A Picnic At Pride

By Stephen Price, AWAB

I’ve had almost 24 hours to reflect on my first experience helping to represent Baptists at the D.C. Capital Pride Parade.  That’s probably not near enough time for the reflection I want to be doing, but it’s a start.  And when I was invited to write for the blog, I decided that the sooner I did that, the more focused my reflection would be. So here goes:

The most moving thing to me about this experience was offering communion to the Baptists gathered to walk, other church groups represented at the parade, and participants who were curious as to what we were doing and then wanted to share communion with us.

We gathered in a circle of Baptist friends from area churches: AWAB churches Commonwealth and Ravensworth from Virginia; Alliance church Broadneck from Annapolis; AWAB Chair Jill McCrory; and some other friends and supporters.  As we broke the bread we remembered and stated that Jesus did not bar anyone from that first meal. There were those there who would betray Him, those who would deny Him, those who would abandon Him….and He served them all. As a model for our inclusion of others at the Table, this is powerful stuff.

After we served each other a group of us went out to offer communion to others. It was interesting to see which other church groups welcomed communion with us, and which shied away a bit. Most surprising was the group of Mormons for Marriage Equality that was walking in the parade and eagerly shared communion with us and thanked us for offering it to them.

Finally, I was struck by how many of the participants in the parade wanted communion. One woman said to us, “I haven’t taken communion in over 10 years.”  What must this mean to her? What is it like to feel that you are unwelcome at Jesus’ Table because of your sexual orientation?

Maybe this is the best place to start new conversations with fellow Christians who are unsure where they come down around the issues of openness and inclusion: Is Jesus’ Table open to everyone?  Forget about all the political stuff for a bit. Forget about whatever reactions folks might have to various expressions of lifestyle. Just ask the question, Is Jesus’ Table open to everyone?  What will happen if we ask the questions about openness and inclusion through the light of Jesus’ life in the Gospels?

My guess is that we may find ourselves carrying the Table out into the world more and more. That we’ll find ourselves “taking the sacrament to the street.” Military chaplains do this all the time on the battlefield … serving communion in the midst of combat.  Should we be doing any less?

I’m wondering where my reflections will take me in the weeks ahead. They’re already moving me in directions I never imagined.

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Image courtesy of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists