No one in Lebanon, Ohio questions that the city’s first-ever Pride parade was popular. According to one organizer, ten thousand people showed up for the July 20 family-friendly event, which included a “kid zone,” drag performances and informational tables hosted by community organizations.
But some residents of this city of 21,500, located between Dayton and Cincinnati, questioned whether the festival has a future: Would Lebanon Pride be able to host the event again next year?
When the subject was addressed at a City Council meeting on Aug. 13, so many residents showed up, it was standing-room-only, according to one organizer. The public comment period stretched more than an hour, with a majority of speakers supporting the festival’s continuation. However, there were detractors, including City Council members who spoke about how the festival impacted their faith. One council member even called pastors who supported the queer community as being against the word of God.
While the decision rests with the city’s Board of Festivals and Tourism, council is able to advise the commission. The board meeting has not yet been scheduled.
Public comment
Multiple supporters spoke of how much the festival meant to them. To Becca Shelley, who grew up in Lebanon homeschooled in an evangelical environment, it was the first time the town felt like home.
“Despite checking all the boxes, I never belonged,” Shelley said. “I was never home in Lebanon. I was never accepted, never supported, never loved who I was despite being everything I was supposed to be.
“On July 20 at Pride, Lebanon felt like home for the first time.”
Anke Pietsch, a youth mental health therapist and the “kid zone” organizer, spoke about how much a Pride celebration means to queer children’s mental health.
Citing The Trevor Project, Pietsch said over one-third of LGBTQ+ youth are at increased risk of suicide.
“Feeling connected and important in a community is a powerful way to protect youth mental health,” she said. “Pride is suicide prevention.”
Corey Wagonfield, a pastor with Resurrection Lutheran Church in Lebanon, attended the meeting because he heard of a “concerted effort” to prevent another Pride festival. He expressed support for LGBTQ+ people in Lebanon, and acknowledged that some members of his flock might not be as supportive.
There was room at his church and in Lebanon for people of differing beliefs, he said. Although the Pride festival was a social and financial success for the city, Wagonfield said he still heard complaints from residents that the festival was “indoctrinating people.”
“No more indoctrination happened that day than what happens in churches everyday across the city,” Wagonfield said. “We don’t try to shut down our churches for indoctrination. We don’t call church teaching indoctrination, because those beliefs largely line up with those in social power.”
One resident was concerned about the drag performances. While riding by on his bike, he said the festival was not very well-attended (event organizers used a sampling method larger festivals use to calculate headcount), and drag performers were being handed dollar bills from kids. He called it “indoctrination.”
Another resident quoted Bible verses and said clergy who support LGBTQ+ causes are false teachers.
Lebanon City Councilman Mike Cope praised a public comment asking to honor and respect others, and that they are all created in the image of God, and their religion is their own personal business.
But Cope’s own comments were confusing, and it was unclear where he stands on the festival.
“The fact that we’ve had clergy in here and speak against the word of God … I’d ask one of the pastors that spoke, and say ‘Email me the scripture where it says a sexual relationship outside of a heterosexual relationship is OK,’” Cope said. “Everybody else has their own opinions. I respect it. I stood up for this event.”
The Buckeye Flame sent an email asking Cope to clarify his stance on LGBTQ+-affirming clergy. He responded by referencing the hierarchy of priests and God as an “org-chart.” He said whether a pastor is “‘for’ or ‘against’, the ‘word of God’ is not for me to judge, the Bible judges it on (its own) merit.”
As he spoke, the room started to murmur and get louder. City Attorney Mark Yurick cut in, asking attendees to be respectful like they were earlier.
Mayor Mark Messer said that the Pride festival “met every standard.”
“From all accounts, you guys pulled off a very welcome event. And I appreciate that from the city’s perspective,” he said.
A part of our culture
City Councilwoman Kristen Eggers requested Lebanon Pride organizers measure whether the festival met the definition of “family-friendly,” and what they might want to change going forward.
An organizer, Leslie Nahigyan, said the drag performances were not in sight of the kid zone.
Co-organizer James Reynolds, the head of entertainment, said drag is part of queer culture, and eliminating it would lead to a “not very proud” festival.
“There were kids handing dollars to drag queens because that is part of the culture,” Reynolds said in an interview with The Buckeye Flame. “We didn’t steal anyone’s children to make them do it. Parents are allowed to parent.”
If anything was to change next year, Reynolds said he would like to focus more on varied events that highlighted local community members, like more karaoke. Lebanon Pride is also looking to expand into being a local queer network and helping like-minded people find each other.
Nonetheless, this year businesses made money, and “the community looked amazing,” Reynolds said. Some establishments said it was their best day ever.
Reynolds thought some community members were expecting a Pride that would not fit in with Lebanon’s community culture. Instead, queer people who left Lebanon came back to celebrate Pride in their hometown, and long-time community members were satisfied with the festival. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- Lebanon Pride’s website can be found here.
- To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
- To find contact information for your Ohio senator, click here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in need of immediate help, contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
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