Pride

If you are looking for a faith community that celebrates who you are, the congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis, the Episcopal Church in Central and Southern Indiana, look forward to welcoming you and accompanying you on your spiritual journey.

We welcome occasional visitors, lifelong members, and guests alike.

From Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows

We believe, “God loves you. No exceptions.” The Diocese of Indianapolis is a beautiful community where all of God’s beloved find a home regardless of gender or sexual identity or expression. We have a legacy and a witness of full inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human. If you identify as LGBTQIA+ know that we celebrate you not only during Pride but every day of the year. You are beloved, made in the image of God, and the Diocese of Indianapolis is incomplete without you.

What We Believe

We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As constituent members of the Anglican Communion in the United States, we are descendants of and partners with the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, and are part of the third largest group of Christians in the world.

We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world.

We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.

We believe:

Pride FAQs

Adapted and condensed from the Rev. Susan Russell

No. Sins are acts that separate us from God and keep us from loving our neighbors as ourselves. Being gay is not a sin. Bullying is a sin. Being hateful to other people is a sin. Being gay is not.

Jesus said the same thing about LGBTQ+ people that he said about all people: God loves you beyond your wildest imagining and calls you to walk in love with God and with each other.

The short answer is no, it does not. The handful of passages in the Old and New Testaments that talk about God condemning specific sexual acts have nothing whatsoever to do with sexual orientation and instead speak to other situations of their time.

The same place all God’s beloved children fit in: in the center of God’s care, love and desire for health and wholeness for every single human being.

Sexual orientation and gender identity are not barriers to leadership at any level, lay or ordained, in the Episcopal Church.

How to Respond

God loves sinners, and we are all sinners. Sexual identity is not sin. Our identities – sexual and gender – are gifts from God because they are how God created us to live and love. God loves everyone, and there’s nothing we can do to change that.

Tell them that Jesus said nothing about being gay, but he said a lot of things about judging other people. The “choice” is not to be gay, straight or somewhere in between; the “choice” is to build our own healthy relationships — and give other people the grace to build theirs.

Daily Pride Prayers for LGBTQ+ Individuals and Allies

Adapted and condensed from the Book of Common Prayer (1979)

IN THE MORNING

Scripture: By God’s great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3

Prayer: O God, you have brought us in safety to this new day: preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not be overcome by adversity, and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose. Amen.

AT NOON

Scripture: O God, you will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are fixed on you; for in returning and rest we shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be our strength. Isaiah 26:3, 30:15

Prayer: Merciful Creator, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts, to direct us according to your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth. Amen

IN THE EVENING

Scripture: The same God who said, “Out of darkness let light shine,” has caused God’s light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation – the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

Prayer: Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen.

AT THE CLOSE OF THE DAY

Scripture: Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and my stronghold. Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O God of truth. Psalm 31:3, 5

Prayer: Keep watch, O God, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, O Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen

FOR OUR ENEMIES

O God whose Son commanded us to love our enemies: Lead them and us from prejudice to truth; deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge; and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

FOR SERENITY[1]

Jesus, let your mighty calmness lift me above my fears and frustrations. By your deep patience, give me tranquility and stillness of soul in you. Make me in this, and in all, more and more like you. Amen.

THANKSGIVING FOR OUR NAMES[2]

Holy One of blessing, you created us in your image and pronounced us good. We give you thanks for the gift of life itself. We thank you for our individual names, which connect us to the One who spoke all creation into being. We rejoice in our shared calling to the ministry of reconciliation. God of transformations, you set us free to change and grow, even while you hold us close in love and grace. Send us forth to love and serve you, in Christ’s holy Name. Amen.

FOR THE CELEBRATION OF PRIDE[3]

We bless you that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that we are your beloved rainbow tribe. Grant us the courage to tell our truth, to honor ourselves, to love our neighbors, and to share your grace with a world aching for healing. We pray because of Jesus, who shows us the way. Amen.

[1] From Enriching Our Worship 2, page 77
[2] From “A service of renaming,” Book of Occasional Services 2022, page 153
[3] From “Pride Sunday: Prayers of the People,” Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. www.diocesela.org

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