Pride Month is here

June is marked as Pride Month in recognition of the presence and contributions to society from members of the LGBT+ community. At St. Paul's UMC, we join with United Methodists around the Connection in claiming our place in the Reconciling Methodist Network with the following statement:

"St. Paul's UMC welcomes and affirms people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions."

A Prayer for Pride Month

Oh, Love that will not let us go...

Our hearts are filled and overflowing with joy, deep love, and gratitude.

We are thankful, for the gifts of all Affirming Ministries and communities of faith who open their churches, their homes and their hearts to Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ people and all their intersecting identities. for music, friendship, and for family.

We are thankful for the Love that will not let us go.

We are thankful, for Pride Marches and Pride Month, for all those who publicly, intentionally, and explicitly affirm that 2S-LGBTQ+ people are children of God.

We are thankful most of all, for the blessing of a Love that is and always has been there for us.

The truth at the heart of our faith – that you are Love - echoes today in words and in music, in friendships and family, in our hearts and minds, and continues to challenge us to Love.

We pray for our hearts and minds to be open to our own homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia, to be open to our own racism, sexism, ableism, sizeism, and all the ways we fear those who are different from us.

We pray to learn how to recognize the kinship between our souls and the souls of those who, to us, are strangers.

We pray that we will never cease in our journey to learn how to Love more radically.

We pray in the name of the Love that flips tables and cracks whips, the Love that heals those judged by religious leaders and powers, the Love who lives and loves among the marginalized and outcast.

In Jesus name. Amen.

- The United Church of Canada