If you are a Christian, what does your faith demand of you?

Dear Pride Center Family,

The LGBTQ+ community is under attack. Laws are being written to erase people from public life. Politicians and extremists are openly calling for the eradication of Trans people. Hate is rising, and it is being justified in God’s name.

Some people use faith as a weapon to exclude, to judge, to harm. But faith has also been a source of resilience, of courage, of unshakable love. In this moment, people of faith must decide what their belief calls them to do.

I want to introduce you to someone who has lived in that tension. Calliope Recinos, our Community Health Advocate at the Pride Center, was raised in the Seventh-Day Adventist church. She grew up in a faith tradition with strict rules and guidelines, but also a deep commitment to service. That foundation never left her.

“For me, serving the community is serving God. I find God in every interaction I have with the community—when someone learns their HIV status, when we feed our members who are housing insecure, when we help people access resources with dignity and respect. Each moment is a testament to the love and care people deserve.”

This is what faith in action looks like.

Faith Without Love is Empty

Some churches have opened their doors to LGBTQ+ people. Others have used scripture to justify harm. Calliope has seen both.

She has also seen how faith is used to divide: not just between LGBTQ+ people and Christians, but within Christianity itself.

“Growing up, I saw how even different denominations of Christians refused to embrace one another. I was raised to believe we were the one true faith and that all others were false. That never sat right with me.”

Instead of rejecting, Calliope chose a different path.

“I did not abandon my faith—I chose to lead with love. I listened without judgment. I approached others with patience, kindness, and hope. Hope that I could be a reflection of love in action.”

That choice is a challenge to anyone who believes faith is a reason to exclude.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8)

Faith Without Action is Dead

Faith is not just words. It is what we do.

Calliope thinks often about the LGBTQ+ people who showed up for one another during the AIDS crisis. When hospitals refused to treat the dying, when families turned their backs, when churches condemned rather than cared, it was queer people – especially lesbians – who stepped in to feed, shelter, and care for the sick.

“The LGBTQ+ community lived out what many churches failed to do. We fed the hungry, cared for the sick, and showed up when no one else would. My faith teaches that ‘faith without works is dead.’ (James 2:14-17) ‘Thoughts and prayers’ are empty without justice, without showing up, without taking real risks for the people being harmed.”

This belief fuels the work she does every day. She does not just hand out resources. She looks people in the eye and reminds them of their dignity. She shows up with compassion, kindness, and respect.

“For me, this work is about honoring all our brothers and sisters who were denied their humanity during the AIDS crisis. Those who, in their final moments, were rejected by their families, their churches, and their communities. My mission is to show that love and compassion to every LGBTQ+ person who has been told they are unworthy—because they are worthy, just as they are.”

Healthcare is a Moral Issue

Healthcare is often treated as a political issue. But Calliope sees it as a moral one.

“My faith has led me to firmly believe that every human deserves access to proper and decent healthcare. Healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Loving my community means wanting them to have the best, to have access to every treatment they need. I am not called to judge another person’s healthcare choices. I am called to love. All people deserve all types of healthcare. No one has the authority to interfere with that.”

What Does It Mean to Show Up?

Calliope knows firsthand how difficult it can be for people of faith to fully embrace the LGBTQ+ community. Her own mother does not accept that she is Trans. And yet, even in that struggle, there are moments of love.

“I refused to hide from my family. I was determined to show up as my authentic self because I may be the only openly Trans person they interact with. One day, I introduced my best friends, a gay couple, to my mother. I wanted her to hear about them from me, not from the fear-mongering narratives she had absorbed. She listened. She connected with them over stories of their families. By the end of the night, she was offering them home-cooked meals—an act she only reserved for people she loved. I never thought in a million years that my mother would break bread with anyone from the LGBTQ+ community besides me. But she did.”

This is what faith in action looks like.

Faith is not about comfort. It is about standing on the side of the oppressed, even when it is difficult, even when it costs you something.

The Greatest Commandment

Calliope’s faith is not in judgment. It is in love, kindness, compassion, and healing.

“There is a reason love is considered the greatest commandment. Love is not just a feeling. It manifests in the very acts we do.”

At a time when hatred is rising, when people are being dehumanized, when laws are being written to strip LGBTQ+ people of their rights, what does your faith ask of you?

Because faith, real faith, is clear.

“Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.” (1 John 4:20-21)

There is no asterisk. No exception. No “but.”

If you claim to follow Christ, now is the time to prove it.

Stand with us. Support this work. Not in words. In action.

With strength,

Brooke Malloy

Executive Director