by Maic D'Agostino | published on Sep 26, 2023
National Coming Out Day is a celebration of LGBTQ+ liberation and the fullness and beauty of queer life.
This year, the United Church of Christ’s Gender and Sexuality Justice Ministries is hosting a special online worship to commemorate the day on Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 7-8 p.m. ET.
The inaugural “Queer & Wonderfully Made” service will be headlined by award-winning and Christian music chart-topping drag queen Flamy Grant. Flamy Grant is a self-described “shame-slaying, hip-swaying” singer/songwriter who will perform for the livestreamed event.
The Rev. Jes Kast, pastor of Faith UCC in State College, Penn., will deliver a short sermon as part of worship.
Flamy Grant will perform for the inaugural “Queer & Wonderfully Made” online worship service.
“National Coming Out Day matters deeply for the queer community as a marking moment of celebration of our queerness,” said Rachael Ward, UCC Gender and Sexuality Justice Ministries team lead. “For many, their journey toward coming out may still be in process or they may be in a space where coming out doesn’t feel safe. Being able to declare boldly and out loud that each person is made in the image of God — beloved and wonderfully made — is a gift of our faith which calls us to tend to one another.
“We hope that congregations will join us for this live virtual service to celebrate queer lives and continue to hold space for queer folks who need our love and support now more than ever.”
‘This worship service is for you’
Worship will include a variety of UCC faces. In addition to Kast and Ward, members of Encuentros Latinx will provide a bilingual Scripture reading, and the Rev. Katrina Roseboro-Marsh of the Open and Affirming Coalition will lead a queer celebration prayer. Other queer clergy members will provide queer blessings for the benediction.
“No matter where you are on your coming out journey — whether that is coming out of the closet for the first time or coming out as a queer advocate — this worship service is for you,” Ward said.
National Coming Out Day first began in 1988 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. This date was chosen to honor the bravery of LGBTQ+ individuals coming out for love, justice and equality for all LGBTQ+ people.
Today, National Coming Out Day continues to be a marker of that same love, need for justice and equality.
Ward is encouraging congregations and community groups to host watch parties for the Oct. 11 worship service.
“Please come, taste and see why scripture declares we’re wonderfully made,” they said. “The anctuary is open, and the doors are wide open for all.”
Those interested in attending can register here. The worship also will be livestreamed on the UCC’s YouTube channel.
Renée DeLuca contributed to this story.