By Sam Stone (From Seeds February – March 2026)

LGBTQ+ History Month is celebrated during February. It is a time to remember the origins of the LGBTQ+ movement, to honour those who came before us, and to reflect on both the progress made and the work still to be done.

Late on the night of 27 June 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a Mafia-owned gay bar in Greenwich Village, New York. Police raids on gay bars were common, but they usually took place on quieter weeknights. This raid, however, was deliberately planned for a busy Friday night, with the intention of arresting as many people as possible and shutting down a Mafia-owned establishment.

What the police did not anticipate was resistance. People fought back, joined by a growing crowd of onlookers. Objects were thrown, violence broke out, and the small group of officers sent to carry out the raid were eventually forced to barricade themselves inside the bar until they were rescued by the fire brigade and riot police. The unrest continued for six days and became a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history.

Although the related movement was originally referred to as ‘the Gay Rights Movement’, Stonewall was not the beginning of activism. Groups such as the Mattachine Society in the USA and the Homosexual Law Reform Society in the UK had already been campaigning since the 1950s. However, Stonewall was felt globally. Across the world, people who had long been oppressed began to stand up and demand change. One year after the Stonewall uprising, the first Pride march took place.

LGBTQ+ History Month celebrates not only how the movement began, but also the achievements, contributions, and ongoing work of countless individuals and groups who continue to challenge discrimination and work for equality.

So why is this important? It is important to recognise past struggles – discrimination, homophobia, and transphobia – while also acknowledging how far we have come. It is about raising awareness, challenging prejudice, and helping to create a safer, more inclusive society.

For me, it is also about recognising how far some churches have come. At the age of 16, in 1996, I was told by a priest that God would turn away from me and that I would go to hell if I did not renounce ‘these ways’. I was scared, confused, and ashamed – frightened because I liked other girls, and not boys as I was expected to. I heard what people said about homosexuals, and I felt alone and forsaken for something I could not change.

I was never encouraged to explore my faith at home, so my faith grew quietly – through school, Brownies, and slipping into church when it was open. But after that encounter, I never went back to church. If I was not accepted by God, what was the point? It would be another 20 years before I returned. I never told anyone until eight years later, when I met my now wife.

How many young people – and older people too – still feel alone and scared today?

So, what has the Church done in relation to the LGBTQ+ movement? Although the Church in fact played a role in decriminalising sex between two consenting men in 1967, the Church’s shifting stance on homosexuality has often been painfully slow.

A significant moment came in 1998 at the Lambeth Conference, where Anglican bishops debated sexuality and passed Resolution 1.10 (bit.ly/1998lambeth). This committed bishops to listening to gay Christians, affirmed that they are loved by God, and condemned irrational fear of homosexual people while also rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with scripture. Shortly afterwards, 150 bishops – mainly from the USA, UK, Canada, and Australia – issued an open letter pledging to work towards full inclusion in the life of the Church.

Progress continued, though not without conflict. In 2002, the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada became the first Anglican body to offer same-sex unions. In the UK, civil partnerships became legal in 2005, though they could not take place in churches. Same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Scotland in 2014, and the first same-sex marriage in a church took place in 2017. More at bit.ly/CofEsex.

In July 2016, the United Reformed Church (URC) General Assembly voted to allow individual congregations to decide whether to register their buildings for same-sex marriage. This made the URC the largest Christian denomination in Britain at the time to give this freedom to local churches. The URC continues to show its support through opposition to conversion therapy, support for transgender and non-binary people, and partnerships such as the Open Table Network opentable.lgbt.

Why does this matter? Because it gives people like me – and thousands of others – peace. It tells us we are safe, accepted, and valued. It reminds us that people in the past and in the future have fought and still are fighting so that we do not have to live in fear of being who we are, and so that future generations might be spared the torment experienced by so many before them.

Homophobia still exists. Young people are still frightened to tell their parents who they are, fearing rejection. So, what can we do? We can be kind. We can be supportive. We can listen, stand alongside one another, and choose love over fear.

Because at the heart of our faith is Jesus – who welcomed the outcast, challenged exclusion, and loved without conditions. Jesus loves us all, exactly as we are. No exceptions. No requirements. Just love.

Sam Stone is a member of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Group in the United Reformed
Church’s East Midlands Synod. This edited version of Sam’s article is shared with her permission. To read the full version, go to bit.ly/LGBTQhist26.