Sometimes the reason for setting aside a time of remembrance or celebration gets lost in the din of history. The naming of June as Gay Pride Month goes back to June 28, 1969, when the New York police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, on Christopher Street in the West Village.
Creating havoc against gays and lesbians was something that police departments did on a regular basis, arresting people for such terrible crimes as “public indecency” because men danced together. Except that June, gay residents of the area came back and protested the police action over a period of several days. Sometimes called the Stonewall uprising, a new era was born.
Thankfully, we’ve made enormous progress since those dark times. Rainbow flags can be seen in all kinds of places, including in front of houses in the suburbs as well as the city. The fact that there still exists animosity toward LGBTI persons is something indeed to be lamented, for God created humankind in an infinite variety.
Prayer for the Day
You promise liberation and freedom for all peoples, O Lord,
May we fulfill our commitment to bring it to fruition;
You enjoin us to welcome all into your realm of justice, O God,
May we accomplish the tasks necessary for its consummation.
Make us a united people committed to your promise of equality
Living in a community of your justice and peace.
In the name of him who welcomes all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
The spirit that emerged outside a Mafia-run bar in 1969 became the pulse of the gay community and inspired not just an annual parade but ways to express gay pride in individual lives. Stonewall happens every day.
Anne Bausum, Stonewall: Breaking out in the Fight for Gay Rights
Love him and let him love you. Do you think that anything else under heaven really matters?
James Baldwin, American novelist and essayist (1924-1987)
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth;
Give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
And I will glorify your name forever.
Psalm 86: 11-12