At the 2nd annual Fort Lauderdale Interfaith LGBTQ+ Pride Service on June 10, held in 2025 at Sunshine Cathedral and in 2026 at the United Church of Christ in Fort Lauderdale (formerly known as First Congregationalist), Bishops Durrell and Robert were on the platform with a rabbi, a Muslim, a Pentecostal Overseer, a licensed Baptist minister, 2 UCC minister, 2 other Sunshine Cathedral ministers, a Unitarian Universalist representative, a non-profit leader in the community, and 2 independent catholic priests to celebrate Pride. Bishop Durrell was the final speaker and his responsibility was to speak to “Why We Must Act”…his remarks are as follows:
In the spirit of our shared commitment to human dignity and radical love, we—the community of faith keepers and spiritual seekers—come together to honor and celebrate our LGBTQ+ community.
We recognize that our diverse traditions are united by a fundamental mandate: to cherish every individual as a reflection of the divine, deserving not mere acceptance, but joyful celebration.
The language of faith is too often misused to exclude and divide. While some may weaponize faith, it is our responsibility to offer a more loving, positive, and healing version of faith language and practice.
Today, we affirm that being LGBTQ+ is a beautiful expression of human diversity, and that our places of worship are stronger, more authentic, and more complete because of the presence, voices, and leadership of LGBTQ+ people.
We are partners in the ongoing work of justice. We may be dismissed as being political or biased or not focused enough on the Sacred, but those criticisms are misguided.
The prophetic traditions across religious communities have always challenged cruelty, oppression, injustice, and whatever may deny or denigrate the divine image all people bear.
It is the work of the faithful to provide hope and healing, boldness and blessings, to all who have been dehumanized, demonized, or demoralized. It is the moral, the right, the properly religious thing to notice and name the vulnerable and to see and say that they are fully human with all the sacred attributes that entails.
Our voices, our contributions, our presence, our parades, our performances, our prayers, and our determination to see the innate goodness that is present in all people are the tools we have and we must use them to build the utopian visions of Jesus the anointed, Sidharthathe Awakened One, Muhammad (peace be upon him), Lao Tzu, Rabbi Akiva, Baha’u’allah, Spinoza, Emerson, Dr. King, Julian, Hildegard, Amma, Teresa of Avila, Teresa of Calcutta and other emissaries of justice-love.
The great voices speak also to and from Queer spaces, the voices of Troy Perry, Carl Bean, Yvette Flunder, Harvey Milk, Otis Charles, Gene Robinson, Winnie Varghese, Su Pak, Carter Heyward, Marcella Althaus-Reid, Patrick Cheng, Sherwin Wine, Judith Butler, Sandra Lawson and so many more.
This is not the time to be silent, hidden, ashamed, or afraid. This isn’t the time to embrace whatever privilege we may have while ignoring the peril of others, nor it is time to fool ourselves into believing that our privileges and even our rights are secure. We dare not take anything for granted.
Let us never settle for mere tolerance but let us demand and offer genuine, transformative welcome. We must recognize that our faith is fuel for doing what is right, for making a positive difference, and that faith, regardless the name we give it, is incomplete without equity, inclusivity, and justice-love.
As we celebrate Pride, let us renew our commitment to creating spaces where everyone can live with integrity and joy. May our unity be a beacon of hope, reflecting a love that knows no bounds. Amen.
Bishop Durrell has made the call. Now let’s talk about what we can do moving forward.
