Interfaith Blessing for Medford PRIDE Flag Raising and Festival
Rev. Wendy Miller Olapade, Sanctuary UCC – Medford Interfaith Clergy
Beloved friends and family – Happy Pride.
Before I offer this blessing, I wonder if you would repeat after me – “Neighbor – You are beloved – Just as you are.” Now, turn to a person standing next to you – and please let;s make sure that no one is left out – and repeat after me, “Neighbor – You are beloved – Just as you are!” Now, say it again, just for good measure… Has everyone been told? Great, and thank you. This is community. This is Medford. This is love!
~~~
As we prepare to lift this sacred flag high above City Hall and step into a month of celebration, connection, and community, let us pause, gather our hearts in gratitude and hope – and begin with a word of blessing.
We give thanks for the voices and hearts that have spoken before us today—leaders, neighbors, and witnesses who have shared stories of truth, resilience, and joy. May their courage and compassion continue to ripple out beyond this stage and into the streets of our shared lives.
We remember and honor the fierce and faithful lineage of Pride—the rebels of Stonewall, the ballroom walkers, the frontline AIDS activists, the artists, healers, faith leaders, drag queens, truth-tellers—the joyful elders and ancestors who risked everything so that we might live more freely. Their bodies, breath, and brilliance built a path of liberation and pride. May we carry their legacy in our bones, walk in their footsteps, and carry their dreams forward.
We bless this flag—this bright tapestry of truth and belonging:
- Red for life
- Orange for healing
- Yellow for sunlight
- Green for nature
- Blue for harmony & serenity
- Violet for spirit
- Black and Brown to honor the Black, Brown, and Indigenous LGBTQIA+ communities whose lives and leadership matter deeply and who have often borne the heaviest burdens of injustice
- Light Blue, Pink, and White to uplift our beloved transgender and gender-expansive siblings, who continue to face daily threats to their safety, dignity, and existence
Let this flag remind us that no identity is too much, no life is expendable, and no person is outside the reach of love.
We offer a special blessing today for all LGBTQIA+ community members whose safety is less certain than it should be.
- For trans youth and adults facing bans and violence.
- For queer people of color navigating compounded systems of oppression.
- For immigrants,
- for elders,
- for those who are out—
- and, for all those who can not safely be.
May you know protection.
May you know peace.
May you know pride that runs deeper than any slogan or parade.
May our city be not just a place that flies a flag, but a place that lives into what the flag means:
- Welcome.
- Justice.
- Joy.
- Liberation.
- For everyone. And for every body.
And now, as we move toward the raising of the flag and the festival ahead—with pets, vendors, music, and celebration—
May God bless you and keep you.
May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May God’s presence be with you and give you peace—
in every hue, in every season, on every street, on every step of the journey, and in every heart.
May we be love.
Amen. Ashe. Shalom. And so it is.
