Steinbach Pride March boasts strong turnout

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This article was published 29/06/2023 (698 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A strong message of love and unity was echoed in speeches and on signs during the sixth Pride March in Steinbach on Sunday, with a reminder to members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and their allies not to take their gains for granted.

Organizers estimated up to 800 people took part in the events which included speeches, the march itself and entertainment to follow at the K.R. Barkman Park.

Alex Appleby was the first speaker to address the crowd.

They are the founder of the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) at Shevchenko School in Vita and the first trans person to come out to the entire school.

However, they said it wasn’t easy, and said initially they only told their closest friends.

“Fortunately for me, two teachers found out,” they said. “They showed me that they would support me no matter what.”

That prompted the beginning of the first GSA in the school, and Appleby said they felt good knowing others would benefit.

“I was so excited to start it as I wanted to help kids like me find people who would accept them and protect them faster than I did,” they said. “If there had been a GSA when I was younger or if I had known there were people who would support me, I would not have struggled for as long as I have.”

Kyle Penner, a pastor at Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, also took the stage, addressing the perceived absurdity of having a Christian pastor speak at Pride.

“I know that my presence here at the mic as a straight, white, cis-gender, male pastor is complicated,” he told the crowd. “I know that me being here is triggering to some of you.”

“It’s often been churches that have kicked you out,” he added. “It’s been pastors who have tried to pray the gay away. And it’s been religion that’s been used as a bludgeon against you.”

Penner shared that confession and repentance is an important part of his faith tradition, using his time on stage to make confessions to attendees.

“I confess and repent for the times when the churches have been known for what they are against rather than what they are for,” he said. “I confess and repent that we do not act like everybody bears God’s image and everybody has the divine spark inside of them and that everybody is a beloved child of God.”

“Or the times that we have forgotten that Jesus was once asked what’s the most important commandment and he did not say anything about marriage, and he did not say anything about gender, but rather he said that there’s actually two; love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and love your neighbour as yourself, and we do that by treating others how they want to be treated,” he added. “I confess all the times that we have forgotten that God’s pronouns are they/them, because in my tradition God is actually known as trinity three-in-one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and they’re in perfect loving relationship.”

Unger told the crowd that he understood many were not religious or Christian, but made his point clear, telling them they don’t have to choose between being Christian or queer, religion or sexuality, faith or gender.

“You do not have to choose. Those are not opposites,” he said. “Every single one of us here bears God’s image. Every single one of us has the divine spark inside of them. We are all made in God’s image and we are loved.”

He told attendees that they are not alone.

“There are thousands of us in Southern Manitoba who walk with you, who advocate for you and love you, and some of us even go to church,” he said.

Steinbach Pride Chair Chris Plett also took the stage, highlighting strides made by the community since the Stonewall Riots on June 28, 1969.

In fact, he said it was the day prior to that event that it became legal to be gay in Canada, thanks to the passing of Bill C-150.

He also highlighted other dates including 1992 when it became okay to be gay in the military, 2005 when same sex marriage was legalized and 2022 when conversion therapy was outlawed.

But he also recognized that they are coming under attack in Manitoba and other places as well.

“It feels like we’re going to start losing some of those very soon,” he said of their hard-won rights.

As communities of Winkler, Morden and Brandon see an attempt to take LGBTQ books from school libraries, Plett said it’s important to stand firm in Steinbach.

“Those are the communities that you’re going to see those rights yanked out from underneath you first,” he said. “It’s our job in these communities to stand on the front line and make sure that does not happen.”

He pointed out that right now in the U.S. there are 491 bills in progress which attack LGBTQ rights.

In 2021, Plett said there was a 67 percent rise in reported assaults on 2SLGBTQ people.

He also cited New Brunswick which was looking at removing the rights for kids to identify as the gender of their choice in school.

He also asked allies to stand up for the community when it comes under attack and to show support in whatever way they can.

He shared a quote he attributed to Nashville Pastor Stan Mitchell. “If you claim to be someone’s ally but aren’t getting hit by the stones thrown at them, you aren’t standing close enough,” he said.

Neither Provencher MP Ted Falk, Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen nor Mayor Earl Funk were seen in attendance at the event.