The month of June has historically marked the celebration of GLBTQ Pride in the U.S. since 1970, when the first Pride parade was held in New York City to commemorate the Stonewall Riots there a year earlier. Originally, the event was known as "Gay Liberation Day." During the 1980's, the GLBTQ community--reportedly under pressure from more conservative factors in society--renamed the annual commemoration "Gay Pride." President Bill Clinton was the first to officially proclaim each June "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month" in the year 2000.

Today, Pride is not only a major community-building undertaking but a significant money-making enterprise. Hundreds of thousands of people are participating in Pride events across the country, with millions of dollars being generated for local economies and various charitable organizations supported by their proceeds. It strikes me, though, that the concept of Pride has traditionally had negative connotations. Indeed, Pride is still considered one of seven "deadly" or "cardinal" sins by the Roman Catholic and other churches. Some GLBTQ Christians continue to struggle with this as they strive to come to terms with both their sexuality and their faith.

According to the Wikipedia entry on Gay Pride, the modern GLBTQ Pride movement "has three main premises: that people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity; that diversity is a gift; and that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered." This makes sense to us today, but all forms of sexuality (even heterosexual relations between married spouses for any purpose other than conceiving children) became condemned by religious leaders in the Middle Ages and have by and large remained so to this day. This has caused sex and homosexuality in particular to be enduringly stigmatized.

The concept of seven deadly sins originated in the Book of Proverbs, wherein "a proud look or appearance" is listed among seven things God is said to detest. St. Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, actually expanded this list to more than a dozen offenses! In much of the Bible, however, "pride" is used interchangeably with "haughtiness," which we might today liken to having a superiority complex. Taking pride in one's self, one's achievements and one's community does not and should not lead GLBTQ people or others to think we are somehow better than the rest of humanity. Elsewhere in the New Testament, diversity among human beings is rightly acclaimed as God's will and God's gift.

Pride has often been likened in a negative sense to "hubris," or presenting oneself as more attractive, intelligent or important than others. While individual GLBTQ people--myself included--might at times be guilty of this, it is hardly a sin that afflicts our entire community. In fact, GLBTQ individuals and organizations perform a tremendous amount of outreach and good works on behalf of the poor, the sick (especially those with HIV/AIDS) and needy children. GLBTQ residents and investors have been known to transform entire neighborhoods once in decay into renovated and vital hubs of family and community life. If we spend one weekend a year celebrating these achievements and the basic human right to love whom we want to love, I find it hard to believe that God is somehow offended so long as we don't make the mistake of blaming God for the persecutions GLBTQ people have often been subjected to by other, misguided human beings.

The traditional antidote to excessive pride is humility. It can be beneficial for all of us to take pause at times and count our blessings, the many good and concrete things we have or have achieved that could not have been gained solely by our own devices. Sure, we work hard and accumulate material possessions all on our own, but we can grow in humility when we reflect on our relationships, families, friends and those valuable things we can't possess.

Those among us who have had strict, more fundamentalist religious upbringings may feel deeply conflicted during GLBTQ Pride month. On the one hand, we want to join with and celebrate the community that has made us feel welcome and included, perhaps for the first time in our lives. On the other hand, we can beat ourselves up for finally wanting to acclaim what we were long taught to be ashamed of.

Since 1994, I have found the following prayer by theologian-psychotherapists Kathleen Fischer and Thomas Hart helpful to myself and GLBTQ people I have counseled:
"O God, I have heard it said that I should rejoice in being gay (or lesbian/bisexual/transgender); that it is good and beautiful, that it is part of your creation. That is not so easy though. I am different from the majority, and constantly made to feel it. Either I come out, and face all possible consequences, or live in hiding, protecting my secret and pretending I am something I am not. I want to believe that you love me, O God, that you have made me as I am and that you support me in the difficult life I face. That does not make it easy but it makes my life bearable, meaningful. God of human diversity, bless me, and help me to bless myself and others".

-From A Counselor's Prayer Book by Dr. K. Fischer