Celebrating Marriage Equality at Gay Pride

A big 'thank you' to everyone who joined C4ME-MN at Twin Cities Gay Pride this past weekend – whether it was by stopping by or helping staff our booth in Loring Park, marching with us in Sunday's parade, or cheering us on from the packed-sidewalks of downtown Minneapolis as, with a myriad of other groups and organizations, we paraded down Hennepin Ave.

Giving the recent advances in marriage equality at both the state and federal levels, our theme this year was "Catholics Celebrating Marriage Equality!" We altered our banner to reflect this theme and gave out hundreds of stickers bearing this message (left). These stickers were very popular.

Above and below: As well as giving out our "Catholics Celebrating Marriage Equality" stickers, we also invited visitors to our booth to complete a questionnaire so as to help us discern our future direction and focus as an organization. Questions included:

• What do you think is the most pressing area of concern for LGBT people in the Roman Catholic Church?

• How would you describe your relationship to the Church?

• Where do you currently find affirmation and spiritual nourishment?

We'll report on the findings of our questionnaire in the next few weeks.

Right: C4ME-MN executive coordinator Michael Bayly and C4ME-MN board member Mary Kay Orman – Saturday, June 29, 2013.

Above: The C4ME-MN booth in Loring Park, where the annual Twin Cities Pride festival takes place – Saturday, June 29, 2013.

Related Off-site Links:
Twin Cities Pride: This Year, A Day of Celebration and Gratitude – Beth Hawkins (MinnPost, July 1, 2013).
Historic Pride Weekend in Pictures – Corey Anderson (MinnPost, July 1, 2013).
Twin Cities Pride Festival Has Joyous Tone in 2013 – Leslie Dyste (KSTP.com, July 1, 2013).
At Twin Cities Pride, Relief and Excitement – Pam Louwagie (Star Tribune, June 29, 2013).
The Annual Gay Pride Festival at Loring Park – Photo Gallery – Star Tribune (June 29, 2013).
Pride Parade in Minneapolis – Photo Gallery – Star Tribune (June 30, 2013).
Justin's Gift: Months After Anoka Rejection, Marchers Are Met with Cheers and Love at Pride Parade – Roxy Orcutt (MinnPost, July 1, 2013).
Court Wins Draw Big Crowds to Gay Pride Parades – Lisa Leff (Associated Press via Yahoo! News, June 30, 2013).
NYC Gay Pride Parade Draws Massive Crowd – Yahoo! News (July 1, 2013).

Images: Michael Bayly.