Pride Beyond June: Trinity Launches Pride 365

Pride is a marvelous thing. Each June, for a month that crescendos into a frenzied weekend of parties and marches and rallies, LGBTQ folk from around the world celebrate our God-given identities. We give thanks for how far we’ve come and recommit ourselves to the hard work of bringing about full liberation for all God’s people.  
 
Two years ago, my first Pride month in New York City, I made my way to the West Village on the last Friday in June. As I made my way to Sheridan Square, the sidewalks slowly became more and more crowded until the crowds began to spill out into the street. The dim glow and gentle rumble of a Manhattan summer night gradually gave way to an exuberance of color and music until I found myself surrounded by thousands of singing and dancing people - rainbows and glitter as far as the eye I could see. 
 
With Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” pulsing from an unseen speaker, I rounded the corner and pushed through the crowds until I was standing on the sidewalk in front of the Stonewall Inn. Standing on the spot where queer and trans women of color – heroes like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera had lit the fires of rebellion 50 years ago that very morning. 
 
I stood on that holy ground, surrounded by a crowd of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer folks singing and dancing with a freedom and exuberance Marsha and Sylvia and generations of LGBTQ leaders dared to dream would one day be possible. 
 
With all the pageantry of Pride, it would be easy to think the work is finished. That the joy and love made so palpable during Pride Celebrations will last forever. But we all know – July will come. The rainbow decorations will go away. They’ll try, in vain, to sweep up the glitter from Christopher Street. And we’ll return to business as usual. A world where homophobia and transphobia are still rampant. 
 
Here at Trinity Church Wall Street, it’s been our tradition to mark Pride month in a variety of ways. This year, we’re excited to launch Pride 365. Pride 365 acknowledges that God’s call to us each Pride Month extends beyond the last day of June. Our work as followers of Jesus is to build a world in which all God’s children are seen, known, and loved exactly as they are. 
 
We’ll begin as we always do by raising our Pride Flags – signs of our commitment to justice and inclusion – on May 30. We’ll mark Pride month with services, speakers, and events throughout June. And then our work will continue - as we celebrate the lives and work of LGBTQ+ children of God throughout the year. 
 
While our Pride festivities will look different again this year, I’m looking forward to sharing both the celebration and the work with you this month and beyond.