CNY Pride Service

Temple Concord hosted the annual interfaith service that is part of gay pride month activities in Syracuse. I felt strongly about attending, because if only the gay  members of Concord show that we're welcoming, than we're not really all that welcoming.

It was a nice service, with a wonderful collection of religious leaders, including many Christian denominations, Rabbi Fellman, and a couple of women from the Buddhist temple.  There was even supposed to be a representative from Islam (they were on the program, but not present, though there was no announcement as to why).

The group of clergy paraded up the aisle to their seats with rainbow ribbon-topped sticks, and many had stoles with rainbow patterns.

It wasn't a big crowd, but a respectable size, and the energy was so warm and full of love.  I teared up several times.  The speaker who probably affected me the most was the Methodist minister, who spoke so movingly of the recent unsuccessful attempt to change anti-homosexual language in the church's "Book of Discipline." (The church has a convention every four years, and the meeting was held in May this year.) She expressed her hope that eventually the church would remove the offending characterization, which calls homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching,” quoting Isaiah:

The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.