Make a Pride Donation to BMC Today
We invite you to give and receive this Pride season! Please make a Pride donation and be part of BMC’s work to support, care for, and resource lgbtqia+ Brethren and Mennonite kin and our communities. Before Pride was a celebration it was a protest; Stonewall 1969 reminds us that trans women of color are at the forefront of this struggle, and that our work for collective liberation continues. Join BMC as we continue to build justice-seeking Anabaptist communities grounded in queer and trans resistance, wisdom and resilience — for the long haul.
We resource one another in many ways beyond money! BMC welcomes donations of your time, skills, curiosity and ideas. Email bmc@bmclgbt.org to get plugged in.
Pride Poetry, Events and Worship Resources
We hold heaviness alongside the joy, beauty and celebration of Pride this season, especially given the escalated physical and spiritual violence our trans, nonbinary and genderqueer siblings face around the country and world. We call on allies -- individuals, congregations, and organizations -- to “come out” loud and proud in your support for all trans folks right now.
We hope these gifts of lgbtqia-inspired faith will nurture your worship, activism and/or spiritual practice this Pride season.
Trans-led Bible Study June 21 and Worship June 23, from our friends at Transmission Ministry Collective
Queering the Bible series June 18 - July 16 with Wildwood, a lgbtq-centric Brethren church. Sundays at 4:00pm Pacific Time. Join in person or online here
A BMC Call to Gather
written by Annabeth Roeschley for BMC’s 40th Anniversary, 2016. Adapted.
Welcome to this place — a place where all are welcome.
Welcome to this sacred place, the walls that invite in, the table of abundance, the house of the holy;
A house made ever more holy by our persistent presence. Welcome home.
You who have come home often, and you who have not been for a very long time;
Welcome home.
You who come with joy and you who come with trepidation. Welcome home.
You who stand in the center and you who dance in the margins. Welcome home.
You with deep roots and you with fresh vision. Welcome home.
You who have gone before, you who have left, who have been left behind, pushed out;
you who are dancing elsewhere; your spirits are remembered in this home.
Here we find the most colorful god who welcomes with reckless abandon.
May we be blessed in this home!
May our bodies be blessed and at home here.
Our born bodies, Our reclaimed bodies, Our transitioning bodies.
May our inner selves be blessed and at home here.
Our whole selves, Our partial selves, Our questioning selves.
May joyfulness, passion, and love meet us here;
may this house of abundance be our dwelling forever. Welcome, and blessed be!
Pride Poems by Jaylon Tasby
Jaylon will be joining BMC for a seminary internship this Fall-Spring!
In a realm where colors intertwine,
Queer strength and beauty forever shine.
Pride fills our souls, fierce and bold,
Breaking molds, our truth unfolds.
Amidst the battles we bravely face,
Love's resilience lifts us with grace.
United, we stand, undeterred, unbowed,
Marching together, a vibrant crowd.
While heaviness weighs upon our hearts,
We'll strive to mend the world's broken parts.
With unity and love, we'll overcome,
Our queerness is power, a rising sun.
Let the flags wave, the colors soar,
Honoring lives like never before.
This Pride, we unite, celebrate with might,
Our shared fight, a beacon of light.
Warriors, hearts fierce and kind,
Love's triumph in our diverse minds.
Through challenges, we rise above,
with strength, pride, and our eternal love.
Oh, Divine Presence, hear my earnest plea,
As I gather here, I turn to thee.
In this pride month, I seek your guiding light,
To uplift the joys and heaviness in sight.
For our queer and trans community, I humbly pray,
Embrace us with love every single day.
Ease our struggles, grant us strength to cope,
Fill our hearts with courage, strength, love and hope.
For those who revel in love's sweet embrace,
Bless their unions, and shower them with grace.
Let their happiness shine, a beacon so bright,
A testament to love's transformative might.
Yet, I also acknowledge the burdens we bear,
The battles fought, the weight that we share
Grant us solace, as tears fall like rain,
Healing our wounds, releasing our pain.
In this prayer, lift our spirits high,
May we find comfort as we reach for the sky.
Grant us resilience, unwavering and strong,
To rise above, and sing liberation's song.
May this prayer be a balm for our souls,
Affirming our worth, making us whole.
In unity, I stand with unwavering pride,
Embracing the queer community worldwide.
Divine Presence, I offer this plea,
For love, acceptance, and equality to be.
In this sacred month, let hearts be set free,
As we journey together, bound in unity
