Overview
This is a ritual for Pride, published in Blessing It All. It could be done as part of a congregational worship service, or by a group of congregation members before going to a Pride event. It could also be used as a stand-alone ritual, to provide a spiritual and religious LGBTQ+-affirming space within the Pride festivities of the larger community. It is a time for prayers of protection and celebration, a time to send others and ourselves off with armor and joy. It is a blessing for, of, and by the LGBTQ+ community. The authors co-created this ritual out of their lived experience as queer clergywomen who love both blessings and parties.
Materials
- Altar table
- Glitter gel
Setup
Give special attention to how to center LGBTQ+ community members without putting them on display. Invite them to participate (as they are willing) in planning and leading this ritual, particularly if you are an ally rather than a member of the LGBTQ+ community yourself.
The responsive litany in particular should be led by a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
If this ritual is taking place outside, find space that will not be in the way of pedestrians to set up an altar and have enough space for participants to gather. Make some seating available. Use a sound system, and be aware of competing noise; many Pride events are quite loud! If you have a larger group, you can invite helpers to assist you in offering blessings.
Script
Opening Words
[This section may need to be modified if using this ritual as part of a larger congregational worship service.]
Welcome to our Pride blessing! [If you are doing this ritual as a faith community, name your community here.] Whether you’ve been here before or not, welcome! Whether you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally, welcome! Here, we’ll share some words and music together, and then we’ll have an opportunity for you to receive a glitter blessing. However you name and understand the divine, you are welcome in this community of precious, powerful LGBTQ+ siblings and allies!
Reading
“A Protest and a Party” by Hannah Roberts Villnave
Song
“How Could Anyone” by Libby Roderick [#1053 in Singing the Journey]
Please join us in singing “How Could Anyone.” This song was written by Libby Roderick, an Alaskan singer-songwriter, poet, activist, and teacher. It has been used around the world in spaces where people needed to honor and be reminded of their wholeness. We will sing it three times in the course of this ceremony.
[Lead participants in singing.]
Responsive Litany
Please join us in a litany of blessing. Your response will be “We are precious and we are powerful.” Let’s try that now!
[Lead participants in reciting “We are precious and we are powerful.” Cue them by gesture for each subsequent recitation.]
Leader: We come from fierce freedom fighters.
From the survivors and the dead of the HIV crisis,
who organized and fought for their lives.
From the Black Kings and Queens who ruled the ballroom,
who insisted we dance even amidst death and devastation.
From these ancestors, we learn:
Participants: We are precious, and we are powerful.
Leader: With the tenderhearted butches and the powerful femmes
With the strong twinks and the soft bears
With all the complexities that live within each of us
We know that we are whole, just as we are:
Participants: We are precious, and we are powerful.
Leader: From the Black dykes, the trans Chicana sisters, the Boricua bois,
And every other sibling who is told they can’t bring their full self to queer community,
From them, we learn:
Participants: We are precious, and we are powerful.
Leader: To the elders who’ve seen it all
To those with one toe out of the closet
To those who are still in it
To those who tore down the closet altogether, we say:
Participants: We are precious, and we are powerful.
Leader: In the face of hatred,
In the faces of those who deny our wholeness
We root ourselves in the truth we know:
Participants: We are precious, and we are powerful.
Leader: From the dance floor to the Capitol rotunda,
From our kitchen tables to the White House,
From jail cells to classrooms to pulpits,
Whether whispered or shouted,
We will and do proclaim:
Participants: We are precious, and we are powerful.
Song
Let us sing together, again, “How Could Anyone.”
[Lead participants in singing.]
Glitter Blessing
Today we offer a glitter blessing, a recognition of the sacred beauty inherent in every person.
Glitter has long been a symbol for the LGBTQ+ movement of gritty, sparkly hope in the face of prejudice and oppression, of joy and pride in the face of hatred and bigotry.
Glitter is resilient and tenacious. The briefest beam of sunlight causes it to shine out even in the dustiest and dreariest of spaces, and its beauty comes from its brokenness.
Glitter sparkles because it is many different broken pieces coming together, changing in every moment as the light changes.
This glitter that we share with each other today is a reminder that each of us is beautiful in our sacred imperfection, our ever-changing selves, our glorious plurality.
As we play some music, you are invited to come forward, show us where on your face, neck, arm, or hand you would like to receive your glitter blessing, and then circle back to your seat. If you cannot come forward today and wish to receive this blessing, please raise your hand and one of us will come to you.
[As each person comes up, give them a small smear of glitter and say something like “May you sparkle inside and out,” “You are fabulous, keep shining on,” “Remember, you are made of star stuff,” or “May the beauty that you are shine as bright as the stars.” Be sure to not put glitter too close to anyone’s eyes or where someone with physical disabilities might accidentally swipe it into their eyes or mouth. People who have severe disabilities may do better with the glitter on their upper arms or on their neck. Once all who wish it have received the blessing, continue.]
I invite you to pause with me, as we come to the close of this ritual. Look around at all the beautiful shining faces that surround you, at the amazing thing that is our blessed bodies gathered in this sacred space together. Everybody in this space and beyond it is a holy thing, every person a sacred being made of stardust.
Take a moment, now, just to marvel at how extra glittery we are today, how fabulous we are.
[Pause.]
Song
Let us sing once more together “How Could Anyone.”
[Lead participants in singing.]
Closing Words
As we go forth, I offer you this final blessing.
May you receive and reflect love, everywhere you go, and know—in your deepest heart and in every day—you matter and you belong.
May you hold on to hope and your inner sparkle even when discouragement and despair beckon.
May the beauty that is you shine out, bright as the stars from which we came and to which we will return.
Together may we make this a place of welcome and healing, of connection and plurality.
Together may we practice compassion and courage, seeing and celebrating and supporting each other.
Together may we be the sparkling force of love that our world needs.
Blessed by this community and by the divine, go forth and celebrate with pride!