If you want to understand the theological fault lines running through American religion, look no further than your own back yard.
This Sunday, eight local congregations will join together to celebrate Pride with a special ecumenical service at New England Congregational Church in Aurora before the annual Pride Parade in the city’s downtown. Other churches will keep their distance. Some will object.
All of them believe they are acting faithfully. And that reality says as much about the complexity of today’s faith communities as it does about the controversy itself.
Indeed, some approach Pride Month with caution or theological concern as they hold that aspects of LGBTQ identity, relationships or advocacy conflict with their interpretation of scripture and longstanding religious teachings. But those participating in this planned Sunday ecumenical service see it as an expression of welcome, an opportunity to affirm LGBTQ neighbors and demonstrate they have a place within the church.
New England Congregational in Aurora, under now-retired Pastor Gary McCann, has been at the forefront of this advocacy. But his replacement, the Rev. Brandon Perrine, has followed in those footsteps, even widening that path with the first pre-parade ecumenical celebration in 2022.
Even though the congregation is proud of being the “first church” to march in the 2018 Aurora Pride Parade – and in fact, was part of the effort to get approval of the parade from the city – Perrine told me that, rather than view themselves as “trailblazers,” they are “simply amplifying the historic voices of our tradition,” which included the abolitionist and suffrage movements in the 19th century, and more recently, advocacy for people with disabilities and full LGBTQ inclusion.
In addition to New England Congregational, other churches taking part in Sunday’s Pride celebration are Wesley United Methodist, St. Mark’s Lutheran and Temple B’nai Israel, all of Aurora; Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva; Beth Shalom of Naperville; and Becoming of Oswego.
The 10 a.m. service at the church is preceded by a “Pridecakes Breakfast” at 9 a.m., followed by a practice for the “pop-up choir” that will perform during the service. Then, at 10:45 a.m., attendees will walk together to the downtown parade, which begins at noon, where they can join the New England Congregational marchers or form their own constituency.
According to Gwyn Ciesla, president of Aurora Pride, there have always been a large number of faith groups participating in the parade, which “has been gradually trending upward since 2018.”
At least 13 churches and a synagogue are signed up for Sunday’s event, but that number is likely closer to 20, said Ciesla, because some will be part of “multiple churches marching together.”
The uptick does not come as a surprise to the handful of faith leaders I spoke with, given the shift in mainline churches toward LGBTQ inclusivity over the past couple of decades, which has caused significant denominational fractures.
The notable exceptions to this more progressive trend are Southern Baptist and other evangelical/conservative denominations, which reinforce traditional positions: That scripture is the inspired authoritative word of God, and its teachings on sexuality and marriage – understood to be between one man and one woman – can’t be revised to fit changing social attitudes.
Likewise, the Catholic Church maintains that marriage is between one man and one woman and that sexual relations belong within that marriage. Still, there has been a notable shift in tone, largely flowing from Pope Francis and continuing under Leo, that embrace a warmer, more welcoming attitude toward LGBTQ communities.
In April, the new pope, in response to a media question about his predecessor’s comments on giving pastoral informal blessings to same sex couples, framed sexuality as a secondary issue, insisting justice, equality, freedom of religion and similar concerns “would all take priority” over sexuality issues.
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Leo also warned this topic “can cause more disunity than unity,” and that unity should center on Christ’s teaching rather than sexual morality debates.
Perrine concurs, noting it can become “easy for churches” to put too much emphasis on one issue.
“We are not a gay church but a church deeply committed to justice and equality,” which also encompasses those who are racially and economically marginalized, he said.
The public is invited to the Sunday morning celebration at New England Congregational, which tends to attract a large crowd, including young people who, according to church leader Rick Guzman, “appreciate the positive energy” the service provides.
“This is the thing that makes them feel most connected,” he continued. “They seem to get energized when they see faith connected to relevant issues outside the church.”