Pride and Acceptance

Initially, I was going to entitle this edition, ‘Pride and Prejudice’, however, I thought that might lead down a rabbit hole I’m not prepared to deal with.  On reflection, I believe that ‘Pride and Acceptance’ is more on point. 

On Saturday, Lorna and I attended the Pride Parade in Charlottetown.  We had planned to join the contingent with St. Paul’s Anglican Church as we did the last time the parade was held.  However, due to unforeseen circumstances, they were not able to be in the Parade this year.  However, we joined in with others and had a great time celebrating diversity and acceptance in Canadian society today.

Despite the exceptionally hot weather (for P.E.I.), there was a celebratory and positive attitude throughout.  That attitude was mirrored in the people that lined the route with people waving and responding to calls of “Happy Pride”.  And that truly was the feeling all along the route.  I had some concern that there might be people present who had a different attitude to the communities represented in the Parade.  However, there was no evidence of that, to which I give a loud Hallelujah.

When I reflect on the current situation with gender rights and acceptance, I am truly amazed at how far this journey has come in Canada and many other parts of the Western world in a relatively short time.  Lorna and I just finished rewatching the series Mad Men here at the cottage.  For those who aren’t familiar with the series, it is set in the United States in the Fifties and Sixties in the world of advertising.  In many ways, it is an accurate reflection of attitudes in those times in the U.S. and Canada to homosexuality and women and race, The only non-white people were eventually hired in the business as secretaries; women were beginning to have a presence in the business in small ways being faced with sexism and prejudice; gays and lesbians were certainly well ensconced in the closet and if they were outed, they suffered the consequences.

Those advances have been wonderful to live through in my lifetime and the acceptance in a place such as P.E.I. which is in some ways still fairly socially conservatives, is very gratifying.  The local weekly newspaper was filled with notices from politicians and businesses wishing people a Happy Pride Week.  However, there are troubling signs of a backlash with the rise of right-wing populism in Canada following the events in the United States with the overturning of reproductive rights and the potential threat to same-sex marriage and even contraceptive rights. 

Martin Luther King noted that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  I believe fervently that the gains reflected in the Pride Parade on Saturday are evidence of that moral universe bending towards justice and I will continue to do what I can to support and walk on that journey.  May you be blessed on your journey.

Happy Pride

This week, I am dipping my toe into waters that can be troubled at times.  This is something that I do not do easily as it is against my nature to be controversial.  However, sometimes that is where I am called to journey. 

Last Saturday, Lorna and I marched in what was the first Gay Pride Parade that we have participated in.  This one marked the twenty-fifth Gay Pride Parade in Charlottetown, PEI, so, it was an occasion we both wanted to participate in.  We both found it to be a lot of fun and very positive. 

We joined the contingent of parishioners from St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Charlottetown which has been represented in the parade for quite a few years.  Our participation was welcomed by them and I felt quite at home as part of that group which was led by Archdeacon John Clarke.  I inquired about the history of the parade and found out that the first one was more of a protest rather than a parade, protesting unjust laws in Canada and PEI.  I wasn’t able to find out much about the first 

parade/protest, however, I’m sure this year’s event was in sharp contrast.  There were approximately one thousand people who marched in the parade with participants which seemed to cover many aspects of life on PEI including community groups, businesses, political parties including the newly elected Progressive Conservative Premier Dennis King, and of course churches.

Police were included in the event, with the RCMP, who do much of the policing on the Island, ensured things went smoothly for participants, and traffic control on the streets was handled by the Charlottetown Police – a division of duties that seemed to work well.  I asked Archdeacon John about the relationship between the Parade organizers and the police and he informed me that it was a positive one.  This is, unfortunately, different from the relationship between the Pride Parade in Toronto and the police who have had a less than positive relationship with the parade over the years. 

The general atmosphere was one of joy and celebration with a very positive feeling between those in the parade and the bystanders who lined the route.  There was no one along the route who seemed to be in active opposition to the event.  I’m sure this would have been a sharp contrast to the parade twenty-five years ago.

I was very glad to have been part of the contingent from St. Paul’s Church and equally glad that the participants of churches were welcomed by the Parade organizers.  The relationship between organized religion and the Gay and Lesbian Community (as I first knew it) or 2SLGBTQIA as they inclusively self-identify – has been and continues to be a troubled one.  The Anglican Church of Canada continues to struggle with the issue of same-sex marriage/blessing.  The national meeting, General Synod, recently did not pass an amendment to the Marriage Canon (law) which would have included same-sex couples.  This failed by the slimmest of margins passing with strong majorities in two of three houses of Laity and Clergy but barely failing to reach the required two-thirds majority in the House of Bishops.  However, General Synod also passed a motion which allowed for a “local option” for Dioceses to permit same-sex marriage with the agreement of the Bishop.  Perhaps this was the latest example of Anglican middle way.

This continues to be trouble waters and perhaps it is a case of a fool rushing in whether or not angels fear to tread.  To make my position clear, I have strongly supported enabling same-sex couples to marry both civilly and in the church based on many years of knowing gay and lesbian people and their struggles to live full and fulfilled and God-filled lives in our culture.  Same sex marriage has been allowed civilly in Canada since 2005 and the results of this has been, in my view, very positive for those involved and for the country.  It is indeed still an issue which generates strong feelings on all sides of the issue.  My hope and prayer is that we in the Anglican Church and beyond can strive to “disagree in love” as our just retired Primate (head of the Canadian Church), Archbishop Fred Hiltz called for us to do.  Perhaps if we take this approach, we can find that bridge over those troubled waters that Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel sang about so beautifully. 

Blessings on your journey