Editor's note: This commentary was originally published Wednesday on the The Bilerico Project website and is being republished here with exclusive permission from the author.

One of the occupational hazards of ordained ministry is that every Thanksgiving dinner you attend for the rest of your life will result in you being asked to pray. I don't mind that. I went to school for this stuff. One of the gifts of seminary is the ability to bust out into prayer at the drop of the hat.

AUSTRALIA -- Thomas C. (he does not use his full last name) has been a surfer for most of his life and has traveled the world with his surfboard, but always found it difficult to meet other gay surfers. What he did find, more often than not, were like-minded surfers who generally always hid their sexuality.

He knew there were plenty of other gay surfers in the world that didn't merely fit the standard "macho" stereotype of the global surfing community. He also knew there was a need to share surf tales outside of the traditional online gay "hook-up" sites.

Editor's note: This article was updated on Nov. 23, 2010, to reflect new totals that included credit card transactions, which were part of the original figure reported by the organizers.

SAN DIEGO -- More than $20,000 was raised for the life-saving work of The Trevor Project at a fundraising event held Thursday night at Eden.

This Saturday, November's U*NI*TY party is a big one ... it's DJ dirtyKURTY's "BIG 40" birthday celebration.

"My 30's were filled with growth," DJ dirtyKurty says. "I went from being a professional soccer player to trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Dj'ing came along and I had to start all over again learning and growing. It was a fun but challenging time period."