Equality MySpace Pride Month Contest

Story Two: BRENDA BURROWS

40 years old, Bisexual, Female
Location: New Hampshire  Myspace: www.myspace.com/ramblingwriter


Why Pride Events Are Important

What a blessing that I was able to go to Southern Maine Pride! Not being the parade walking type,(I am disabled), I manned the information group for my church, St. Francis of Assisi (part of the American Catholic Church of New England). Some of my job was letting people know that yes, we really are a catholic church, and that everyone is welcome. I talked to people who had left the Roman Church years ago, but who still felt that they were, in thier hearts, Catholic. It was very humbling and rewarding to see people point out our parade banner, to talk with our Bishop, and to realize they are no longer lost sheep, because God has provided this wonderful church for them. Some were gay, some straight, some curious...a broad mix of people.

I believe that there will always be a need for Pride events, just as there will always be a need for MLK Day, holocoust rememberances and Sept. 11th services. I believe this because each year there is a new generation that needs to be taught our history and our past. I felt a kinship at Pride with so many people - a young pagan man only in his 20's, a buddist fellow also working a table, the Official King of the event, Stephon...and so many more!

We have to ensure that the story of GLBT discrimination, and our struggle as humans to rise above it, is told over and over each year so that future generations will know that the freedoms they enjoy now were hard fought by brave and intrepid souls. We need events like Pride to remind us that we are all one human family, and those of us who are (and those yet to be born that will be) GLBT are deserving of humankind's caring and respect. We need Pride as much as our african american friends need Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and as much as the Jewish people need to remember the Shoah. It is in learning about each other, caring about each other, and loving each other that we can work toward a more perfect union.

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