This Pride Shabbat, our CRC community gathered in celebration, reflection, and renewed commitment to the sacred work of LGBTQ+ liberation.
Throughout the evening, we were reminded that Pride is not separate from our Jewish tradition. Our texts, our stories, and our people have always held a vision of sacredness beyond binaries, a vision rooted in dignity, expansiveness, and the image of the Divine reflected in every human being.
We were honored to welcome our featured guest speaker, Katy Erker-Lynch, Executive Director of PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization. Katy shared about PROMO’s vital work across Missouri, including deep canvassing efforts that build connection, counter misinformation, and change hearts and minds through honest, human conversation.
Katy reminded us that Missouri is not a place to give up on. It is a place where justice work is urgently needed, where LGBTQ+ people and families deserve safety and belonging, and where communities of faith have an essential role to play in standing against the weaponization of religion and the targeting of trans and nonbinary people.
Pride began as protest, and it continues as joy, resilience, grief, courage, and action. At CRC, we are proud to be a community where LGBTQ+ people are not merely welcomed, but celebrated; not merely included, but cherished; not merely supported, but recognized as teachers, leaders, family, and sacred bearers of Torah.
May we continue to be one another’s light. May we keep marching toward liberation. And may our congregation remain a home where every person can live more fully, freely, and truthfully.
Happy Pride. Shabbat shalom.