Pray for Pride

This is written by Adam Roberts.
Tomorrow is Pride is in its fiftieth year. A day set aside to remember and celebrate the queer community and our contributions to the flourishing of humanity.

As you can see in the photo, I went to Pride last year to spread love for everyone. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who related to my sign and cried, hugged me and said: “thank you!” Or “apology accepted” Or “I didn't realise there was a church that accepted us.”

I’d love you to join me in praying for Pride.

Dear God,

We pray for those that feel that they need to choose between themselves or their faith. May they know that they are unconditionally loved for who they are and are who God created them to be. We pray for LGBT people who desperately want to know you and to come to church but feel like they are not allowed to because of who they are. Lord, give them the courage to open themselves to you so they can experience your Holy Spirit, your overwhelming love and your undeniable presence in their lives. Help us to be a welcoming presence at Pride and bridge the gap between the queer community and the church.

Once again we’ve seen the often violent persecution and discrimination of LGBT people in the media in recent weeks. We pray for peace during the day and safe journeys home for everyone. There is often so much fear, and anxiety surrounding a day like Pride. We pray that love and acceptance speak louder than fear and hate.

We want to thank you for the LGBT Christians in our church and in other churches who will be at Pride to celebrate and offer solidarity. Thank you for their strength, compassion, love, patience and grace that is so often taken for granted. We pray that you keep moving within the LGBT community, God. That there would be a huge revival/revelation/realisation of your unconditional love for them, just as much as your unconditional love for every other person you’ve created. That they would no longer feel “less than” everyone else in the church, but know that they are just as loved as anyone else.

We also pray especially for the incredible LGBT Christians within our church at the moment. We thank you for the amazing gifts and qualities that they bring to our church. Jesus, we thank you for them, would you bless them and we bless all that you’re doing in their lives.
Help us to be a church that continues to welcome and embrace everyone and that we would experience growth and see the fruit of diversity in our church.

Amen.

Please pray for us tomorrow. If you’d like to join us tomorrow at Pride in solidarity we’d love that! The @stmaryslondon Instagram account will give more information about where we will be.
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