Press Release and Calendar Notice

  May 28, 2026

The Eastern Sierra United Methodist Church Celebrates Pride Month 2026

Get ready to celebrate! What better time to embody the Eastern Sierra United Methodist Church (UMC) slogan – Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. – than Pride Month in June? Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of God’s creation and a chance to affirm our 2SLGBTQIAP+ family, friends, and neighbors and their right to live openly and authentically. While progress has been made, 2SLGBTQIAP+ people still face discrimination and violence in many parts of the world. The Eastern Sierra UMC advocates for 2SLGBTQIAP+ equality and stands in solidarity with those who are still fighting for their rights. Our church seeks to create a safe, welcoming, and affirming space that supports and celebrates the 2SLGBTQIAP+ community.

The Eastern Sierra UMC invites all local 2SLGBTQIAP+ folks and allies of all beliefs to celebrate Pride Month with a stop by our vendor table at the 5^th Annual Eastern Sierra Pride Festival marketplace, two movie nights, and a special Sunday service.

Kate Hunter, Pastor of Eastern Sierra UMC, acknowledges that many 2SLGBTQIAP+ people have been traumatized by past church experiences that made them feel excluded, noting, “We welcome our 2SLGBTQIAP+ family, friends, and neighbors with open arms and open hearts. God created us all with tremendous diversity and beauty and Jesus embodied and shared love with boundary-breaking inclusion. The image of God is in everyone and all are welcome here.”

Pride Month celebrations kick off with the Eastern Sierra UMC’s monthly potluck movie night, The 3rd Space – Movie Club, on Tuesday, June 2 at 6:00pm in the church fellowship hall at 205 N. Fowler Street. This is a free and sober event, open to all. The 3rd Space will be screening the 2023 bawdy comedy, Bottoms. The film revolves around two gay teens, PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri), who set up a fight club to win the affections of their school’s cheerleaders. Heartwarming and hilarious, Bottoms updates teen movie tropes with a comedy that feels both current and nostalgic. This film R rated for language, violence, and sexual content. Persons under 17 may attend if accompanied by a parent/guardian.

The Eastern Sierra UMC will be at the Eastern Sierra Pride Festival Open Market on Sunday, June 7 from 10:00am to 3:00pm. Come by our table and say hello. The festival will be held at Canyon Lodge, Mammoth Mountain, in Mammoth Lakes on June 6 and 7. Visit www.easternsierrapride.org for more details.

Join us for a special Pride Sunday service on June 14 at 9:30am at the UMC in Bishop at 205 N. Fowler Street. We invite all to join us as they are called by the Divine to be: authentic, whole, complex, and made to be loved. On Pride Sunday, we will rejoice in the beauty of our embodied selves and we cry out for justice as we remember the suffering of those who came before us and imagine new ways of loving ourselves and our neighbors.

The Eastern Sierra UMC’s final Pride Month event will ask “What if the word ‘homosexual’ was never meant to be in the Bible?” This free screening of 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture (www.1946themovie.com) was so popular last year, we are bringing it back with special guest speaker, Kathy Baldock. She is Executive Director of CanyonWalker Connections, a scholar, and LGBTQIA+ advocate who has dedicated her life to debunking biblical myths about homosexuality. Her new book Forging a Sacred Weapon (the foundational text for the movie) will be available June 1. She will speak and answer questions about the movie and the translation error in a historical context. Please join us in the church fellowship hall at 205 N. Fowler Street on June 27 at 6:00pm.

The Eastern Sierra UMC is celebrating Pride Month with these four events because we recognize that diversity and inclusion adds to the overall health and wellbeing of both our church and our community. “We are a group of people, all at different places on our spiritual journey, gathering together to learn, question, and walk in love,” says Kate Hunter. “Here questions are encouraged, burdens are shared, and there is always enough food to go around. You are welcome here.”

For more information, please contact The Eastern Sierra UMC at 760-872-7701, [email protected], or visit www.esierraumc.org.

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