June Pride Month ending, yet the work to love and welcome all continues

As Pride Month draws to a close, United Church of Christ congregations have yet another opportunity to celebrate and welcome the LGBTQIA+ community.

This Sunday, June 30, is Open and Affirming Sunday, and congregations are invited to use the liturgy resources available for 2024, which focuses on Paul’s message in Romans 12:12 to “rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, and persevere in prayer.”

The Rev. Derek A. Terry, pastor of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Cincinnati and program director for the Open and Affirming Coalition (ONA), says this is a message that “resonates deeply with our mission as an ONA church within the United Church of Christ.”

“Paul urges believers to live a life marked by hope, patience and prayer,” he said.

As a self-described Black Queer who came from a denomination far from accepting of who God created him to be, Terry found the UCC “liberating and encouraging” but not without challenges. He has observed how there’s still much work to be done “with hope, patience and prayer” in building an inclusive, welcoming and loving world.

“It’s beautiful…and burdensome,” he says of the work, with the emphasis always on the “beautiful” first.

Taking Paul’s words to heart

Hope. Patience. Prayer.  

These are words the Community Protestant Church UCC in Mundelein, Illinois knows all too well.

Like many churches that experienced division in the early days of the gay rights movement, a majority of those in the pew still believed in being a place of love and welcome.

When the Rev. Alex Molozaiy joined them in 2006, he found a congregation discerning whether to officially become an Open and Affirming (ONA) congregation, yet he was mindful to let the process be that of the Spirit moving among the members.

“I was determined not to push it. I wanted there to be space for understanding that being an ONA congregation was more than just saying ‘please come and join us,’” said Molozaiy.

And so, pastor and congregation continued to find ways to embrace and live out its Church Covenant, which was adopted in 1994, which said, “We will be open and accepting of all who come, slow to take offense and always ready for forgiveness and reconciliation.”

Thirty years later, those very words are now woven into Community Protestants’ new covenant, as in early June, the church officially became the 1,884 ONA congregation within the UCC.

“To adopt this covenant in Pride Month as we observe our 135th Anniversary, and with so many new housing units are being constructed in our area, we wanted to be clear about welcoming those who’ve been turned away from other congregations because of who they are, whom they love, or for what we perceive they have to offer us,” said Molozaiy. “Jesus was able to bring together people of very different backgrounds and perspectives and find their common humanity in the furtherance of Christ’s mission. The same is still true.”

Intentionally loving like Jesus

While bringing people from different walks of life together, and loving them unconditionally, came naturally to Jesus, for the faithful today it takes a little more work.

Mainly, says Terry, it takes intentionality.

“Each day we must be intentional in reaching out to others and truly getting to know someone who is different than the makeup of our congregations,” he said. “Pride Month is more than having a guest preacher or speaker come and talk about who they are. For celebrations such as Pride Month to make a difference, there should be genuine relationships first. Start now in reaching out to others. Start now in building those friendships.”

In Tonawanda, New York, the mainly white congregation of Kenilworth United Church of Christ is doing just that, reaching beyond their sanctuary walls and connecting with others in their community. What resulted from that intentionality was the creation of “Intersection Weekend,” where the freedom of gender and sexual orientation was intersected with the freedom of the enslaved celebrated on Juneteenth. It was weekend to remember, says Terry.

“We had a soul food meal on Saturday with the community and watched a film, then I preached Sunday morning about the intersectionality of this season,” said Terry, “I think it was pretty cool.”

While a success, Terry says there is still a lot of unpacking to do in understanding what it means to celebrate Juneteenth and Pride in way that educates and promotes healing.

“Juneteenth has only recently become a federal holiday and the question still exits how do we celebrate it? How do you take a celebration, be it Juneteenth or Pride, and make it accessible to more people? How do we celebrate Pride yet still acknowledge it is still a fearful thing to come out — that freedom is not a given — especially when we hear of the violence against our trans siblings,” said Terry. “How congregations choose to celebrate is important. We must make sure what we do moves the movement forward.”

In an ideal world, moving the movement forward might look like living in a world where there would be no need for special months that advocate for and lift the histories of groups facing injustices and prejudices.

“This is the work of the church, 365 days a year, to build genuine relationships and have voices in the pulpit other than Pride Month or for Juneteenth. Do so throughout the year so that congregations are not surprised to hear such sermons in January or in March,” said Terry.

Yet both Terry and Molozaiy know the world is far from ideal.

“Until these histories are more fully incorporated into the histories that are currently told, then yes, we do need months like Pride Month,” said Molozaiy.

ONA gathering set for September

As calendar page turns from June to July, Terry says ONA is already making plans to continue helping congregations learn and grow beyond Pride Month.

The Open and Affirming Coalition will hold its first in-person gathering since 2019 at the Summit Hotel in Cincinnati from September 18-22.

The theme for the gathering — building upon Paul’s message to the Romans that is the liturgy for ONA Sunday — is “Resistance and Persistence: Hope Reigns.”

Topics to be addressed include community organizing, worship as resistance, creating positive change and confronting hate.

From now till July 15, ONA is offering “early bird” registration which is $300 with an optional payment plan of three $100 installments available. To learn more and to register, click here.

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