July 2023 Newsletter
Reflections from OC Pride
Over 25 years ago, I marched in the Long Beach Pride
Parade with a group that represented a variety of Orange
County LGBTQ organizations. I took my 14 year old daughter
along. While we were getting into position along Ocean
Avenue, someone from a nearby building hurled a rotten
egg at us, and it hit my daughter in the leg. My colleagues
were outraged - so very angry that someone hurt a child.
I was outraged too. But you know what? While it stung
for a minute, she understood from that day forward on a
visceral level what the LGBTQ+ community was up against
and why it was so important that we stand up as allies.
Despite that early experience, I absolutely love going to
Pride parades and the festivals afterwards. I love seeing
all the happy people being their
authentic selves, and I love the
palpable excitement in the air as
people wave rainbow flags and
applaud as we walk by. I feel good
about being there and showing my
support. It fills my heart with love
that my church is there in solidarity
with the LGBTQ+ community
and offering a warm invitation to
visit us on Sunday morning.
At our IUCC festival booth after the parade, Alex had an
array of swag he had purchased from his event budget.
What a blessing he is! The temporary “tattoos” were a
big hit, as well as our colorful bracelets and stickers. We
had rainbow colored beads, refrigerator magnets, bubble
wands, and candy. There was a crowd around our booth
for much of the day as folks checked out all the goodies.
Our crafters’ crochet hearts were very popular, and people
seemed amazed that our members had made them by
hand especially for Pride participants. When told “They’re
for you,” people picked them up with something close to
reverence, touched by the act of love and generosity of
spirit they represented - the message of grace they sent.
I had two interactions that made quite an impression on
me. A woman came up to the booth and held up her cell
phone for me to see. It displayed a text that read, “I come
from a country where people like me are hurt, imprisoned,
and killed. Thank you for being here and for your support.”
She never said a word, just showed me the text and walked
away. It brought tears to my eyes. Never doubt that your
simple presence can make a difference!
The second interaction was with a woman who noticed we
had a variety of LGBTQ+ flags, not just the rainbow ones.
Our sweet Alex had ordered colorful flags representing
the many different sexual and gender identities on the
spectrum. She said, “Thank you for including ALL of us. It
means a lot.” [Alex said he’d heard that from others too.]
There were some haters, of course. There always are at
events like this. For the most part the police kept them on
the sidelines, separated from the crowd (you can see the
officer in the foreground of the picture below, standing
guard). But they were scattered along the parade route
with their gigantic signs, shouting unintelligible things at us
through bullhorns. They seemed quite intent on convincing
the crowd to repent from sin and find Jesus.
Alex posted on Facebook that one of them came up to our
booth and tried to bait our volunteers, wanting to know
how we could believe as we did and still follow the Bible.
Alex got to use his professional call
center skills to diffuse the situation.
He told the man that these
were volunteers and not ordained,
and his questions would be better
answered by our pastor. He gave
the man our brochure and pointed
out the church email. Alex just
kept reiterating that he needed to
take his questions to our pastor.
He kept his cool and told the man
he was welcome to take some
candy, stickers, and to email our pastor with his questions.
Instead, the man ended up just walking off without taking
anything (including the brochure with the email).
I always wonder how people like that can cherry-pick Bible
verses to justify their hate while missing the whole point
of what Jesus taught - to love our neighbors as ourselves,
to show goodness and kindness to others, and to welcome
the stranger. My friend Ken thinks they may be misguided
souls who will someday reach a point where they challenge
their old beliefs, reflect on interactions like this, and
come around to a new way of thinking. I hope he’s right.
For me, these scenarios of grace juxtaposed with hatred
only serve to reinforce how vitally important it is for us as
a congregation to be present and supportive at events like
this so our LGBTQ+ siblings will see in real time that we are
here for them. We care, we show up, and we practice love
and compassion. With everything happening in the world
right now, it’s the least we can do as followers of Jesus. I’m
confident that radiating a loving and accepting presence
sends a far more powerful message than a few horrible
signs ever will.
