Jun 17, 2020

Friends,

 

This week the US Supreme Court has ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides protections from discrimination in employment for LGBTQ persons. I recall a decision made by the US Supreme Court just five years ago this month, which cleared the way for marriage equality in our nation. Yet even as we celebrate these decisions that extend equality and justice to LGBTQ persons, we also acknowledge that we have a long way to go before equality and justice extend to all citizens of our nation.

 

June is Pride month. It honors and celebrates those who have marched for LGBT inclusion and justice over the years. It was on June 28, 1969, that the Stonewall Uprising occurred in New York, sparking a national movement that became known as Pride. The leaders in that uprising were transgender persons of color; today transgender individuals still march for equal treatment and the right to pursue their lives free from prejudice and violence.

 

I want to invite you to join me next week to Worship With Pride – celebrating and honoring the strides that have been made, and reflecting on the steps we still need to take to embrace diversity and inclusion fully for all of God’s beloved children. Throughout the week I will be sharing several ‘Postle Jack Tales from a cycle of stories I titled, “The Indigo Kin Storybook.”

 

On Monday, June 22, and then again on Wednesday and Friday, I will tell one of these Indigo Kin stories on our Facebook page and on our website. Then on Sunday, June 28, I will tell a final Indigo Kin story during our worship service, and we will celebrate diversity and inclusion and hope. That worship will be available in the usual (virtual) ways – on our website and on our Facebook page.

 

I hope these stories will help us reflect on ways in which we can move toward embracing full diversity and inclusion in our congregation and in our greater Lake Travis community.

 

Peace,

 

Pastor Jack