Tony Biehl|June 23, 2026|Reports
Earlier this month, the Glendale City Church in Glendale, California, was invited to join GlendaleOUT’s Pride in the Park event—a bring your own lunch picnic in Adam’s Square Mini Park a couple of miles from the church. To honor our LGBTQ+ siblings, about a dozen of us trundled down to the park after church. I like to attend Pride events, so I looked forward to this one. Parking, however, was impossible. I wandered in the parking wilderness for a while, despairing at the sight of what seemed like endless cars and no spaces until a spot finally appeared—Yay!
I clumped two blocks down the street and over a crosswalk with earth tone patterns artistically adorning it—nice. The Mini Park was indeed mini, though well maintained—its central a retired 50s gas station building which served as the main attraction, decorated with Pride banners. There was a crowd, of course, but not overwhelming, and I easily found our group sitting on blankets under a small tree. Since my aging body does not like blankets on the ground—let alone getting on them—I unfolded my special cane into a seat and sat. I munched on my lunch along with everyone else (their own lunches, not mine). Our pastor offered me some chips the church had brought and his wife loaned me a little cloth stand for my soda. They also brought pie for dessert!
Glendale City Church announced the Pride in the Park event on social media. Glendale City has long been an affirming congregation and was home to Adventism’s longest-serving, out pastor. @glendalecitychurch/Facebook
The annual Pride in the Park event is an inclusive, community-focused gathering. This year’s event was a pleasant one. We were set up next to a play area with cushioned ground where kids played, good-naturedly trying to knock each other off a seesaw. After a while, a lady made a two-armed wave in our direction notifying us that a speaker was going to begin under the gas station canopy. Some of us got up and meandered over to listen.
GlendaleOUT, the group that invited us, formed in 2023 after far right anti LGBTQ+ groups gathered to disrupt a June 3 Glendale Unified School District Board of Education meeting set to declare June PRIDE month. The agitators came to protest the Board’s LGBTQ+-affirming action, but leaders and the community pushed back; the school board did not cave. GlendaleOUT was organized in response, and the LGBTQ+ community and allies launched PROJECT:PRO+ECT to shield area queer and questioning students from discrimination and hate.
ABC News Channel 7 aerial footage showed a large police presence at the June 3, 2023 Board of Education meeting as protesters tried to disrupt proceedings. @ABC7/YouTube
As the speaking got underway, I got off my cane and tottered about. On one side was a parked bookmobile stocked with lots of LGBTQ+ materials for people young and old. One book was the classic And Tango Makes Three about two daddy penguins raising a chick. The old gas station—a well-maintained building with windows on three sides—displayed an exhibit of stringed up fake fish hovering over empty plastic bottles, almost seemingly swimming about. The sight was both weird and wonderful. Beyond the old building were several booths with various products on offer and people eager to help. One booth was Amigos Unidos, a Glendale community group formed in response to the unlawful removal of citizens without due process by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In fact, there was a humorous piñata of an ICE agent in uniform strung up. Fortunately, the Glendale Police have been supportive of Amigos Unidos, which has helped make the city a bit safer despite the presence of some hate groups.
The event hosted a wide range of people of various ages and backgrounds all declaring “we are here!” to an indifferent or hostile world. Our church group did not interact much with the larger group assembled, but that did not matter; we came to show our support to those marginalized and threatened. Just physically being there was half the battle and an opportunity to live out our church motto, “Revealing Christ, Affirming All.” With pie for dessert.
Title Image: screen capture @ktla/YouTube
As the speaking got underway, I got off my cane and tottered about. On one side was a parked bookmobile stocked with lots of LGBTQ+ materials for people young and old. One book was the classic And Tango Makes Three about two daddy penguins raising a chick. The old gas station—a well-maintained building with windows on three sides—displayed an exhibit of stringed up fake fish hovering over empty plastic bottles, almost seemingly swimming about. The sight was both weird and wonderful. Beyond the old building were several booths with various products on offer and people eager to help. One booth was Amigos Unidos, a Glendale community group formed in response to the unlawful removal of citizens without due process by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In fact, there was a humorous piñata of an ICE agent in uniform strung up. Fortunately, the Glendale Police have been supportive of Amigos Unidos, which has helped make the city a bit safer despite the presence of some hate groups.
The event hosted a wide range of people of various ages and backgrounds all declaring “we are here!” to an indifferent or hostile world. Our church group did not interact much with the larger group assembled, but that did not matter; we came to show our support to those marginalized and threatened. Just physically being there was half the battle and an opportunity to live out our church motto, “Revealing Christ, Affirming All.” With pie for dessert.
Title Image: screen capture @ktla/YouTube
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