As we enter Pride Month, we do so with gratitude, hope, and yes — pride.
For LGBTQIA+ people, Pride Month is more than parades and rainbow flags. It is the ongoing witness that our lives matter, our stories matter, and our belovedness in the eyes of God has never been in question. Pride is not the opposite of humility. Rather, it is the rejection of shame. It is the courage to stand in the truth of who God created us to be.
Scripture reminds us again and again that every person bears the image of God. In Genesis we hear that humanity was created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27). In the Psalms we are told, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). And in Galatians, St. Paul proclaims that in Christ, the divisions the world uses to separate and diminish us no longer define our worth: “for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
Pride Month also allows us to reflect on how far we have come as St. Clare’s Episcopal Church. We are still growing, still learning, still becoming the church God calls us to be, but we should take Holy pride in the community we are building together.
At St. Clare’s, we strive to be “a radically welcoming church where faith and mind, body, and spirit wholeness meet”. In a world that often tells people they must choose between authenticity and belonging, we proclaim a different message: there is room for you here. You do not have to hide parts of yourself to encounter the love of Christ.
That witness matters.
It matters when someone walks through our doors wondering if they will be accepted. It matters when people who have been hurt by religion begin to rediscover that God’s love is wider than they were taught. It matters when we create spaces where healing, compassion, intellectual curiosity, and spiritual growth can exist together.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans, “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you” (Romans 15:7). That simple command continues to shape who we are and who we hope to become.
So during this Pride Month, may we celebrate the beauty and dignity of LGBTQIA+ lives. May we give thanks for the progress that has been made while continuing the work of justice, inclusion, and love. And may we also carry with us a deep sense of pride in the community we are nurturing here at St. Clare’s, a community rooted in Christ’s radical welcome and committed to sharing that welcome with the world.
Happy Pride Month.
