By Maddie LaBrecque,
June is a time of warmer weather and fresh beginnings as we enter upon the summer season. June is also Pride Month, a time which celebrates the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 that sparked the modern-day LGBT rights movement. Pride is often depicted by elaborate rainbow-themed parades and festivals as it is a celebration of our diverse community and the strides for equality that we have made in the past 50 years. It also serves as a reminder of the continued work that lies ahead of us to ensure a world free of discrimination, violence, and inequality toward the LGBTQ+ community.
As a Catholic, I believe Pride Month is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the LGBT members in our own churches. It is the perfect time to listen to their invaluable experiences and use these connections to help us grow in our own spiritual journeys. As a gay woman, Pride Month helps give me the opportunities to speak my truth, educate others, and be an example of the kind-hearted individuals that belong in our Church and deserve to feel welcomed and loved.
Historically, the LGBT community has been harshly judged and mistreated within our Church but I believe we are living through a time of unprecedented change. Support of the LGBT community has grown significantly within the Church in recent years. Through forming meaningful connections and listening to LGBT people in their lives, many Christans are starting to see and appreciate the wonderful gifts that each individual brings to the Church, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The kindness we extend to others is of the utmost importance. Doesn’t God teach us to love our neighbor, to treat each other as we ourselveswould want to be treated?
I was created in God’s image, just like everyone else. I am the best version of myself because I am living as an openly gay Christian. Living my life authentically has allowed me to fully embrace the life that God intended for me. I am pursuing a career that I am passionate about, I am surrounded by people whom I love, and I wake up each morning grateful for how far I have come. Most of these things that bring me joy would be next to meaningless if I were to live pretending to be someone I am not.
Over the years I have been blessed with many opportunities to spark change within my own community, as well as open the hearts and minds of so many friends and family members. My hope for Pride Month, as always, is to continue this work in spreading a message of love, compassion, kindness, tolerance, and respect towards all God’s children, no matter what.
Maddie is a senior nursing student at St. Joseph’s College of Maine. She serves as the President of the College’s Gay Straight Transgender Alliance. She currently works as a Nursing Assistant in the Intensive Care Unit at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine and hopes to continue her career in nursing as a Critical Care Nurse after graduating with her BSN and RNcredentials. She lives in Biddeford with her family, dogs, Maggie and Theo, and cat, Ellie.
