Happy LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! From balloons to banners and everything in between, it is very easy to lose sight of why we commemorate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month. This month is not only about honoring our past (the first pride parade was celebrated on June 28, 1970, one year following the events at the Stonewall Inn in New York), but it is about celebrating the present and fighting for a more inclusive future. This month is about the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies being visible and belonging to our churches, neighborhoods, towns, cities, and world.
I remember attending my first pride parade during the summer of 2011. I had the honor and privilege of marching with the Butler, Greensburg, and Pittsburgh chapters of PFLAG. It was a memorable experience for me on a multitude of levels. I was able to stand with an entire community and feel like I mattered and that I belonged somewhere.
That feeling of belonging is important, isn’t it? In a world that tells us that we are less than, not good enough, and discarded, it can be hard to feel like we matter or have self-worth. However, God tells us through the prophet Jeremiah that God “knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart…” God has set each of us apart and called us his child. God made us special and unique for a reason. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Pride is about celebrating who we are as children of God. It is about celebrating the rich tapestry of cultures, identities, and uniqueness of all God’s children.
I would challenge each of you to think about what it means to celebrate diversity and inclusion for the month of June — it can be in simple and small ways like telling someone that they matter, and they are loved, or it could be putting an inclusive bumper sticker on your car. Our world will not be changed by huge actions, but by small actions with great love. Remember, God knew you before God formed you in your mother’s womb and before you were born. God set you apart and called you his child. Amen.