Ad·vo·ca·cy /ˈadvəkəsē/ noun is an action that speaks in favor of, recommends, argues for a cause, support or defends, or pleads on behalf of others.
Pride Month is a time where individuals can come together to celebrate accomplishments and progress of the LGBTQI+ community. One can also consider the long and arduous journey for equality that persons have experienced and are still on. Those outside of the community can listen, learn and then decide which side of equality they are going to be on. This is the time where we all must pause and identify the duality that exists in our community and the need to choose between the humane and the heartless.
I recall a time when I encountered such duality. I was serving as a hospital chaplain and entered a room of a male patient who identified as gay. During our encounter he shared how frustrated he was because there were nurses who were withholding information about his health from his partner and obstructing his partner's visits. The couple was not yet legally married. That year was 2014, and the state of Georgia did not allow for same-sex marriages to be legalized until 2015.
After hearing his story and feeling his frustration, I had questions. Why did the nurse do that? Could they not see that he needed to have support to get him on the path of his treatment care plan? Did they not understand the impact that one's social environment has on their overall health? Well, those were the questions that I asked the nursing staff. I needed to provide a voice for the patient and wanted to remind the nurses why they became care providers.
Advocacy is about action, not just a feeling of being upset about the injustices we witness. Being an advocate does not take a huge title but a huge heart and a commitment to what is right.
As an ordained clergy who has served in open and affirming congregational settings, I stand proud as an ally and on the side of equal justice for members of the LGBTQI+ community. I have the ability and the capacity to recognize that all people have been created by divine order. I am privileged to be able to bundle my encounters in the work I do at Pyxis Partners.
Pyxis Partners is about health policy, health education and engagement, but it's also about advocacy. We stand and stay on the side of what is right for those who have lost their voice or were never able to discover their voice. I am happy to be part of a team that helps to navigate and point our clients in the direction of discoverable territory. To do so publicly, passionately and to preserve all of humanity, with pride.
This Pride Month we honor members of the LGBTQI+ community and salute the allies who stand with them and who are taking action towards equality.