What Does Pride Mean to Me?: Love My Neighbor

What Does Pride Mean to Me?
Love My Neighbor

Sara Osborn, member of St. John's Church of Baldwin, Kansas

“My faith calls me to love my neighbor, and being an ally is an important way I choose to live out that calling.”

When asked what Pride means to me as an ally and a person of faith, I wasn't sure what I was going to say or how to put it into words.

As an adult, one of my goals in life has been to help people recognize their worth and learn to love themselves. When someone tells me they are a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I want them to know that I am in their corner. I want them to know they are valued, respected, and loved.

Being a person of faith has taught me that every person is worthy of dignity, compassion, and support. To me, being an ally means showing up for people, listening to them, standing beside them, and speaking up when they are treated unfairly.

I know I have lost a few friends and probably caused some relatives to look at me differently because I am an ally. Do I care? No. What matters more to me is that members of the LGBTQ+ community know there are people who support them, care about them, and will stand with them.

Pride, for me, is about celebrating people for who they are and reminding them that they do not have to walk alone. My faith calls me to love my neighbor, and being an ally is an important way I choose to live out that calling.