Why We Celebrate Pride Sunday?

Welcome to Pride Sunday!

Last week, we had a beautiful service outside in celebration of the Summer Solstice and All Creation Sunday. Today, we continue celebrating the beauty of God's creation, but more specifically, we celebrate the diversity with which God created us across gender, sexual orientation, and identity—diversity that demonstrates the expansiveness of God's love for all creation.

Today, we also mark the 56th anniversary of the first-ever Pride March. On June 28, 1970, with the inaugural Christopher Street Liberation Day March in New York City, Pride was born. The event was organized to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots—a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations by members of the queer community against police raids at the Stonewall Inn that began in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969. With drag queens leading the way, the queer community finally fought back. What came to fruition at Stonewall as a movement had actually begun years and generations earlier. But on June 28, 1970, that movement took shape. It moved from early-morning resistance to organized protests, marches, and celebrations.

So why do we continue to celebrate Pride 56 years later?

Rev. Phillip Bass offering a blessing at the conclusion of The Beloved Community's 2026 Pride Sunday gathering.

Well, if you were at yesterday's Pride event in Durham, or if you've ever attended a Pride event in the past, you already know why.

Yesterday, I spent most of my time staffing our table. I was there in my collar—this Pride collar, to be exact. As I'm trained to do as a clinician, I watched people. Many came over to our table, enjoyed our Pride swag, and struck up conversations. But I watched others glance over, realize we are a faith community, and then do everything they could to avoid making eye contact or engaging with us in any way. We need Pride Sunday because there are still queer people who believe that any church—even a faith community decked out in rainbows with a priest wearing a Pride collar—are not safe.

It's not surprising that many still fear the church. Research indicates that up to 46% of queer individuals report experiencing religious rejection, which is directly linked to elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. According to the 2025 Trevor Project Survey, 36% of LGBTQIA+ young people between the ages of 13 and 24 seriously considered suicide in the past year. That number jumps to 40% among transgender and nonbinary young people. One in ten queer young people attempted suicide in the past year. That's one attempt by a queer young person every 45 seconds. If we finish the Eucharist around 6:30 this evening, that means that, on average, 120 queer young people will have attempted to take their own lives while we are worshipping God.

We celebrate Pride Sunday because we are Christians, and as Christians, God has called each and every one of us to spread the Good News, especially to those who are outcast and marginalized, and to ensure that corrupt and unjust rulers are brought down from their thrones while the humble are lifted up. We are called to fill the hungry with good things, especially the Good News that God loves them. And we are called to demonstrate love to all of God's creation, including those who persecute us, but especially those who fear us.

Current surveys indicate that among Generation Z—those between the ages of 12 and 29—between 25% and 28% identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Among my own generation, Generation X, that number drops to 5.1%. Among Baby Boomers, it falls to just 2%.

This doesn't mean there are more queer young people than ever before. These numbers indicate that Pride is working. They tell us that more and more young people are brave enough to come out and live into who God created them to be because they feel safe enough to do so.

We celebrate Pride because the work is not finished, but it is making a positive difference. We celebrate Pride not only to save lives but also to celebrate them. We celebrate Pride because doing so fulfills our call to spread the Good News. And we celebrate Pride because we, The Beloved Community—small but mighty as we are—understand that wherever anyone feels unwanted, unwelcome, or unloved, they have a home here.

Simply put, we celebrate Pride because this is the work God has called us to do.

Rev. Phillip Bass