Why should RIC communities attend their local LGBTQ Pride festival?

Although Pride participation is not a requirement to becoming a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) community, it can be an effective form of outreach to the LGBTQ community. Marching in a Pride parade or hosting a booth at a Pride festival can be an incredibly powerful experience for both the LGBTQ participants as well as members of your community. Keep your eyes and your heart open! You may encounter an LGBTQ youth who has been told by their family or church that God no longer loves them. Or you may meet an LGBTQ person who hasn’t stepped foot in a faith community for years and has never heard a specific invitation with their identity. The only requirement for a Lutheran community to be listed as RIC is for them to pass a welcome statement which specifically includes “people of all sexual orientations and gender identities” or “LGBT” people.

When did Pride begin?

One Summer morning in the early hours of June 28, 1969, a group of customers at Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village, had grown angry at the harassment by police, took a stand and a riot broke out. The next night, an even larger crowd comprised of LGBTQ people (and many of their allies) returned, with numbers reaching over 1000. For hours, protesters demonstrated outside the Stonewall Inn until the police sent a riot-control squad to disperse the crowd.

On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago commemorating the anniversary of the riots. Similar marches were organized in other cities. Today, most cities hold annual Pride events in June to mark this enormously important moment in the modern struggle for LGBTQ rights.

Find your local pride celebration!

If you are not sure your local town has an LGBTQ Pride parade or festival, go to https://google.com and search for “[Your Town Name] and [Gay Pride Festival]”. If your town isn’t large enough, make sure to extend your search to larger towns near you.

You can also visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LGBT_events for a list of all events worldwide with website links for more information.

Graceful Engagement

It is possible you may encounter protesters at Pride who do not share your values of welcome, inclusion, and celebration of LGBTQ people in the church. They may be limited to “free-speech” zones or in some cases, be freely roaming about. It is important to model “graceful engagement” (not arguing with people, but sharing God’s love and grace) while representing your faith community and the Reconciling in Christ program.

Almost always, the best strategy is not engaging with these protestors. Many times they leave due to lack of interaction from Pride attendees. Instead of engaging, make sure to smile extra wide and hold your signs extra high to send a clear message that God loves all our LGBTQ children!

For more info about how to use graceful engagement, download the “Building an Inclusive Church” toolkit from our website: www.ReconcilingWorks.org/BIC