San Francisco artist, Gilbert Baker, and others created a rainbow flag to represent the beauty and diversity of the gay community in the 1970s. It was adopted as the Pride Flag by the LGBT Movement in 1978. This flag continues as a symbol of the LGBTQ Movement around the world.

In 2003, the 25th anniversary of this flag, Gilbert Baker created one that measured 1.25 miles and stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in Key West, Florida. This flag, these lines of vibrant color, spanning that distance and being held up all along the way was a tribute to the members of the LGBTQ community and to their kinship.

This tribute continues as the flag was cut into sections and Section 93 is now called The Sacred Cloth. This cloth is taken to places and displayed as a symbol of support, compassion, belonging. It was displayed at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016. It currently hangs on City Hall in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to honor the victims of the Club Q shooting and to show support for the LGBTQ community.

Art is a language without restrictions. It can say whatever the viewer needs to hear. May The Sacred Cloth voice our sadness, our outrage, our support for this community. May it voice our love against all that is not love and our commitment to ending gun violence at any place, at any time, at anyone. May it also voice our prayers of lament and hope as we stand with all God’s people in the wake of tragedy and for all the days to come.

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church