At the forefront of this year’s San Diego Parade, LGBTQ open and affirming interfaith leaders will march together in solidarity to show their support for LGBTQ equality and justice. The Pride Parade begins Saturday, July 15 at 11:00 AM at the Hillcrest Pride Flag. Attendance is free.
LGBTQ equal protections are coming under attack across the country with so-called “religious liberty” bills. We as the LGBTQ community know that supporting religious freedom and LGBTQ equality is not inherently contradictory. We want to kick off the parade with a message directly aimed at anti-LGBT legislation that is popping up around the country.
“Faith plays a vital role in the lives of many people including the LGBTQ community,” said Fernando Lopez, Direcor of Operations for San Diego Pride. “Pride gives us an opportunity to show our community that leaders of faith stand with us, and to highlight the fact that protecting religious freedom means protecting LGBTQ rights, not chipping them away.”
More than 50 interfaith leaders have signed up to be at the forefront of San Diego Pride’s annual Parade to show their support for LGBTQ rights. These interfaith leaders will be carrying a banner that reads “Faith for Freedom: Interfaith Leaders for LGBTQ Justice”.
“In our Christian Scriptures, the author of 1 Corinthians reminds us that we are—all of us—part of one body,” said Reverend Mary Sue Brookshire of Pioneer Ocean View United Church of Christ. “When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. When one part rejoices, we all rejoice. Sadly, the Christian church has inflicted suffering on its own body in the ways we have harmed the LGBTQIA community. But on July 15, we come together as people of different religions to celebrate the ways that our faith unites us in our commitment to love and have justice for all.”
Our hope is to highlight the ever-growing group of clergy, tribes, synagogues, churches, mosques, people of faith and their groups who feel called to stand up for religious freedom and the protection of our LGBTQ community.
If you are an interfaith leader interested in representing Pride, please visit the registration form here: form.jotform.com/70945857080969.
Find more information about the parade at www.sdpride.org/parade.
Invite your friends on Facebook here.
Chloe Janda is San Diego Pride's Public Relations Manager and an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. She oversees the media relations and content creation for Pride's festival and parade, and some events and programs throughout the year. She is also the Public Relations & Communications Coordinator at Brown Marketing Strategies. Outside of Pride, Chloe plays Masters Water Polo, is an avid podcast listener, standup comedy fan, beach lover and social media junkie.
