Invite Welcome Connect with Pride
- Steve Welch
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Resources for LGBTQ+ Inclusion for Pride and Beyond
By Steve Welch, Executive Director
Invite Welcome Connect has added an LGBTQ+ Inclusion Resources page to its Toolkit for welcoming people into the church
Creator God, Holy one, Maker of love and source of joy: We give you thanks for the infinite variety of your creation. We bless you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that we are your beloved rainbow tribe. Grant us the courage to tell our truth, to honor ourselves, to love our neighbors, and to share your grace with a world aching for healing. We pray because of Jesus, who shows us the way. Amen.
—From “Pride Sunday Prayers of the People” by the Rev. Kay Sylvester, Diocese of Los Angeles
It has been almost 50 years since The Episcopal Church’s first resolution affirming the acceptance of LGBTQ+ people into the church.
In 1976, General Convention passed a resolution stating that LGBTQ+ people “. . . are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church.”
That was and is a straightforward affirmation of our baptismal covenant to “respect the dignity of every human being,” and it was long overdue.
In recognition of Pride Month—the annual celebration of LGBTQ+ acceptance that begins June 1—Invite Welcome Connect is adding a set of LGBTQ+ inclusion resources to our online toolkit for evangelism, hospitality, and connectedness. The materials are available now and will grow over time.
In the years since that first affirming resolution of The Episcopal Church, inclusivity of the church has grown. LGBTQ+ individuals serve as deacons, bishops, and priests across the church, and as vestry members and lay leaders in many congregations.
In other congregations, however, such growth has been slower.
The journey has been long and it is ongoing, marked not only by progress but by pain. While The Episcopal Church has grown more welcoming and affirming over time, that growth has not been embraced by all. Some congregations chose to separate from the Church rather than affirm the full dignity of LGBTQ+ people—causing real hurt to those who had hoped for love and acceptance.
The best tools to overcome that divisiveness are patience, education, and prayer. Episcopal churches must remain steadfast in full inclusion—while also offering space for learning and transformation. Education and dialogue are vital, but never at the expense of LGBTQ+ people’s dignity, safety, or belonging.
People who identify as LGBTQ+ continue to find many places—including some Episcopal churches—hostile or unwelcoming.
Sometimes, that sense of “unwelcome” arises from a lack of awareness rather than actual hostility on the part of congregational leadership. Those of us who have always found ourselves automatically welcomed to any congregation develop a sense of complacency (“Of course I’ll be welcome there.”) that people who have often been rejected lack.
Our welcoming of the LGBTQ+ community must therefore be proactive, visible, and obvious. Leave no doubt in your online and in-person presence that you truly practice the motto “The Episcopal Church Welcomes You.”
Pride Month is a singular opportunity for your congregation to speak up for the LGBTQ+ community, to let people know that your church welcomes all.
Some may struggle with the word “Pride,” wondering how it fits with Christian humility. But Pride, for LGBTQ+ people, is not about arrogance—it’s about survival, dignity, and joyful self-affirmation in the face of a world that too often tried to impose shame. It is a celebration of belovedness, an act of courage, and a proclamation that every person is made in the image of God.
The Work of Welcome: Moving Beyond Words to Action
So, how do we make our churches welcoming to LGBTQ+ people? For one, tell the world that you are welcoming:
Participate in local Pride events, while wearing t-shirts or hats that identify your church
Hold a Pride Eucharist or prayer service, affirming all people as children of God, regardless of sexual or gender identity.
Incorporate Pride-related Prayers of People into a Eucharist service.
Add the Episcopal Pride Shield to your church’s website footer, along with an affirmation such as “You Belong. No Exceptions.”
Download customizable social media posts and postcards from The Episcopal Church website and use them to tell the world that all are welcome in your church.
Post a customizable Pride video—on your website and on social media—from The Episcopal Church website to show your congregation’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. The videos are easy to customize through the provided Canva templates.
Outside your church building, fly a rainbow flag or a sign declaring “Hate has no home here.” Let people know before they enter your doors that they are safe here.
Involve LGBTQ+ members of your congregation or clergy in the planning and organization of your welcoming efforts—but do so in ways that are empowering and respectful. Don’t expect them to speak for all LGBTQ+ people or shoulder the full responsibility. The work of welcome belongs to the whole community.
Healing Old Wounds: Offering Safe Haven to the Spiritually Hurt
If you’re successful in setting the tone of welcome and acceptance, LGBTQ+ people will come through your doors. When they arrive, how do you welcome them? How do you bring them into the life of your church?
The short answer is—with love and respect, just like anybody else. But also with an awareness that many LGBTQ+ visitors carry deep wounds from past experiences with church. Use the resources and training of Invite Welcome Connect to ensure that welcome is not only extended, but felt and to ensure that all people who come into your church have opportunities to grow into the life of the congregation, to lead and to follow, to teach and to learn, to change and to help others change.
Remember, though, that many LGBTQ+ people have often faced rejection, even hostility, when coming to other churches. They’ve been “othered” in so many ways, treated differently if not worse than other people. Many churches have said “we love everyone” and then followed that statement up with “hate the sin; love the sinner.” Your words may not convince them they are welcome; your actions must.
Christ lifted up the radical hospitality of the Samaritan man and told his followers to “go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37) As Episcopalians, as Christians, can we do less?
Pride Month is our opportunity to reach out to people whom church has neglected, rejected, and injured. It’s our chance to live into the Gospel imperative to “go and make disciples of all people.”
Milestones in LGBTQ+ Inclusion in The Episcopal Church
Here is a bulleted summary of key historical milestones in the Episcopal Church’s journey toward LGBTQ+ inclusion, based on the official history provided by The Episcopal Church:
1974: Louie Crew founded IntegrityUSA, a nonprofit advocating for full inclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals in the Episcopal Church.
1976: The General Convention passed resolutions affirming that homosexual persons are children of God deserving of love, acceptance, and pastoral care, and entitled to equal protection under the law.
1988: In response to the AIDS crisis, the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition was established to support HIV/AIDS ministries across the church.
1994: The General Convention amended church canons to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, ensuring equal access to rites and ordination.
2003: The Diocese of New Hampshire elected the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, marking a significant turning point.
2009: The General Convention acknowledged and affirmed same-sex couples in the life of the church. Additionally, TransEpiscopal sent its first delegation to the convention, advocating for transgender and nonbinary inclusion.
2012: Church canons were amended to prohibit discrimination in the ordination process based on gender identity and expression. A liturgy for blessing same-sex relationships was also recommended.
2015: Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage, the General Convention amended marriage canons to allow any couple the rite of Holy Matrimony. A name-change rite was also introduced to honor individuals embracing their true identities.
Steve Welch is Executive Director of Invite Welcome Connect. He is the proud father of two queer daughters, former acolytes at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey