JDS Resources

Reflection on LGBT+ History Month, February 2024

The theme for LGBT+ History Month 2024 is "Under the Scope". This year's theme focuses on LGBT+ people's experience of, and contribution to, healthcare and medicine. It aims to shine a light on LGBT+ people's complex experiences of receiving healthcare and the health inequalities still faced today. It also aims to showcase the amazing work done by LGBT+ people in the field of medicine and healthcare, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is because of the contributions of LGBT+ people that we are able to calculate the correct dosage of medicine for children of different ages; that women are able to become doctors; and that we study the impact of gender, ethnicity and level of education of patients on the care they receive in hospital.

We give thanks for the contributions of LGBT+ people to our society and recognise that, whilst we may have contradictory convictions on marriage, for example, no one deserves to receive inequitable healthcare based on their sexuality or gender identity.

A Prayer for LGBT+ History Month

God of Community,

encompassing all that was, that is and that can be,

who brings to birth each precious being in your creation;

we thank you for our capacity to love,

and for your love poured out on us.

We pray for your blessing on our LGBTQIA+ Community.

May our Common Life be enriched by their presence,

and blessed by their gifts.

Grant us Grace and Humility to heal past hurts,

and transform us,

that together we may take our place in your Kingdom. Amen

Rev'd Canon Sarah Jones, St John's Church, Cardiff, Diocese of Llandaff

Racial Justice Sunday, 11th February 2024

Racial Justice Sunday takes place on Sunday, 11th February

DID YOU KNOW?
According to the latest figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 'At least 108.4 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes. Among them are nearly 35.3 million refugees, around 41 per cent of whom are under the age of 18.'

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have produced a set of excellent resources for Racial Justice Sunday, titled: 'Exodus! Justice for God's people on the move' which can be found via this link: https://ctbi.org.uk/racial-justice-sunday-2024/

The resources explore the migration of people around the globe, as a result of war, persecution, the climate emergency and poverty, and enables churches to pray and take action on the refugee crisis.