Dear Friends,
The month of June is Pride Month. It is a time to open our hearts and our minds to the needs of the LGBTQ+ Community. Throughout the month of June, events are held across the globe to raise awareness, express solidarity and celebrate, but celebrating Pride cannot happen without acknowledging its roots.
Pride Month honors the Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan in 1969. At this point in history, “homosexual acts” were considered illegal across the country. Shamefully, raids on LGBTQ-inclusive spaces were very common. The resistance to a police raid on a gay bar in New York City later became known as the Stonewall Uprising. This uprising was a tipping point and from it emerged the gay liberation movement in the U.S. A year later, on June 28, 1970, the first Pride parade started at the Stonewall Inn. This became the impetus for a global movement that continues to elevate the LGBTQ+ community around the world.
Join us this Friday night for a special Shabbat service in the spirit of Pride Month. During this service, special mediations and musical pieces will shape our worship as we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community within our congregation and beyond.
L’Shalom,
Steve