BBH Pride Fest – June 2024
It took some courage to walk up to our church’s booth at BBH Pride Fest and say “I’m kinda looking for a church.” The 15-year-old from Broadview Heights explained that she had been very active in her church her whole life. But after she came out as gay “They didn’t let me keep coming to youth group because they said I was a danger to the other kids.” Through the pain of rejection, her faith and relationship with God remained important to her. She said, “When I came out nothing changed about me. I still love Jesus.”
The Message Travels
After the event, our Youth Director, Dana Schwendeman, shared a photo from Pride Fest on her Instagram account and soon got a message from someone she knew at the church where she grew up. How is it that Brecksville United Methodist Church could be at a Pride event? A Methodist Church? At a Pride event?
Dana told her friend about our church’s journey to becoming a reconciling and inclusive church. “What’s the catch?” the old friend asked. “Is it a ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ sort of thing?” Dana knew her friend’s history and the hurt she experienced when she and her girlfriend (now wife) had attended a church claiming to be welcoming when they really were not.
When Dana told her friend that our church celebrates LGBTQ people and includes them in the full life of the church – welcoming each and every person as a necessary and beautiful part of the Body of Christ just as we are, Dana said, “She was blown away. My friend said that she and her wife will be visiting on Sunday. I was so happy!”
Those who have felt harm from the church in the past may wonder if we really mean it when we say that God’s love is unconditional, that God loves all people “even if and no matter what.” Our presence at Pride events is an open door – an opportunity for conversations to begin and for questions to be answered.
As Pastor Heidi shared in her message on June 2024, “Again and again throughout scripture, Jesus shows us that true, Godly love isn’t easy. It’s not passive. It doesn’t take the path of least resistance. Rather, it’s taking the path of excellence. Loving God with our whole self, with ‘all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind’ is demanding and risky.”
Let’s give thanks to God for a love like that.
Take Action During Pride Month 2025
Help Share the Message of God’s Inclusive Love
- Do you know someone who has experienced harm from the church? Invite them to worship on Pride Sunday, June 1.
- Sign up to march with other United Methodists in the Pride in the CLE Parade, Saturday, June 6
- Donate “swag” to pass out at the parade & Pride Fest – through our Amazon Wishlist
- Sign up to represent our church at our table at BBH Pride Fest, Saturday, June 13
