Circling Back to a Rainbow Covenant

Sunday, June 14, 2026 - Second Sunday of Pride Month

Min. Blyth Barnow

LGBTQIA+ Person of Faith

Quote

“We were made in God's image, which does not speak to perfection but to the vastness of possibility and the irrefutability of our worth.” 

Devotion

I believe the world is beautiful. Or I suppose I should say, I believe the world was made to be beautiful. I never understood a condemning, punishing God. Only humans could create a deity that is so self-hating. No, I trust that God created with wonder and curiosity, with great intention. I believe in a God that makes mistakes and is humble enough to do better. After all, isn’t that what the rainbow is all about? A covenant to self and creation. A “hey - my bad, I won’t do that again.” And they haven’t. I believe in a God that knows how to apologize. 

Under the banner of a rainbow God chose to relinquish power. They chose covenant over control. They promised to walk beside instead of lord over. In the shadow of that rainbow is the double-edged sword of our own free will. We were made for beauty and possibility, but that doesn’t mean that’s what we chose. 

I spend my days developing strategies to reduce political and identity-based violence alongside other brilliant leaders in Ohio. Which is to say, my days are full of collective wrestling with how to restore broken covenants. Together we wonder where we might find enough mercy, enough grace, to dare to connect with “others.” We unpack what that word even means. We try to chart where we are on the scale of Us AND Them, Us VS Them, and US OR Them. And on the days we are brave, we name that we have walked too far down that path. On the days we are honest, we know it’s not just the “other” side that got us here. So as the hymn suggests, we try to draw the circle wider so all of us can fit. 

It is a demanding job that steals any illusion of pretense or “it's not that bad.” It demands clarity and compassion. It demands the heaviest form of grace. Grace that sometimes thins your hair and stomach lining and patience. Because truly, there are some who only see menace in a rainbow. There are some who forget that with rights come responsibilities. Responsibilities to themselves, to each other, to this country. Freedom and independence are not synonyms. And so, I scan posts from neo nazis and other bad actors and I look for any crumb to lead them, to lead us, back to humanity, to belonging, to covenant, to beauty. Because we were made in God’s image, which does not speak to perfection but to the vastness of possibility and the irrefutability of our worth. 

I know many of us take comfort in a red sea between us and them, in a story that ends in our freedom, and their punishment. But that parting has gone too far. The story has to evolve. Because now - in this country- it’s all of us or none. 

And so, in this moment, where it would be so easy to villainize people, we don’t understand and distance ourselves in the name of protection. We are forced to make a choice. Will we choose our covenant over our own perceived control? Does our safety come from isolation or the messy practice of community? Do we believe we were made for beauty? Do we believe “they” are too? Or will we sell our soul to the menace that others are manufacturing? 

Reflection

1.    Who comes to mind when you think of “Us”? Who comes to mind when you think of “Them”? How can you draw the circle of Us wider? 

2.    How would God answer the previous question ? 

Action

Find a way to offer grace or kindness to someone you would have previously labeled as “them.” Start small with those on the edges of your “us” and build the muscle of grace over time. The goal here is connection not convincing. This is not a suggestion to engage those who seek to actively harm you. This an invitation to move more deeply into your covenant and away from the division being manufactured by those who have broken theirs.