A History of Gay Support in Concord
Although not a big city, Concord has hosted gay men's support groups since at least the early 1980s. The earliest known reference is an announcement of a young men's group that met on Sunday nights in Concord; this appeared in the November, 1982 newsletter for Seacoast Gay Men, itself only 3 years old at the time. Two months later, SGM reported that it was distributing N.H. Services for Gay Men, a paper written by "the Concord Group." The card at right joins these items and gives us a name; it was printed in the June, 1983 SGM newsletter. Thanks to SGM for access to their archive for this information.
The group itself would eventually adopt the name "Gay Men's Professional Association." This group probably continued to meet until the early 1990s. Expect this to be revised if I learn more.
Around 1993, "Out & Proud," a support group for gay men began meeting on Friday nights above Foodees downtown. The late Jim Bretz served as the moderator for this group during it's six-year run. He also answered the phone at the Gay Info Line and was one of the most actively involved people in the state. Out & Proud celebrated its 5th anniversary at an apartment clubhouse in 1998 with about 20 people in attendance. But by May of 1999, as meeting attendance slowly dissipated to 5-6 men per week, Jim announced that he would step down as moderator.
After Jim's last meeting in late May, the 4 remaining regulars decided that a gay men's support group was still viable in Concord. During July, the group examined what it was that kept newcomers from sticking. The brainstorming led to only one solution: break free from Concord's old Friday night formula, remain vigilant of cliques, be welcoming in whatever we do, and find a brighter, friendlier place to meet. Four newcomers had arrived during July to join us still on the ground floor. These 8 men, CGM's "Founders," held an election, asking Jeremy to lead the group as its new moderator. Jeremy's first meeting as moderator was August 20.
By then, it was clear that the original Out & Proud was closed, so only one question remained. Who are we? Jeremy asked that the attendees submit possible names, with a vote to be held in early September. Many names were submitted, but only one prevailed. The first full meeting of Capital Gay Men was held on September 3, 1999. Jeremy was the moderator and Dave was the treasurer. CGM inherited $52 left over from Out & Proud's treasury. CGM moved into it's new home, the U.U. Church in Concord on November 12, thanks to the efforts of Mike E.
Like all new groups, CGM had growing pains. Jeremy preferred to let the group grow and evolve on its own, rather than be led by individual vision. Thus, meetings often included a "business segment" to gather input on decisions. By June of 2000, some of these segments consumed the entire meeting time. A workgroup formed to move business decisions offline. A new structure was created to serve as the backbone of CGM, which solved many problems.
More to come...
Last 10 Meetings at CGM
 Our fourth annual ice cream social and dessert contest featured 8 contestants, 3 prize winners, 8 tubs of ice cream, a few supplemental desserts in case we ran out, and 1 slide show! See additional photos here. CGM was also happy to grant time to the Rev. John Makokha from Nairobi, Kenya, to describe his work with the Children of Africa Hope Mission. |
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 Bob Paradis told the story of how he brought the AIDS Quilt to Manchester (New England College) in September, 1993. He had a number of items on display, including a genuine but incomplete panel. See additional photos here. |
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| Van P. discussed a trip through the river valleys of southern France, with stops in many villages untouched by war, featuring buildings several hundred years old. It was nice to see a France without the Eiffel Tower in every shot (just 1!). | ||
| Tonight the board meeting ran a little long, so the attendees decided to postpone the planned showing of Kinky Boots. Instead, they asked attendee Micha to give a verbal tour of Holland, which he did! | ||
| "For the Bible Tells Me So" - Homophobia in the Church; hosted by Rob R. | ||
 Easter Bonnet contest! Bill, Chuck, and Reggie supplied the supplies and the attendees supplied the creativity. Congrats to Dick, Jeff, Bill, Glenn, and Brian for winning their respective categories. See photos. |
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| “Was He or Wasn’t He? You Decide!” Tonight the Rev. Robert Wood presented a list of well-known figures from history, along with some clues that suggested that they too may have been regular attendees of CGM had they lived nearby and in the present day. As with Bob’s earlier presentations, this one was taped and should be available on DVD later this year. | ||
| Before Bill broke us into randomly-selected mini-groups, a member asked whether the group was interested in hearing from an open-minded, yet evangelical pastor. The group’s consensus was a strong no: “Why would we want to subject ourselves to that?” Bill suggested that a meeting be set up at a time separate from our normal Friday night meeting, and the Rev. Bob Wood promised that he'd “keep him in line.” | ||
| Game night, featuring Scrabble and Cribbage! | ||
| Internet dating! A lively discussion tonight on the goods and the bads. We explored role models, marriage, and assimilation. We told anecdotes of the degree of dishonesty we’ve encountered in other’s profiles. We even congratulated one couple who met in a chat room on their 11 year-strong relationship. After this, we watch a few clips from the documentary Successful Internet Dating which although is not intended to be funny, actually is. |