This summer has been a bustling time in RE as we prepare for the new liturgical year and tend to all of those summer tasks. From curriculum edits on this fall’s world religion classes to spreading 20 yards of new wood chips on the playyard, this time of year is exciting and transformative.

One particularly fun project this summer has been diving into the RE library. We are lucky to have a beautiful space and library in RE, and it has been a joy to weed, organize, refresh, and find new books to add to our collection.

Picture books sometimes get pushed to the side. We “outgrow” them and move on to higher literary pursuits. However, picture books are often on the cutting edge. With grace and power they address sex, death, the lives of refugees, civil rights, and more. They are written in a way that’s meant to be read out loud and shared among friends and family. Picture books are meant to be discovered, devoured, and discussed. They are not only helpful with kids of all ages – we use them in each of our classrooms in a variety of ways – but are also a wonderful experience for adults. Picture books spark creativity, inspire with their illustrations, and often teach cadence and rhythm in a way other books can never touch. They play text and art against one another, working for many different learning styles, and develop interpretive skills when merging the illustrations with the written word into our own unique impressions of the story.

One book that I was delighted to find at Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane (while I was there for GA) is the book Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders. As our own fellowship is preparing to place rainbow flags next to both of our outdoor signs, and pride comes up this Saturday, July 13 in Port Townsend, this book seemed particularly timely to share with our children – and our wider congregation.
You’ll see plenty of rainbows around this weekend to celebrate the progress that has been made in the LGBT+ community as folks claim identities loud and proud and work for further change. This year marks 50 years since Stonewal l- a moment in LGBT+ history that sparked renewed attention to the fight for freedoms and rights and was the impetus behind the first pride march in June of 1970.

How exactly did the rainbow become the symbol for the LGBT+ movement? Pride shares the story of Harvey Milk (the first openly gay person to be elected to office in the US – in 1977) and Gilbert Baker (the man Harvey enlisted to create a symbol of pride for the gay community). In June 1978, during San Francisco’s Gay Freedom Day Parade, the first rainbow flag for gay rights was unveiled and marched through the streets. Following Milk’s assassination later that year, the rainbow symbol flourished ever more and has become a powerful emblem for LGBT+ pride, support, and welcome. Just four years ago, in 2015, when gay marriage became the law across the land with Obergefell v. Hodges, the White House celebrated that hallmark Supreme Court decision by illuminating the entire building in rainbow colors.

The colors of the pride flag have changed over time – the original eight stripes whittled down to six due to the availability of different colors and fabrics and simple logistics, and later some added black stripes to commemorate those lost to AIDS, or pink triangles to reclaim the Nazi homosexuality badge. Recently the Philadelphia pride flag has included black and brown stripes for folks of color within the community, and Daniel Quasar’s flag added additional colors to include trans folks more explicitly as well. Each new iteration adds to the history and story of the community, and shows that we have come a long way in the last 50 years – and that we have much work to do. The rainbow flag is something we can all rejoice under, showing that there is power in symbolism, community, working together, and celebrating our authentic selves.
At least, that’s what the picture books tell me.

Come to pride this Saturday from 11am-5pm at Pope Marine Park and then come check out our library on Sunday. Pick up a few books, and see what you learn.