Gay Pride in Toronto

This morning as I was watching the news, a story came on about the gay pride parade which is to take place tomorrow, Sunday June 25th, in Toronto. Having lived in Toronto for 3 years, and hoping to move back someday, I have experienced this prideful weekend in Toronto. But I do not have a sense of pride about it. Rather, this morning as I was watching the story my stomach turned when I thought about what is going to be taking place on the streets of our nations biggest city tomorrow.
It is not only a parade, but a whole week annually dedicated to gay pride starting on June 19th and coming to a close on the 26th. Last year, pride week was awarded "Best Festival" by the Canadian Special Events Industry.

I am a Christian, and therefore I believe that homosexuality is wrong and do not want to support or endorse it in anyway. However I can say that by living in Toronto I did gain a lot of understanding and acceptance of the diversities our country embraces. Growing up in northern Ontario, everyone in my town was white save for 1 black person and 2 asian families. No one was openly homosexual & the "taboo" was simply not seen on a daily basis. It is hard to believe that while I was growing up this way, the city of Toronto was thriving and there was so much for me to learn by moving there in my twenties.

All this to say that I do not condemn or dislike homosexuals. I respect them, and I accept them. I value diversity and do not think that gay people should not have a place in our communities. One of my biggest pet peeves, if you will, is when people who call themselves Christians decide to shun people who are homosexuals. Even if you do not agree with their lifestyle, you should still embrace the person as the child of God that they are.

All this to say that yes, I am uncomfortable with gay pride week. This is because I don't wish to see homosexuality celebrated and encouraged. However, on the other side of the coin I hate it how the church community is NOT open about homosexuality and therefore believers who struggle with this themselves often feel like they cannot talk to anyone about it and that they must feel ashamed of themselves. This is not so. We can talk about addictions. We can talk about mens struggles with pornography (although this is still somewhat hushed), we can talk about people who have problems with anger, lying, and cheating on their spouses. But why can't we talk about the struggle that some Christians do have with homosexual thoughts? Yes, people - Christians do struggle with this too. Many people think that because the Christian faith does not support homosexuality, that some people do not struggle with it - but they do. And I wish it wasn't shoved under the carpet the way it is.

Anyway, what do you think? If you have not really seen what gay pride in Toronto is all about, go to www.pridetoronto.com and look for the "New 2005 Video" under the pink Taste of Pride section.

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