LGBTQ community network Faith and Pride finds accepting places of worship
Network hopes to grow not just across the province, but across the country
The LGBTQ community and religious institutions have had a rocky past, but a group in Fredericton is working to change that by working to create a network of accepting places of faith around the province called Faith and Pride.
Patrick Lynn has been going to Christ Church Cathedral for years. For him there has never been a conflict between being gay and being religious.
"I consider myself lucky," he said.
The cathedral hosts a monthly Eucharist specifically for the LGBTQ community, but Lynn knows historically the two groups have often disagreed.
That's why he's excited for the growing network in his community.
"I think that a lot of people feel like that a lot of places of worship wouldn't accept them, and that's true that some wouldn't," he said.
"But I also think a lot of places would. And to have that option known and open to people who want to worship who are also a part of the LGBT community is really important."
At Fredericton's only Synagogue, president Marilyn Kaufman says the Jewish community has their doors wide open to the LGBTQ community.
'They're human beings'
"We have to be compassionate to those that are being oppressed and this is just our way of showing our support and standing with them," she said.
The synagogue is also a part of the Faith and Pride network and Kaufman says being a part of that is just an extension of practicing what you preach.
"It's just been natural. People showed an interest in attending services and they have questions and they're just like everybody else, they're human beings. They're people."
Lynn is hoping that in the future he won't have to consider himself "lucky" to be gay and accepted at his church.
"For me to feel like there is a place that I can go when so many places say that I'm not welcome, to have a place of faith where I can just go and be myself and be comfortable I think that's amazingly important," he said.
The network hopes to grow not just across the province, but across the country.