Ozarks PrideFest drew a crowd to Park Central Square on Saturday. Besides vendors selling a variety of handmade items and offering various services, there were booths that offered love and support.
Several churches were there, including the Venues. Andrew Rumachik said it’s where he finally felt accepted as an LGBTQ+ person after getting kicked out of his previous church.
Part of the reason why we're here (at PRIDE) is to show that all are welcome. Love is love. God loves everyone," he said. "It doesn't matter who you are and whether you believe, don't believe."
He said the Venues is for everyone.
"When I say inclusive, I don't just mean LGBT inclusive. We have people on our staff that are like atheists, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Jainism," he said, "like, anyone is welcome quite truly. One of our slogans is we're not for everyone because we're for everyone."
One person who came to that booth Sunday said he wasn’t ready to go back to a church but said he’d tell his roommate who was.
Several tents away was St. John’s United Church of Christ. Pastor Stephanie Scott Huffman, herself a member of the LGBTQ+ community, said they wanted to be an oasis – where people could stop, make a craft, get a drink and have some snacks. There was a box labeled "love letters from God to you," where anyone could write a letter and drop it in.
"The queer community has heard all kinds of horrible messages from the Christian church and religion in general. And that was something heavy on my heart that that's something that I can do is share a different message from the God that I believe in, which is the God of love and unconditional love," said Scott Huffman.
She said they weren’t trying to recruit people to their church but to let people know that they are cherished, adored and celebrated.
Another tent offered free hugs for anyone that wanted one. Denise Morgan-Irish is with Free Mom Hugs – but they offer hugs from dads and grandparents as well. The organization has chapters in every state.
"We just love on them. Hug them if they want. We have stickers and tattoos and snacks and cold water, and we tell them that they are loved. They are precious. They are perfect," said Morgan-Irish, and it's just the best gig ever."
At one point, a person came up for a hug and afterwards there were tears streaming down their face. Morgan-Irish calls it a "heart mission."
"I always say it's my most heart filling and heart wrenching gig of the year. We do...PRIDE, we do the C-Street PRIDE, we do Trans Day of Visibility and Trans Day of Remembrance. And many of us have children who are in the community and that that draws many of us in. Not everybody does, but it's just the best gig ever," she said.
Anyone who wants to find out how to volunteer can go to freemomhugs.org or find them on Facebook.
