"The Church at the Margins: My Hope, My Calling" - A Pride Month Reflection from Rev. Katheren Campbell Hudson

Pride Month is not merely a festival but a sacred time for remembrance, resilience, and revolutionary love. As an ally who identifies with the LGBTQIA+ community and has long ministered to those on the fringes, Pride is a call to me and a season of remembrance. It is a reminder that I, and so many others, are at the beautiful intersection of faith and identity, a place long kept from being viewed in the Church but never abandoned by God.

Year after year, I have observed Pride in many ways. For example, marching with other believers and supporters, leading worship services centered on affirmation and justice, and providing pastoral care to individuals who feel excluded by the Church. Each Pride celebration reaffirms my covenant of radical inclusion, and each rainbow flag reminds me of God's unbreakable promise.

My hope for the Church is bold and unyielding: that it fully embodies Christ’s unconditional teachings of love. I see a Church where lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth do not have to choose between their identity and their faith, where same-gender couples are blessed at the altar, and gender-diverse individuals are not only accepted but embraced and empowered. The Church is not meant to be a gatekeeper of God’s love but a gateway.

My ministry has always been about building inclusive spaces. Starting at City of Refuge UCC as a commissioned outreach minister in 2011 and continuing with what I am doing now with Tapestry Ministries and Nu Life Ministries, I have tried to build communities of healing, belonging, and safety. Whether coordinating care for the homeless, pastoral care for survivors of domestic abuse, or disaster spiritual care leadership with the American Red Cross, my mission is always the same: to be the hands and feet of a God who includes, affirms, and empowers all.

Pride Month reminds me of this vocation. It makes me not forget that our stories are holy, our voices are necessary, and our being is prophetic. The Church is not whole without us. I pray that one day, it will know this deeply and live abundantly.

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Rev. Katheren Campbell Hudson is a mother, activist, domestic violence counselor, and minister. She works with Tapestry Ministries, Disciples of Christ, and Nu Life Ministries, a nonprofit organization. Rev. Katheren is ordained in the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries and is a student studying for her M.Div. and a Master of Arts in Social Transformation with a certificate in Spiritual and Social Congregational Leadership at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. A long-time advocate for the oppressed, she believes that ministry must begin where pain is felt most intensely, and love is needed most urgently.