Dear Siblings in Christ,
We are truly ourselves when we know ourselves as beloved children of God.
So, as a reconciling congregation, we join in the celebration of pride as it originated,
as an expression of resistance against forces that would seek to diminish our belovedness, be it government or society or church.
God calls us to own our belovedness and live our truth out loud.
So beyond the commercialism that has crept into the celebration,
beyond the hateful rhetoric trying to control our bodies and our love,
we celebrate who we truly are – beloved of God, of sacred worth.
Nashua Pride parade and celebration at the Library Plaza happens this year on Saturday, June 22, 2-6. Unfortunately, I'll be at Annual Conference in Danvers so I won't be able to be on the front walk cheering on our fellow welcoming congregations, elected officials, veteran groups, and friends marching in the parade. Mission Chair, Maggie Dechene, will be in Acadia with a group from the church learning about Green Ministry. So we're looking for others who will join Mavis and those on the sidewalk with bubbles and chalk and temporary tattoos offering all sorts of rainbow fun.
For our LGBTQIA siblings comes this prayer by Rev. Anna Golladay
The Sacred embraces us in our multiplicity.
In our desires, our longings, our many practices of kinship and community.
Our love is declared holy – platonic and erotic, queer and collective.
As we each wish to know and be known –
for who we've been, who we are, and who we are becoming,
we honor the simple fact that identities change, flow, transition.
We delight in authentic self-expression, quickly shifting
or slowly emerging strange or familiar.
We remember the incarnation is an eternally unfolding event.
We look and feel and listen all around us – indeed, God is here.
Let us not cower.
Let us not turn on each other.
Let us protect one another, divesting from all white supremacy, misogyny, classism, ableism, ageism, and nonbinary erasure among us.
May we each examine –
in what ways do we contribute to the struggles of our own queer siblings?
Let us bind our lives, our resources, our spirits together.
May we live into the truth that every loss of one is a loss to us all.
Let all who desire to be in solidarity come.
Let the memories of our queer ancestors sustain us.
Let us remember that all forces of dominance work against our thriving.
No appealing to structures of privilege can save us. We will not be legislated out of existence.
We are truly ourselves when we tell the truth about our stories, our bodies, our communities.
We are truly ourselves when we fight for each other.
We are truly ourselves when we resist destructive policies, practices, theologies, and authorities.
Today. In the days ahead.
In struggle. In joy. In death. In transition.
In collective rising.
We are truly ourselves. This will always be so.
Blessings as we offer our true, God-given selves to a hurting world.
RevKelly
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