Rev. Rebecca’s Note - Pentecost, Juneteenth, and Pride
June, for all its invitation to the supposed laid-back-ness of summer, has a lot going on - and a lot to celebrate.
We’ve been in “ordinary time,” all those Sundays following the day of Pentecost, and will be there until the beginning of Advent in the end of November. What I like about ordinary time being called that is that Pentecost is the beginning of ordinary time. The new normal. In this new paradigm we are called as a matter of course to live in the freedom of the Holy Spirit, to be God’s people in the way of truly hearing others as God made them, understanding and affirming that the many and diverse ways in which God created us are holy and good. Lindsey Paris-Lopez reminds us:
Pentecost is the queerest holiday of the liturgical year, and the Church should celebrate it as such.
The Holy Spirit is weird, wild, and wonderful. It defies explanation. And at Pentecost, it descends in tongues of fire and gives the apostles the ability to speak different languages.
How queer is that?
It’s also “queer” because it unconditionally affirms all people. All classes, races, genders, sexual orientations, abilities. The Spirit honors all ways of being human.
So it’s fitting that the season of Pentecost begins in the midst of Pride. Both affirm the irrevocable dignity of all.
In this first full month of ordinary time, we celebrate Juneteenth, June 19th, the day in 1865 on which freedom for enslaved people in Texas was officially announced by Union troops. We celebrate Juneteenth as a second independence day. As Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church puts it, “Juneteenth is so disruptive that it’s not clear how those with a vested interest in the status quo will deal with the contradictions the day presents.
And June is also Pride Month, a celebration of freedom for LGBTQIA+ people, beginning with the Stonewall Riot of 1969 in which some watching patrons of the Stonewall Inn being taken by police refused to let that happen without a fight.
Sometimes freedom comes to us, as on the day of Pentecost, as “a mighty wind,” unbidden and uncontrolled by human action, but all the same, leading us to share it with others. Sometimes freedom comes in the form of Union troops announcing the Emancipation Proclamation’s validity in Confederate areas. Other times, as with Stonewall and Pride, we are called to fight unjust institutions and powers for our freedom.
However freedom and the Holy Spirit come into our lives, when we encounter and receive it, we are called by God to share it with those around us. How do you share the freedom God gives us with those you encounter?
Sources:
“The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth” on National Museum of African American History & Culture, https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/historical-legacy-juneteenth nd.
“June - Pentecost, Pride, and Juneteenth” at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, https://www.mountmoriahchurch.online/june nd.
Paris-Lopez, Lindsey. “Pride and Pentecost” on Patheos.com, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/faithfulpeacemaking/2022/06/pride-and-pentecost/ June 12, 2022.
- Rev. Rebecca
Moderator’s Note: What does Pride mean to me? Community and Imago Dei
June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month. What does it mean and why should we, as people
of faith, celebrate?
By Rev. Regan Saoirse, Think+Pray+Act Moderator
“Pride is imago dei to me because I know what it is to not live into
the imago dei that God imagined for me, the full embodiment of who God created
me to be.”
Community is an important part of the LGBTQ+ experience, especially because we
often don’t feel we quite belong in other communities we are a part of. Don’t get me
wrong, I love my church community and always choose them well, from my first
progressive church at Plymouth Congregational in Lawrence in 2000, when I chose to
be UCC after 8 years of not being Christian, to my current church home 26 years later
at Wichita UCC. What is difficult is that I know that there are still church members who
are “undecided” about the “gay issue”.
Some church members may know God loves me, a queer person, as a child of God, but
they also may not be sure if I’m going to heaven because I dated people of my same
gender and actively embrace an expansive view of my gender. They stay silent when
LGBTQ+ rights are being challenged in the government and judicial system. They don’t
care to understand the bible in any other way than what was told to them when they
were children 10, 20, 50 years ago. And that hurts me not just as a personal slight, like
someone who doesn’t invite me to the party, but as a denial of my image dei, my
embodiment of the image of God in this world. It’s been a passion of mine to study
theology about gender and sexuality, especially queer theology, deeply and with valued
scholars, including Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis, who is UCC, and I welcome discussions
about other ways we can affirm and accept our LGBTQ+ members better into our faith
communities, ways we can support our doubting friends and family.
Being LGBTQ+ is a part of being imago dei, the image of God, in this crazy and scary
world. It ia reflecting back a part of who God is in this world. We may not be perfect,
and no one in church is, but Pride Month is about celebrating the vibrant colors,
beautiful beings, various gifts, and unique ways queer people live, love, work, play, and
believe in this world of ours… not because straight cis people don’t have similar or
unique gifts, but because ours have been silenced, traumatically abused, beaten,
murdered, even mass murdered in the Holocaust and beyond.
We celebrate because we have allies that celebrate with us. Without our allies, we could
be right back where we were 20, 40, 60, 90 years ago when Adolf Hitler was on the rise.
We celebrate because throughout history there were thriving communities of LGBTQ+ people who lived and worked and worshipped. We celebrate because there are people
who sacrificed their lives for queer people to continue to be at the table.
Pride is community to me because I tried to be community without pride in my inner life
and I was left not whole, incomplete. Pride is imago dei to me because I know what it is
to not live into the imago dei that God imagined for me, the full embodiment of who God
created me to be. Now, not only do I celebrate with my peers as community, I celebrate
myself, as a person living completely into my gender and sexuality, living living wholly
into my imago dei. I invite you to celebrate with me and to celebrate with all our friends,
family, loved ones – all LGBTQ+ people who are living fully into their imago dei! Enjoy
Pride Month!
Pride Craft Party
We are fearfully and sometimes queerfully made! And sometimes we make queerfully, too! As part of our commitment to being an Open and Affirming faith community, we invite you to celebrate Pride Month with us by making Pride crafts from 5-7pm on the 18th at our 2725 S Jefferson Ave, StL, 63118 location! Or if there’s something you’re already working on, go ahead and bring it! And we welcome any craft supplies or financial donations you want to bring. See you on the 18th!
PrideFest StL 2026
We are part of a group of Open and Affirming congregations who come together as a group to support the LBGTQIA+ community via our participation at St. Louis Pridefest. We will have a booth at PrideFest in downtown St. Louis; please sign up HERE if you’d like to take part!
TPA Online - Drawing All Things to God
Our Online Spiritual Group, Drawing All Things to God, will go on through the whole Easter season and beyond. You are welcome to join us anytime. We will have a brief spiritual practice and a video of the author reflecting on an idea for us to discuss and reflect upon together.
| Join us on Sunday Nights at 6 pm For the Online Spiritual Group aboutDrawing All Things to God Sign Up Here or join our Think+Pray+Act Connect Facebook group for the Link! |
There is so much we can say about Jesus - and much has been said about Jesus, who is the center of our Christian faith! But who is he, really, and what does he really mean to us? As we’re in the 50-day Easter season, in this series we consider who he is through video, discussion, and spiritual practices. See you online!
South City/Tower Grove Youth Group
Youth group is taking a break for the summer and will reconvene in August.
What’s Next
| June 14 - 20 | Daily Bible Reading 2nd Chronicles 1-2 - 13-14 |
| Sat, June 13, 12:30pm Online | T+P+A Gathering Gather online with Rev. Suzi! |
| Sun, June 14, 6pm Online | T+P+A Online: Drawing All Things to God: Celebrating the Cracks What about Jesus stirs your imagination? Did he fail? What have your own failures taught you about life? |
| Thur, June 18, 5-7pm 2725 S Jefferson Ave, StL, 63118 | Pride Craft Party Join us at Think+Pray+Act to make fun Pride crafts (or bring whatever craft project you’re working on)! |
| Sat, June 27, 12:30pm 2725 S Jefferson Ave, StL, 63118 | T+P+A Gathering: Pride in the Time After Pentecost Pentecost may be but a day, but that day set a new standard for who we are and how we show up in community. What does it mean? |
| Sat-Sun, June 27-28 1315 Chestnut St., StL, 63103 Sign up HERE to be at the booth! | StL PrideFest 2026 Come show your pride and support the LGBTQIA+ community by attending and taking a shift at our booth with Gateway ONA! |
| Sun, June 28, 6pm Online | T+P+A Online: Drawing All Things to God: The Cosmic Christ with Richard Rohr What the heck is the Cosmic Christ and why should we care? |
| Sun, July 5, 6pm Online | T+P+A Online Exploring aspects of Jesus |
| Sat, July 11, 12:30pm 2725 S Jefferson Ave, StL, 63118 | T+P+A Gathering |
What to Know about Think Pray Act:
We are an open and affirming faith community that strives to maintain open and free theological learning as an act toward justice. We welcome all spirit seekers into full participation in the life and membership of the community. We actively and faithfully accept as they are people of every race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, nationality, ethnicity, relationship status, physical and mental ability, family type, and economic background.
We believe God calls us to do justice and love kindness, giving assistance and healing to others and the planet by following the teachings of Jesus. We promise to love our neighbors, respect differences, and build authentic relationships by learning who we are, taking just action, and breaking bread together. In our actions, God’s love moves and shines.
Newsletter Options:
If you’re not on our email list and would like to be, please join us HERE.
Have newsletter items? Please email them to [email protected] by Tuesdays at 4pm
Read the newsletter online: https://www.thinkprayact.org/blog
Donations and Offerings:
We welcome your support via your presence in our community life, ideas and vision, and financial gifts via cash, check, or Tithe.ly. Our address is below for anything that needs to be mailed. Thank you very much for however you can be a part of Think+Pray+Act’s work to build and reveal the kindom of God!
© Think+Pray+Act
2725 S Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118
[email protected] / 314-248-0646
FB / IG / BlueSky: thinkprayact