Denver Pride Parade!
Social Holiness Opportunities This Week:
Friends, there is a LOT going on in the world around us. So let’s start with the good stuff…
Denver PRIDE Parade!
We’re loading up the church van this Sunday (June 29) with a group from Lakewood UMC and Applewood Valley UMC to walk in Denver’s Pride Parade with a whole gaggle of United Methodists from area churches! While it may seem like a Pride Parade is just a bunch of fun and games (and, of course, it IS that!), it actually means much, much more. Why this matters: Just last week, the trans community took another blow from our nation’s judicial branch as the Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors. This comes after a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ executive orders put forth by the Trump administration. Showing up as United Methodist clergy and laity together sends a strong message that in the midst of so much hatred and fear being directed at our queer siblings, we welcome and celebrate ALL people as beloved and created in the image of God. If you’d like to join us, we’ve got a few spots left! The van will leave the parking lot at 8:15am SHARP. Please reach out to me by Friday if you’d like to join us. Let’s show some big LUMC love to our LGBTQ+ beloved community!
Grace Over Greed in Budget Reconciliation Process:
(From the UMC General Board of Church and Society) “Similar to the House-passed bill, the United States Senate is seeking over $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – terminating health insurance for 16 million people. The proposal would also radically alter the structure of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by requiring states to pay a portion of food benefit costs for the first time. More than 11 million people, including more than 4 million children and more than half a million adults who are over 65 or have a disability, live in households that would be at risk of losing their food assistance under new work reporting requirements alone.”
What can you do? CALL Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper and demand that they prioritize the social safety net – including Medicaid, the ACA, and SNAP – in the budget reconciliation process. For a script, click on the link above, where you can also send an email (but calling is a better way for your voice to be heard!).
Thoughts and Prayers and ACTION for Israel/Iran:
Finally, I know our hearts are all troubled by the recent events in Iran. While events are moving quickly, and many are arguing that with the airstrikes on Sunday, the U.S. has already entered the war, there is still an opportunity to make your voice heard in support of the War Powers Resolutions introduced with bipartisan support this week. With a very tentative cease-fire in place (as of this writing), it is unknown whether Trump may act unilaterally again, without the support of Congress. Click here to let your congressional leaders know that as a United Methodist, you oppose another war in the Middle East, and that only Congress has the right to authorize U.S. entry into any war. (And then call them too!)
And pray. These are troubling times, but God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
Until justice rolls down,
Rev. Dr. Becky David Hensley
becky@lumc.net