This badge was one of the first that was produced and was made for Glasgow Pride in 2015. It is one that is often worn by members of St Mary’s Cathedral on Pride marches.
St Mary’s is a diverse congregation in Glasow that proclaims itself to be open, inclusive, and welcoming.
We march at Pride each year as part of a group drawn from the whole of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and we meet people every year who are surprised and delighted to see that a church has come out to be with them. They see a priest carrying a rainbow umbrella. They see another one waving a couple of placards as he bops along to Dancing Queen. Our group is made up of clergy and laity, of the old and the young, of people drawn from all over the Diocese and from all over the world, of our LGBT members and our straight allies. As our banner makes its way through the streets of the city centre, the people in the crowd nudge each other, smiling and pointing.
“Look,” they say to one another. “Look! The Scottish Episcopal Church Welcomes You!”
This is our strapline, our shibboleth, and the way we try to live.
We are open. We are inclusive. We are welcoming. We are very, very proud.