To our LGBTQ plus community... You are welcome here!
A message from our Senior Minister, Rev. Richard Held.
Individually speaking, Pride is a month dedicated to LGBTQ+ people and their many allies, absolutely.
If that’s you – I say, “Happy Pride!”
Universally speaking, however, Pride is a month dedicated to all people who have compromised something of their very essence - pressed it down, hid it away, pushed it back – just to stay safe, even alive, in an unready world.
And if that’s you (and it is, by the way) – I say, “Happy Pride!”
And so it is that whether individually speaking or universally speaking, coming out speaks to that moment in which we just can’t press, hide, and push any longer; that moment in which we finally emancipate that something of our very essence into an unready world, nonetheless.
I’M COMING OUT BEGINS
She was arrested for voting in her hometown of Rochester, New York, and convicted in a widely-publicized trial. But she emancipated that something of her very essence into an unready world, nonetheless.
Universally speaking, it can be said that we gather in a building such as this to celebrate women’s suffrage and the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, only because Susan B. Anthony came out.
I’M COMING OUT
He was arrested for sabotage and imprisoned for 27 years. But he emancipated that something of his very essence into an unready world, nonetheless.
Universally speaking, it can be said that we gather in a building such as this to celebrate the end of apartheid in South Africa, only because Nelson Mandela came out.
I’M COMING OUT
And, of course, she was arrested for sitting down in defiance of an Alabama law requiring her to give her seat to a white person. But she emancipated that something of her very essence into an unready world, nonetheless.
Universally speaking, it can be said that we gather in a building such as this to celebrate the boycott of the Montgomery bus system, which led to the 1956 Supreme Court decision banning segregation on public transportation, only because Rosa Parks came out.
I’M COMING OUT
And, of course, he was arrested five times. But he emancipated that something of his very essence into an unready world, nonetheless.
Universally speaking, it can be said that we gather in a building such as this to celebrate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (to celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize that followed), only because the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came out.
I’M COMING OUT
And so it is that whether individually speaking or universally speaking, coming out speaks to that moment in which we just can’t press, hide, and push any longer; that moment in which we finally emancipate that something of our very essence into an unready world, nonetheless.
So, universally speaking, Pride isn’t about coming out as Gay. Pride is about coming out as you.
Universally speaking, Pride is about emancipating that something of your very essence into an unready world (Emerson called it a world ever seeking to make you something else); perhaps even considering the notion that the fullness of you has its contribution to make to a better world.
That’s the beauty of the rainbow as a symbol, you see. It’s not that the colors are homogeneous. It’s that the colors are harmonious. It’s that the very essence of each – fully given - somehow contributes to a collective beauty that would otherwise remain unrealized.
“But some people won’t like me,” the ego argues.
Well, the truth is that some people don’t like you now. So, at least coming out as you lets you move forward knowing that the right people like you; that you’ve finally found your authentic tribe by right of consciousness.
The illusion that everyone should like you is an egoic ploy to keep you from ever living a fully realized life. The illusion that everyone should like you is an egoic ploy that would divert your loyalties from that which is in here to that which is out there. It’s to create a false idol of every human opinion, every stagnant comfort, every loud voice, every passing trend.
It's true for individuals. It’s true for churches. We aren’t everyone’s church. And the less energy we give to the absurd idea that this should be otherwise, the more energy we have for affirming life, empowering people, and building community.
Now, here’s what I want you to get: if your life is somehow touched by the intersection of traditional religion and LGBTQ+ issues, the so-called “clear teachings of the Bible” are found in, maybe, nine references - nine references within 66 books, spanning some 1,000 years - the most cited being those found in Genesis and Leviticus, and virtually all of which address matters of violence, rape, abuse, and tribal preservation - not matters of orientation and identity.
The Judeo-Christian collection has been misunderstood, misconstrued, and misinterpreted; twisted, distorted, and weaponized to sanction humanity’s lowest impulses and deepest prejudices against those of certain religions, against those of certain geographies, against those of certain colors, against those of certain genders, against, those of certain ages, against those of certain classes and yes, against those of certain orientations and identities for centuries.
More clearly, if your life is somehow touched by the intersection of traditional religion and LGBTQ+ issues, the Judeo-Christian Bible has never condemned you or your loved ones.
If you’ve spent a lifetime locked in that dark closet, I’m holding the door open for you.
COME ON OUT
Unity Worldwide Ministries updated its Statement of Diversity in 2016 to say it this way: “Unity Worldwide Ministries, its members, and affiliates welcome with love all people in every form of God’s creation, regardless of how that creation presents itself. We honor all components that contribute to the diversity of the community. We affirm and support programs that manifest diversity in our teachings, policies, buildings, and communities. We are resolute in walking the course of human rights and social justice for all.”
Welcome to Unity Spiritual Center Westlake.
In broad ways, Pride presents each of us with a couple of questions: where might I have compromised something of my very essence - pressed it down, hid it away, pushed it back?
And am I finally ready to emancipate that something of my very essence, into an unready world, nonetheless?
Rev. Richard Held