for reagan
This week at Central was Pride Sunday, a formal day to celebrate and honor all the beauty and bravery of our Queer community. But really, every day is Pride Sunday at Central--the reason I first fell in love with this church.
Many people grew up in a religion that was shaming and cruel to anyone outside “expected” gender roles, and this was true for my family. So, when my niece, Reagan, came out as lesbian in her teens, we were afraid. Afraid that people would hurt her and that our society would keep her from achieving her goals in life. And even in my progressive and educated family, the realization that we too had been poisoned by the religious messages that being gay or trans was wrong in some way needed to be reconciled.
That difficult time seems so long ago. Reagan is here, queer, and glorious! A college graduate and a military veteran with a bright future. While I grieve the wrong and harmful messages she heard from the pulpit, from her private Christian school, from her family, I am proud to be a part of a very different message for others.
I have learned in my two years at Central that the rainbow flag hanging from the old Central Methodist sign on the corner of 33rd and O ½ is more than a gesture of solidarity. The flag is a promise to all that pass by, that this place sees and loves you, exactly as you are. That, as Pastor Michael preached this Sunday, being a follower of Christ means that we acknowledge with our hearts and our labor that all of creation is holy.
There is so much goodness at Central. Every time I walk through the doors, I feel a part of the undoing of an unjust social and economic system. This is what it means to me to be a Christian.
Many people grew up in a religion that was shaming and cruel to anyone outside “expected” gender roles, and this was true for my family. So, when my niece, Reagan, came out as lesbian in her teens, we were afraid. Afraid that people would hurt her and that our society would keep her from achieving her goals in life. And even in my progressive and educated family, the realization that we too had been poisoned by the religious messages that being gay or trans was wrong in some way needed to be reconciled.
That difficult time seems so long ago. Reagan is here, queer, and glorious! A college graduate and a military veteran with a bright future. While I grieve the wrong and harmful messages she heard from the pulpit, from her private Christian school, from her family, I am proud to be a part of a very different message for others.
I have learned in my two years at Central that the rainbow flag hanging from the old Central Methodist sign on the corner of 33rd and O ½ is more than a gesture of solidarity. The flag is a promise to all that pass by, that this place sees and loves you, exactly as you are. That, as Pastor Michael preached this Sunday, being a follower of Christ means that we acknowledge with our hearts and our labor that all of creation is holy.
There is so much goodness at Central. Every time I walk through the doors, I feel a part of the undoing of an unjust social and economic system. This is what it means to me to be a Christian.
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