Together in FAITH, United in PRIDE, Rooted in LOVE (June 29, 2025)
Sermon title: Together in FAITH,
United in PRIDE, Rooted in LOVE
Scriptures: 2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 and
Luke 9:51-62
Date: June 29, 2025
Location: Broadway UMC Chicago
(Pre-Pride Worship Service, hosted by CCWC)
[Opening]
Good morning. What a joy to be here with you in Chicagoland—a place alive with
resilience, creativity, and courage. As we approach Pride, we gather under a
banner that says: Together in FAITH, United in PRIDE, Rooted in LOVE.
This isn’t just a theme—it’s a declaration. A reminder that no matter who
we love, how we identify ourselves, or where we come from, we are never alone
on this journey.
[FAITH]
In 2 Kings, when the prophet Elijah’s time is near, his companion Elisha
refuses to leave him. “As surely as the Lord lives... I will not leave you,”
he says. And when Elijah is taken, Elisha picks up his mantle and boldly asks,
“Where is the God of Elijah?” The water was parted—because faith moves
mountains, and sometimes rivers. And we can walk through.
That story echoes the testimonies we’ve just heard from Ellie, from Juan, and
from so many of our own lives. When institutions fail us, when people walk
away, we don’t give up. We hold each other up. That’s what faith looks like—not
blind belief, but fierce solidarity. It’s choosing to stay when the world tells
us to leave.
[PRIDE]
In Luke, Jesus “sets his face toward Jerusalem.” He moves forward, knowing the
risks. And when people say, “Wait, let me go back,” Jesus says, “Follow me.”
Jesus isn’t being harsh—he’s being urgent. Love can’t wait. Justice can’t be
delayed.
That urgency lives here, too. In Chicagoland, churches are forming wider, bold
coalitions—sacred spaces where no one has to hide. For instance, five
churches help LGBTQ teens launch the Pride Festival in Park Ridge, Illinois,
the second year! Two of the five churches are members of our coalition, Park
Ridge Community Church and First United Methodist Church of Park Ridge![1] We’re
not waiting anymore. Even if some doors close, we open wider ones. Living out
our pride means walking with courage, even when it costs us.
[A Word on Now –
Love]
We also have to speak the truth: we are living in a time of threat.
From policies like Project 2025 to rising attacks on queer and trans lives—these
aren’t just political issues; they’re assaults on dignity, on spirit.
To be rooted in LOVE is to act. It means showing up in public, in prayer, and
in protest. Just two weeks ago, many of us took to the streets for No
Kings Day[2]—one
of the largest single-day protests in American history. That’s love in motion.
We don’t wait for permission. We don’t stand back. We pick up the mantle—and we
move forward.
[Conclusion]
Like Elisha, we carry the work. Like Jesus, we face forward.
So today, as we sing, march, witness, and pray—we do it all:
Together in FAITH, United in PRIDE, and Rooted in LOVE.
And we are not going back. Amen.
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