Deans' Note June 26, 2022
The summer of 1969 was a significant moment in American culture. The first human being landed on the moon, the Woodstock music festival would define a generation, and the Stonewall uprising became a landmark event in the LGBTQ movement.
Every June we celebrate Stonewall as a time when LGBTQ folks joined the other movements for freedom and equality that had already been emerging in America. While St. John's was active in working for the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the church early on, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles made a public stand as then Bishop Fred Borsch took part in the annual Pride parade in West Hollywood thirty years ago.
We make these prophetic stands not because the cultural winds blow in one direction or the other, but because we believe the Gospel presents a vision of the heavenly city where the full tapestry of God's amazingly diverse creation is revealed.
We live in a time where, once again, the voices of exclusion and fear seek to dominate our cultural discourse. The movements towards a more inclusive society are being threatened by violent speech and violent actions. Freedoms we have begun to take for granted are being called into question. So it's more important than ever to stand together as God's people to proclaim the vision of God's kingdom of love and justice. That's why it continues to be central to our mission to celebrate our diversity at St. John's; that we can be one people because we share one Lord, one faith, one baptism. As children of God redeemed and marked by the same risen Jesus who leads us into the future.
