Pride Isn’t Over: Queer Joy, Belonging, and the Real Party Begins
Haaaaiiii friends! As Pride month has come to an end, Anny and I reflect on our entire Pride Month, the Cincinnati Pride Parade and Festival, the diocesan Teen Zone booth, Cincinnati Pride Mass and Twilight Tea, and the many sacred moments where queer joy, faith, and belonging showed up in real time.
We also took time to get other folks to weigh in and answer questions! You will hear voices from across the community responding to questions like: Can faith and queerness coexist? What does belonging feel like? What gives you hope right now? Where have you experienced queer joy recently? And what do you wish the church better understood about LGBTQ+ people?
What emerges is a chorus of witness: queer people have always been here. Queer youth of faith are not a contradiction. Drag belongs at the table. The church is at its best when it makes room, gives the platform, and remembers that every body is sacred.
Quotes worth pondering:
“Pride isn’t over. It’s just beginning.”
“Queer people have always been here, and they always will be.”
“What gives us hope is our joy.”
“We literally give them the front of the room.”
“Faith and queerness can coexist because they are intricately connected.”
“Without my queerness, I wouldn’t be the Christian that I am today.”
“Belonging is the work of actually engaging with the people we are in this with.”
We want to hear your answers!
What does belonging feel like to you?
OR…
Can faith and queerness coexist? Why or why not?
OR…
What do you wish the Church understood about LGBTQ+ folks?
OR…
What gives you hope right now?
OR…
Where have you experienced queer joy recently?
Pride Month may be ending, but Pride is not over.
The real party, the real work, and the real joy are just beginning.
