Recently Memphis Friends Meeting submitted a video to be part of a Place of Worship presentation within the Memphis Public Library's Virtual Pride Fest, which will take place September 25, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 

Here's the script, read beautifully by Kali:

1. Greetings to all of you at Virtual Pride Fest from your friends at Memphis Friends Meeting. We are so happy to be a part of this year’s celebration of Pride.

2. Our Quaker practice is to come together to seek a living experience of the Divine. Often we talk about this experience as the INNER LIGHT.

3. Although our individual beliefs may vary,

4. as Quakers we have a TESTIMONY OF EQUALITY that acknowledges the Inner Light in all people.

5. Our testimony of equality and our other testimonies are how Quakers bear witness to our beliefs in our daily lives.

6. In living out our testimonies, we seek to draw on our own Inner Light to witness to human dignity, to work for peace and justice, and to respect the earth and all its parts. [Pause to allow silent reading of the Bayard Rustin quote (“We need in every community a group of angelic troublemakers.”).]

7. Most Quaker meetings in the U.S., including Memphis Friends Meeting, have found unity in WELCOMING AND SUPPORTING GENDER AND SEXUAL EQUALITY.

8. Since the 1990s we at Memphis Friends Meeting have celebrated the union of same-sex couples. Within our circle are many who identify as LGBTQI+, and our children grow up in a community that seeks to affirm all people and all families.

9. As a community, we joyfully participate in MidSouth Pride and in events sponsored by our local chapter of Tennessee Equality Project.

10. We have also begun working to become a Brave, Safe, and Educated Space.

11. We invite you to worship with us. We currently worship online through Zoom. More information about Memphis Friends Meeting is available on our web site memphisfriendsmeeting.org.

12. In celebration of this year’s Virtual Pride Fest, Memphis Friends Meeting is donating copies to the library of the new biography of Bayard Rustin, Troublemaker for Justice. Bayard Rustin was a gay Quaker activist for peace and equality who said, “The proof that one truly believes is in action.”

13.  We dedicate our gift in the memory of our beloved member Glenn Althoff. 

Preview the video here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sv1uze0klf6j29x/pride_for_facebook.mp4?dl=0

Find out more about the library's event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/583266925889869/?active_tab=about

View the library's event page here: https://www.memphislibrary.org/events/pride-festival-2020/