It was great to see so many religious communities marching in the parade. I noticed UCC churches, Unitarian Universalists, Quakers, and First Methodist all with contingents in addition to the group of Episcopalians. When Christianity is so often depicted in our culture and media as only consisting of the religious right, it’s important to bear witness that there are other voices, even if they are often drowned out. Members of our group who marched talked about the support they received along the way and the gratitude that many expressed.

That is not to say the voices of Conservative Christianity were silent yesterday. There were a couple of protesters with signs quoting verses like “The wages of sin is death.” They succeeded in angering those who were here for the parade. When I walked by, one protester was in a heated argument with a bystander.

For all the good it can do, religion can also do great harm. In our society one of the segments most hurt by the religious community are LGBT people. I was reminded of that earlier in the week when I had a conversation with a young woman who came to our midweek service. She had never been to services at Grace before but said she had been meaning to come for quite some time. The first question she asked after we exchanged names was about our stance on welcoming LGBT’s. I immediately mentioned the parade and Eucharist that were scheduled for yesterday, and she was delighted. She also shared that the last time she attended services at a church, the preacher launched into a tirade about sexuality and she walked out.

It is for people like her that we walked in the parade, celebrated the Eucharist, and need to say often, explicitly, and loudly that we welcome everyone to our services and into our congregations.