Monthly Archives: May 2020

Gay Pride Picnic: Cheltenham May 17 2020

Click here for a list of our LGBTQ+ supporting communities/churches

Like all large gatherings planned for spring and summer 2020, the Gay Pride family picnic planned for May 17 in Pittville Park was cancelled. Which was a shame, as Cheltenham Inter Faith had been hard at work planning a “Inter Faith Space” for the picnic. Right from the start we were delighted with an enthusiastic response from many churches, faith and non-faith/beliefs-based communities within Cheltenham.

We were planning a large (double-pitch) stall with a tented zone for quiet conversations, comfy seating, a craft area and lots of information about faith-related LGBTQ+ support groups online and local. We were thinking of running a couple of meditations, and mostly just hoping to have a stream of volunteers hosting the stall with welcoming smiles and hopefully some meaningful chats.

But then it was cancelled… was that the end of it? No!  Our group continued to expand as we networked and found more supporters. Particular thanks to Sharon at Highbury Church and Stephen and Rachel from the Humanists who had been there at the Pride picnic last year, and who had great contacts. And then … the organisers decided to hold it ONLINE!

What could we do?  At very short notice we gathered those we could into a Zoom hyperspace and managed against all odds to agree a “Welcome Message” from all of us to be posted onto the Pride in Glos facebook site, plus Tom created a Video of us saying “We miss you! We love you! We’ll see you soon.”  Click here to see the video or Click here to see the post on our own Facebook site. 

Click here for the list of Supporters who so enthusiastically supported the venture.

We’ll report back when we have a date for the “actual” picnic and how we get on!

In friendship, Ginny.