Prayer for LGBTQ people who can’t go home for Thanksgiving

Photo: Gerald Farinas.

O Spirit of Grace, who dwells in all hearts and calls every soul worthy, we gather this day, holding in our thoughts those who find themselves estranged on this holiday of gathering.

We lift up the members of the LGBTQ community whose rightful homes are closed to them this Thanksgiving. For those whose identities are met with coldness instead of welcome, whose truth is met with rejection instead of love, we ask for your sustaining comfort.

We pray that the grief of this absence may not overshadow their worth, and that the silence of an empty seat may instead be filled with the sound of a truer, chosen family. May they find tables set with genuine affection and spaces where their whole selves are celebrated, not tolerated.

For those navigating the complicated pain of being unwelcome by the very people who should offer sanctuary, grant them courage. Give them the strength to choose self-preservation, to honor their sacred integrity, and to build traditions that nourish their spirit.

May they feel profoundly that they are not alone. Connect them, in this moment, to the vast web of love that embraces them: the friends, the allies, and the communities that have sworn to hold them safe.

Bless the chosen families who open their doors and their hearts today—the kin of spirit who heal old wounds and forge new bonds of belonging. May their generosity be a powerful reminder that love is never defined by blood alone, but by acceptance and unwavering support.

May the light of hope burn bright within them, guiding them through this difficult day and illuminating a path toward a future where every person can return home, whether to a house of brick or a home built of love, and be greeted with an unqualified, "Welcome."

Amen.