Prayer for National Coming Out Day
Loving God, in your wisdom, you created a world rich with diversity. Today, as we acknowledge National Coming Out Day, we give thanks for the gifts of sexual orientation and gender identity. We celebrate with our queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay siblings who choose to come out, and honor those who do not. Today, we say “yes” to the diversity among us—within ourselves, our families, our neighbors, and our communities. We claim that diversity as we come before you and as we go out into the world. At times, we turn away from this diversity, fearful of its transformative power. We reject that which is different, force it to be silent, or pretend that it does not exist. We participate in systems that privilege sameness and uproot difference. Give us the courage to live boldly into the mystery of diversity, the strength to persevere in the face of adversity, and the power to love in ways that go beyond understanding. Help us create a world where all queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people can flourish.
Responsive Reading for National Coming Out Day
We are grateful for the gift of our lives and the gift of other people in our lives.
Each of us is created with dignity and worth.
We are called to love one another and to do nothing to others that we would find hateful to ourselves.
We honor the many ways that people live and love.
Our common life is enriched when queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people can come out—sharing the gifts of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
True justice flourishes when all people can live and flourish.
We suffer when LGBTQ people are oppressed, excluded, or shamed by religious people who overlook the fundamental call to love one another.
Love does not exclude. We are all worthy.
May we work to build a world where all people are celebrated and loved.
We celebrate sexual and gender diversity as a blessing that enriches us all.
A Litany for National Coming Out Day
You are invited to modify this litany for your particular worship context. You may choose to use a bidding and response at the end of each petition that is part of your tradition, such as “God in your mercy, hear our prayer.”
For our queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay siblings, as we mark this National Coming Out Day, that you may have the strength to claim your experience; the space to be imperfect, vulnerable, and in process; and the courage to embrace your power.
For all who feel desperate or alone, especially all queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people who lack community, that they may know the company of loving friends and supportive family, and that they may have the creativity and fortitude to envision new spaces and give birth to chosen families.
For all those who come out only to face rejection, discrimination, or persecution, may they know the care of a compassionate neighbor, may their wounds be given the time and space to heal, and may their hearts be comforted by the presence of justice.
For our faith community, as we strive to do the ongoing work of welcome and solidarity, that we may be a community that honors the journeys of queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people, nourishes their spirits, and celebrates their gifts.
For our world, that we may acknowledge the gifts of queer, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people and be transformed by them. That we may create a society rooted in love, grounded in justice, and strengthened by difference.