By Pastor Aaron Lauer

I can still remember sitting on the couch at middle school youth group and hearing my pastor say these words: “Being gay means a life of loneliness, pain, and destruction.” I’m sure my eyes darted around the room, to see if anyone else was reacting to what he was saying. By 6th grade I was already fairly certain that I was gay and hearing that this meant sadness and destruction was making my stomach churn.

This is a common stereotype about LGBTQ+ people and unfortunately religious communities are often at the forefront of pushing these images. I can’t tell you how many times growing up I was told that this was a sickness that needed treatment if I was going to live a fulfilling life.

But the older I got, the more I grew in my faith and my sexuality. I started to push against these negative images of LGBTQ+ people. In college I met a lesbian pastor, two gay dads raising their foster children, a trans doctor teaching at a medical school, and a bi activist working on inclusion and visibility. The more I immersed myself into the LGBTQ+ community, the more I met queer people of all stripes and got to hear their stories of faith, hope, adversity, and love.

These negative stereotypes didn’t fit our community, and they didn’t fit me, either. If ever I experienced loneliness, pain, or destruction in my life, it was due to homophobia, not because I was queer. The beauty and diversity of our rainbow family was giving me hope for my future and inspiring me to live with authenticity.

As a pastor, I have many favorite Bible verses. One of them is John 10:10, where Jesus says to his disciples, “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” And this is the question I try to ask myself each day in my journey of faith: Where am I experiencing abundant life? In those places of abundant life, I know that God is with me; inspiring me, sustaining me, and giving me hope. 

I experience abundant life in a lot of places: in the beauty of nature, in the love of my family and friends, and in the joy of my call as a pastor to my church. And perhaps most of all, I experience abundant life as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I witness our courage, our resilience, our celebration, and our pride. Each of these makes me come alive and inspires me to grow even more as a part of this family. 

During this Pride Month, it is my hope that you are finding a place where you “come alive” as a part of the LGBTQ+ community. We have so much to offer the world and one another. Let us be a place of abundant life for all people, where everyone can find a place within the family! 

Pastor Aaron Lauer

United Church of Christ Fort Lauderdale