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Rev. Chris Jimmerson
August 23, 2026
First UU Church of Austin
4700 Grover Ave., Austin, TX 78756
www.austinuu.org
As we celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Week here in Austin, join Rev. Chris and some of your fellow church members as we reflect on the significance in our lives and our world of this annual event and being a part of an LGBTQ+ affirming church and faith that celebrate it. In these times in which we find ourselves, such a church and faith can become a spiritual lifeline.
Welcome
Prelude: “I Will Survive” (Fekaris/Perren) – Valeria Diaz, piano
Chalice Lighting
This is the flame we hold in our hearts as we strive for justice for everyone. This is the light we shine upon systems of oppression until they are no more. This is the warmth we share with one another as our struggle becomes our salvation.
Call to Worship
A PROTEST AND A PARTY
Hannah Roberts VillnavePeople sometimes ask, is it pride? a protest or a party?
And the answer, of course, yes.
And why not?
Why not rejoice as we resist,
dance as we demand change,
celebrate as we create community
that delights in all of who we are.So bring all of that with you this morning.
Bring your policy demands,
bring your glitter.
Bring your Supreme Court broken heart.
Bring your rainbow socks.
Bring the emptiness you feel for our siblings gone too soon.
Bring your Gloria Estefan remix.
Bring your tender hope for change.
Bring your most garish eyeshadow.
Bring your spirit tattered and battered
by a world that seems insistent on choosing fear and hate.Gather up all these things and bring them here to a place
where we don’t have to shoulder these burdens
or celebrate these joys alone.Come, let us worship together.
Affirming Our Mission
Together we nourish souls, transform lives, and do justice to build the Beloved Community.
Anthem
“The Origin of Love” (Stephen Trask) – Nakia, lead vocals; w/the First UU Vocal Ensemble & Band; Brent Baldwin, guitar; Jill Csekitz, drums; Efrain Davila, bass; Valeria Diaz, piano
Reading
JESUS AT THE GAY BAR
Jay HulmeHe’s here in the midst of it,
right at the center of the dance floor.
Robes hitched up to his knees to make it easy to spin.At some point in the evening,
a boy will touch the hem of his robe and beg to be healed.
Beg to be anything other than this.And he will reach his arms out,
sweat damped and weary from the dance.
He’ll cup the boy’s face in his hand and say,
My beautiful child, there is nothing in this heart of yours
that ever needs to be healed.
Centering
Music for Meditation: “Going to a Town” (Rufus Wainwright) – Nakia w/the First UU Adult Vocal Ensemble & Band
Sermon
PRIDE AS PROCLAMATION
Rev. Chris Jimmerson, Jim Riddle, and Jill Csekitz
NOTE: This is a AI generated (edited) transcript.
Please forgive any omissions or errors.Jim Riddle
I’m Jim Riddle. I’ve been attending services here at First UU for just over a year, but this wasn’t my first time at a UU church. I started up at Life Oak UU in Cedar Park a few years ago. That’s when I heard that Carrie was doing one of her first sermons there. And it piqued my interest. I decided to check it out.
So that first Sunday after the sermon, I sat down at a table with a whole group of folks who were just bustling away in lively conversation. But I found it super easy to just jump in with them. and quickly learned how diverse everyone’s spiritual backgrounds were. We had Christians, pagans, agnostics, atheists, and Buddhists all at the same table and speaking the same language of spiritual and intellectual curiosity.
I soon realized that the UU Church was different. It was a place of spiritual kinship where good faith ideas can be openly discussed. Though I was still closeted at the time, I loved that everyone, especially queer folks, are always affirmed and cared for at the church. Not tolerated or accepted or looking the other way, but a faith that actively celebrates who we are, our unique perspectives, and fights for social justice.
In 2023 I was working through some post-traumatic stress stuff through a form of therapy called EMDR. EMDR helped me put traumatic memories from my past into the past where they belong. And on the other side of that, I realized it was time for the next big chapter in my healing journey. It wasn’t easy to come out to friends and family after hiding for so long. But luckily for me, everyone in my life was supportive and I was definitely glad that I did.
But then by early 2025, I had hit another rough patch. I hadn’t been to church in a while. I was processing a lot of grief and dating was not going well. I was experiencing a whole sexual identity crisis and a bit of internalized homophobia too. That’s when I found PFLAG through Meetup. PFLAG meets here at the church. The group is led by, at least at the time, Anna Nguyen and Leo Collis, our own Leo. They meet here anyway. I highly recommend for anyone starting their queer journeys. It has helped me gain a lot of perspective on my queer identity. And I also found community. that helped me move forward towards self-acceptance.
A few months after that, I was semi-regular here at First UU. It suddenly dawned on me after I’d been here a bit that I was coming back week after week.
Why is that, you know?
Well, it’s because I actually enjoyed being here. Who would have thought? I was being spiritually fed by the sermons. and socially fed by all the awesome new people I was meeting. Then at the end of July I signed up for a vocal workshop here at First UU where i was immediately invited to sing with the church choir for last year’s pride sunday with the full three days to practice.
I said sure I’ll sing with you. That is how it goes sometimes in the First UU choir I actually got pretty excited about that Pride service. It was my first time celebrating as an openly queer man, and I invited my mom at lunch one day, but her vacant stare told me she had doubts, so I decided to leave it be.
That Sunday was full of joy and beautiful music. Tears formed as I heard powerful stories from people like me right here. And that’s when I knew that I am safe here, that I am loved here, and that I belong here.
At the end of the service, everyone was singing and dancing to I Will Survive, our opening song today. So there I am. It was supposed to be more dramatic. singing my little heart out, clapping along, and having a good old time. And that is when I saw my mom sneak in through the main doors there and join in the celebration. More tears. So many tears. Tears of acceptance, tears of joy, and tears of pride.
Following that Pride Sunday, I met many wonderful new friends through this choir. We then found more friends in Howson Hall, and to this day, we sit together nearly every Sunday, engrossed in conversations, supporting each other through struggles, and also there’s some pretty decent comedy in the group.
I’d also like to mention a couple of groups that helped me along the way here at the church. The LGBTQ Community Heart Circle, third Sundays, y’all, every third Sunday. It’s kind of a next-level exploration into a lot of powerful topics that affect our community. The conversations there, the supportive environment, the leaders, Leo and LB, thank you, they help us elicit curiosity, reflection, and true vulnerability in a space that really feels safe for us.
I also want to thank the grief support group here at the church helped me through a lot of that grief that I mentioned earlier. You know, I had lost my cat and lost my job and was going through some difficult family boundaries. It was a lot. And the grief support group really helped.
And so like I’ve got all this support from the grief group and the choir and the LGBT group and my friends here at the church. And looking at all that, I now realize that we are what makes the church special.
Now I know that I am home. Thank you.
Jill Csekitz
Nobody rocks a fan like a gay man. Am I right?
My name is Jill Csekitz. I’m the drummer here. I’m also a board member. And surprise, I’m a lesbian. All right, so Happy Pride, everyone.
I’m going to talk briefly about what it means to be a queer person in this church. When I first started thinking about this, the most immediate thought that occurred to me was, it’s no big deal to be gay here. However, that in itself is a really big deal.
In this church, you can be gay and still be the drummer, a board member, a minister, a lay leader, really anything. You can fully participate in all church activities as your true, authentic self. What a concept.
This is also what true acceptance and belonging looks like. It means you don’t have to change who you are in order to fit in, participate, and get to know one another.
In this church, acceptance and belonging extends well beyond sexual orientation and gender identity to other groups as well. All ages. all abilities and disabilities, different races, and religious backgrounds. In essence, we, this church, and all of you, are living the concept of pride is for everyone, which is how I think pride is best celebrated.
True acceptance and belonging means we need to show up for each other, all of us, for the many needs and critical issues occurring during our time. In my 11 years as a member here, the church and its network community have provided a lot of opportunities to show up for one another.
Here are a few examples.
One year, I played drums for the UU Choir. It’s a theme, isn’t it? For an event raising funds for Drive a Senior during the holiday season. The event was especially memorable for me. At the time, I had aging parents who had difficulty driving, and I was having a very difficult time being a caregiver. Because I did the gig coming straight from our work holiday party, my outfit was seriously out of place, and I was seriously underdressed, even for me. While I was wearing my favorite Texas Longhorn Santa hat and ugly sweater, featuring a cat with antlers, lights, and jingle bells, Everyone else was dressed in their choir best and looked totally amazing.
Although not intentional, that event was certainly an example of me showing up and participating as my true authentic self. Regardless of what we all were wearing, we rocked the gig, had a great time, and raised a bunch of money for Drive a Senior.
We show up for each other in other more serious ways, too. Legislative session after session, we show up when bills are inevitably introduced that threaten our shared values and harm our community. The legislative topics extend well beyond LGBTQ plus issues. We show up in person at the Capitol, we drop cards, we call our representatives, write emails, attend protests, attend vigils, the whole nine yards.
The Texas UU Justice Ministry and the church’s Social Action Committee do an amazing job of keeping us informed and providing opportunities for action. If you haven’t yet participated in these groups, I encourage you to do so. Through our collective efforts, we have done a lot of good in the community and have helped fend off hundreds of harmful bills.
Unfortunately, we are all aware of the dire status of our state and nation. The struggle never ends. There is plenty to worry and be concerned about. far beyond the price of gas and groceries, although these are real concerns, too.
The good news is we have each other and we have each other’s backs. Although the struggle continues, our salvation is achievable through solidarity and supporting one another.
In closing, happy pride, everyone. Be yourself. Have fun. Laugh at yourself occasionally. Now, let’s all get to work.
Rev. Chris Jimmerson
Thanks so much, Jill, and thanks so much, Jim. I kind of wish I weren’t speaking now. That was so powerful.
As you all just heard, having a spiritual home like First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin and an event like Pride where LGBTQ plus folks can be our true authentic selves, where we find acceptance, affirmation, belonging. This can be so vital.
This morning, especially in light of the times in which we find ourselves, which Jill mentioned, I find myself reflecting on how it can be truly a spiritual lifeline for us.
One of the things that can be hard to fully apprehend sometimes if one has not experienced long-term systemic oppression is This way in which you start to constantly self-monitor and to continually scan your environment and the approach of others toward you when you perceive that your own well-being may well be persistently at threat.
That’s right. For LGBTQ plus folks, this hyper vigilance where our flight or fight response is almost always on often starts at a very young age and becomes embedded because Young LGBTQ plus children sense a threat to family and social connections that can mean our survival, both emotionally and quite literally, if our authentic selves were to be perceived, again, can be threatened.
And it comes at great cost. Research has found that this ongoing state of self and environmental surveillance floods the body with cortisol and adrenaline, which can lead to psychological and physical distress, depression, trauma, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, high blood pressure, heart disease, just to name a very few.
And over time, it can result in what is sometimes called allostatic load. This can lead to what’s called weathering, the literal wearing away of the body due to continuous adaptation to chronic stressors. This happens with other oppressed groups as well.
In plainer language, I know even for me, it can just start to wear me out. I get so damn tired of the BS. Bigoted stupidity. Or a curse word if you prefer.
I can get impatient with the pace of change because despite the progress that’s been made, that need for hyper-vigilance often continues, especially in these times when the currently dominant political force in this country seems hell-bent on sending us backwards. I can even start to wonder if events like Pride really will make any difference in our larger social and political context.
Let me give you just a few examples. Right now, today, If my husband Woodrow and I were to drive an hour to an hour and a half in most any direction from here, and we forgot, let our guards down, acted in overtly physically affectionate ways in a public place like a restaurant with each other, we could quite literally be in danger.
We have to be vigilant.
Though one case failed, LGBTQ plus hate groups are pushing other legal cases, challenging marriage equality through the lower courts with the hope of reaching the Supreme Court and snagging the votes of just a few more conservative justices so that they can take away the legal marriage that Woodrow and I only just entered into back in March. That would break our hearts. and deprive us of numerous legal protections and financial safeguards that other couples enjoy.
We have to be vigilant.
In so many other religious denominations and faiths even today, I could not serve as your minister or a spiritual leader of any kind unless I hid or denied myself of the insanely head-over-heels love I feel for Woodrow. I couldn’t be my most authentic self in my role as minister, which I believe would make me ultimately a less effective spiritual leader. Love is too important a part of who we are to be denied like that.
That’s why I am so blessed. to serve a faith and a church where I can offer my whole authentic self and why I strive hard to do so every day because in this day and age we have to be vigilant.
I am so blessed that a few years back when the spouse I lost, Wayne, got sick and went into hospice and later died, That I was serving this faith and this church where I could be honest about what I was going through and I was supported and I was able to take the time I needed to take care of him and then to take care of myself as I grieved.
I didn’t have to be vigilant and I will be forever grateful for that.
This is why events like LGBTQ plus pride are so vital. They create a space where, at least for a while, we can let our guards down. We can be our authentic selves. We don’t have to be vigilant. And I believe that this, I have to believe, that it makes a difference in our society and our polity also.
This is why having a faith like Unitarian Universalism and a church like this one are so vital. To pursue spiritual growth and transformation requires a religious community and a faith where we don’t have to be hyper-vigilant all of the time, where we find belonging, where we can all proclaim who we are without fear, where we show up for each other. The allostatic load is unburdened. The weathering begins to reverse.
And as you heard earlier, we are making a societal political difference too. Happy pride, my beloveds. May we always be that welcoming, affirming, inclusive religious community where pride is for everyone.
I am so proud of this faith of ours.
I am so proud of this church.
I am so proud of you.
Blessed be. Amen.
Extinguishing the Chalice
We extinguish this flame, but not the light of truth, the warmth of community, or the fire of commitment. These we hold in our hearts until we are together again.
Benediction
As we go back out into our world today, let us carry with us a sense of fierce love that creates a place of fulfillment. affirmation, and a spirit at rest for all. Let us build the beloved community where pride in who we are includes every single person, not just for a day or a week, but for every moment of every day, of every week, of every year, everywhere, and always. May the congregation say amen. And blessed be,
I love you fiercely. Go in peace.
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