EASTON, Pa. — Months ago, the Rev. Canon Barbara Harrison Seward, Southern Canon Missioner for the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, had been conversing with LGBTQ members of the church, asking them what they felt when they saw a Pride flag.
Renee Amator, wife of Senior Warden Melissa Amator, responded with “a safe space,” an answer shared among many in the community.
“Every Sunday for the last couple of months, I've been talking about welcoming, and so I believe that to be a safe space and a welcoming place for everybody,” Seward said.
“God doesn't turn people away.”
- Trinity Episcopal Church, 234 Spring Garden St., Easton, will hold a Pride Flag raising event on Sunday, June 11
- The Rev. Canon Barbara Harrison Seward emphasized the event is not merely performative, but a message of welcoming to the LGBTQ community
- Members of Trinity Episcopal wish to show the community their church is a safe space for the LGBTQ community, regardless of their faith
And so Seward and her senior warden opted to buy a flag and arrange a raising ceremony to show those in need of a safe space that there's room in the religious community, as well, despite what many might believe.
Trinity Episcopal Church will hold a Pride Flag-raising event at 11 a.m. Sunday, June 11, at 234 Spring Garden St., Easton.
'It doesn't just sit in a book'
According to Seward, those who use religion as a justification for hate are misunderstanding the faith, as people have during other atrocities.
“You know, historically, we have known people to use scripture for slavery, for the near genocide of indigenous people, and that is not what our faith teaches," Seward said.
"And so to hear that, that causes angst. It just reminds me that we have to be more vocal in preaching the gospel, living the gospel, standing up for what we believe, because the gospel comes alive in the people.
"This is a place where I have always felt like people in my community can come and not just be tolerated, not just be seen, but be welcomed and loved on."Trinity Episcopal Church Senior Warden Melissa Amator
"It just doesn't sit in the book. It is active. And so that is what I think when I hear people misuse scripture.”
As for spreading the word of welcoming, Amator said she has truly felt embraced at Trinity Episcopal Church, where she married her partner and celebrated that union with members of her faith.
“And so, you know, this is a place where I have always felt like people in my community can come and not just be tolerated, not just be seen, but be welcomed and loved on,” Amator said.
But to overcome the barriers of the past — as many churches have been apprehensive about embracing homosexuality, while others have been outright hateful — it will require plenty of effort from the church and its members, Amator said.
“I believe very strongly that Christianity created this mess, and we need to now extricate ourselves from it,” she said.'
'It's going to take time'
At a time when allying with the LGBTQ community can spark public outrage, Seward said she and her church understand the risks of showing support, but that it is something that must be done — and not just during Pride Month.
“The LGBTQA+ community does not sit only in a month,” Seward said. “People live their lives every day. The issues, they don't stop; the attacks don't stop.”
While Sunday’s Pride Flag raising ceremony certainly is a step in the right direction, Trinity Episcopal officials say dedication to the movement in the church is integral.
“It's really at this point about visibility. I mean, I could go stand out there on the street corner and say, ‘Hey, come to our church. We welcome everybody. No, really we mean it this time.’ But it's going to take time, and the more visible faith communities are in this, the more we get into the fight, the more we stand up to injustice.”Renee Amator
So Trinity Episcopal is looking to the future, and the possibility of holding an interfaith Pride ceremony this summer to further embrace the community.
A 2020 Gallup Daily Tracking Survey showed about half of all LGBTQ adults in the United States at the time identified as religiously affiliated, totaling 5.3 million people across the country, many of whom had been ostracized from their faith because of their sexuality.
The hope is that those in the LGBTQ community who have left the church because of outdated attitudes toward their lives will see what facilities of faith such as Trinity Episcopal are doing and understand that the message of acceptance isn’t just performative.
“It's really at this point about visibility,” Amator said. “I mean, I could go stand out there on the street corner and say, ‘Hey, come to our church. We welcome everybody. No, really we mean it this time.’
"But it's going to take time, and the more visible faith communities are in this, the more we get into the fight, the more we stand up to injustice.”
Message of love and acceptance
Seward added that the safe space offered at the church is not limited to believers — in fact, there is no expectation of joining at all; it simply wishes to welcome those in need of acceptance, love and community.
“Even if they are non-believers, and they want to come up here, they won't be turned away," Seward said.
"You know, we're not trying to indoctrinate people and say, ‘Oh, come sit in our pews, and we want your pledge.' That's not what this is about."
“You can burn the flag, we'll just put another one out. We're not backing down."Renee Amator
As for the Pride flag, a symbol that both unites a community and draws ire from others, Amator said nothing can stop the church from welcoming those of the LGBTQ community into their fold, regardless of their beliefs.
And that sentiment extends to any who wish to fight against their message of love and acceptance, pillars of the faith exhibited by the actors and actions of Trinity Episcopal.
“You can burn the flag, we'll just put another one out," Amator said. "We're not backing down."
