Members of the LGBTQ+ community, allies and clergy will gather Monday night for the 43rd annual Pride Interfaith Service, a celebration of religious and spiritual diversity that organizers said also creates space to acknowledge the pain some people have experienced in faith communities.
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The service is organized by a group of co-coordinators that includes the Rev. Darryl! Moch, who is part of the United Church of Christ with the Potomac Association, a designated pastor at UCC Fredericksburg and a member of Inner Light Ministries in D.C.; and the Rev. Ebony Peace, a Unitarian Universalist community minister who practices in the D.C. area.
“There is nothing that separates people from their faith except people,” Moch said.
Moch said that, during Pride Month and throughout the year, faith communities should make it clear to LGBTQ+ people that they belong.
The message, he said, should be direct: “You are welcome here, that you are wanted, that you are loved, that you are important, that we see you, that we value you, that you have agency, right? And that we are here to support you.”
But Moch said that message can be difficult to hear for people who have been ostracized by faith communities or families that practice those faith traditions.
“You have so many people that have been hurt by what we call church hurt or religious hurt, where they have been demonized and drummed out, not only of their own faith communities, but sometimes from their own families, because of those faith traditions, right? And so, there’s a lot of pain there,” Moch said.
Peace said creating a safe space starts with listening.
“Asking them, ‘What would make you feel safe? What would make you feel comfortable?’ And then taking their lead in creating those kinds of spaces. And so, I would say it takes listening, being open-minded,” Peace said. “Being able to create the space and saying, ‘You are beautiful, you are worthy, you are so loved.’ It makes a huge difference, and we need more of that.”
The Pride Interfaith Service will be held Monday from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Southeast D.C.
“We need more places of security and safety and welcome and inclusion, and that’s what we’re building here, and all are welcome,” Peace said.
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