday of each month; lotsa fun. (Thanks for the recommendation, Tim. Any tips, please let us know.) They do not serve food, but have no problem with anyone bringing outside food; there are many good options nearby. Seating is first come, first served. Game starts around 7.

You can buy your own ticket and we can all meet at the venue at start time and watch the show. Show details below: No Need To Be Lonely, the latest from Philadelphia band Gladie, is serene, but for only just a moment. For a moment it’s a swirling dream, like paper dancing in the wind, as Augusta Koch’s voice filters in all calm and measured with words that crack the surface of the heart. “Small dose of humiliation/it keeps me humble/it keeps me waiting,” she sings. And then a snap as incandescent rhythms arrive like wolves at the gate, all guitar and drums like a whirling storm, and the crack on the heart tears until it becomes an ocean. Each minute on No Need To Be Lonely is a memory carried out on the nerves of the body, unshakable melodies that become blood in the veins. There is something about a good and perfect song that lives in your bones, as if it has become a part of you. What has long been the unshakable core of Gladie’s prowess is Koch’s indelible strength as a songwriter, a craft that has only been honed with time, creating inalienable hits that will burrow in and never leave the core of your memories. 2022’s landmark Don’t Know What You’re In Until You’re Out was Gladie cementing their status as undeniable hit makers. With a propulsive lineup set in stone, they opted to bring in an outside voice to help carve out the form of songs they had been writing and sketching out for a follow-up – enter producer Jeff Rosenstock. Journeying out to Jack Shirley’s Atomic Garden studio in Oakland, he band was able to rely on the strength and energy of Rosenstock to help sharpen the blade on the keen edge of each track, tuning their already finely honed pop and punk sensibilities into masterworks. No Need To Be Lonely is at its core an exploration of the balance in contrasting ideas and the beauty found in challenging times. How to find beauty growing from the soil it is not expected to seed within, how to find life in all the days you feel the weight of dying or the desire for the end. On “Brace Yourself, Koch sings, “If you have love in one hand/pain will fill the other/I know that it’s worth it/but it really makes me wonder/about every sunset I squandered” as drums and guitar conjure a sun-soaked melody, like a perfect sunset on a day that felt like it might never end. As the record nears “Fixer”, we slow down once more, find peace in staying still. A piano, played slow and careful, carries the weight. The tempo held back, letting Koch’s voice soar above all else. Her voice like a perfect photograph, beautiful and vibrant, weathered by time but made that much more potent by it, repeating a mantra “I can’t fix her/but I can fix me/if I try” like a lost step in a healing process. Later, on “I Will If You Will”, as brushes strike a snare and Koch’s guitar takes a playful twang, she sings “the devil’s not in the details/he’s just swimming in your beer/God the kind-faced diner waitress/whispering “surrender” in your ear.” It’s easy to imagine it as a measure of sadness, but that isn’t nearly bold enough a term. Sad as a spectrum that includes beautiful and defiant ideas, sad as a bold commitment to the light of the days that follow all the hardest ones that threaten to tear it all away. Gladie never once asks us to give up on feeling afraid or broken, what they offer instead is the opportunity to grow within the cracks that form around us, and see what oceans might flow once we tear enough at our most tender ideas.

**Description** Coming Out Being Out (COBO) is a peer discussion group that has served the LGBT community for over 15 years in downtown Toronto. We meet to share stories and opinions, challenges and triumphs at all stages of coming out and being out. COBO participants are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and questioning people. We welcome all who identify under the banner of queer sexual orientation and gender identity. **What We Do** \|\-\| COBO participants are often seeking to: * Understand what experiences others have in coming out to family, friends and their respective communities. * Develop comfort in discussing their identity with others. * Meet others having the same experiences when it comes to living openly. * Receive the encouragement of peers. \|\-\| Regular topics of discussion include: * How people choose to come out (at work, with family, with friends). * Where to find others like us in the community. * Challenges and triumphs in navigating family and partner relationships. **Where & When** * Every Wednesday from 6-8pm * Community meeting space at Casey House - 119 Isabella St., Toronto **How to Access the Meeting** Registration on Meetup is not required to attend. Attendance is on a drop-in basis. The front door to our meeting space at Casey House is controlled by the main floor receptionist. To access the space when you arrive: * Press the button to the left of the main entrance door. * Tell the receptionist that you are there for the COBO meeting. * You will be buzzed in and someone from our group will come to show you to the meeting. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON WEDNESDAY! *COBO is a community group led by non-professional peer facilitators and is not a Casey House program.*

Every Wednesday Night! Free Magic The Gathering Commander games at Hairy Tarantula, hosted by Toronto Gaymers! Please note: Masks are required in store! For more information and to RSVP please over to harryt.com/events

**This month’s Creativity Circle is very timely. We will be making our own craft snowflakes out of paper, coffee filters, popsicle sticks, sparkles and more! Bring the snowy season inside without the wet and cold. All ages welcome, show up as you can, bring a friend or a few if you would like to! Excited to see you there! Seats Limited. Held at the Westerville Public Library Meeting Room B.**

Join us this Pride season to paint your own pride on rocks, paper, canvas, and yes- we are bringing back the bricks! Come create and paint with us. Seats and supplies limited! Come while you can for as long as you like! Westerville Public Library Meeting Room D.

**We are expanding our creative programming opportunities with Queer Quills, a quiet writing and sharing space. Queer Quills features some prompts, supplies and friendly faces to help get some inspiration or feedback for your writing. Hope to see you there!**

Join us for our May Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *[Cantoras](https://caroderobertis.com/books/cantoras/)*[ ](https://caroderobertis.com/books/cantoras/)by [Caro de Robertis](https://caroderobertis.com/bio/) in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.

WQC has weekly Thursday night social nights at the Westerville Java Central. Come and grab a coffee and connect with the community: low stakes, chill environment, and tasty drinks. No registration is required; come as you are.