SW Sask. Pride and First United Church celebrate National Affirming Day with pi(e)
This Pi Day, March 14, (yes, that’s 3.14!) Southwest Saskatchewan Pride and First United Church are celebrating much more than a mathematical constant; they are showing their Public, Intentional, and Explicit (PIE) support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community on the fifth annual PIE Day, also known as National Affirming Day.
The two groups are partnering to host a PIE Day Pride Café on Saturday, March 16 from 1 -5 pm at the Pride Drop-in Centre. This drop-in event is an opportunity for the people of Swift Current and the southwest to show their support for Southwest Saskatchewan Pride and the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Pie will be available for purchase (by donation) to eat in at the Café or to take home, and there will fun activities for both adults and children, including puzzles, trivia, colouring pages, and a graffiti wall. The money raised at the Café will go toward covering the costs of maintaining the Pride Drop-in Centre.
“The PIE Day Pride Café fundraiser for the Pride Drop-in Centre is an opportunity for all of us in the Swift Current community to be Public, Intentional, and Explicit in our support of 2SLGBTQIA+ people locally,” says Stacie Noble-wiebe, Chair of the Affirming Ministry Group at First United Church. “Showing up to share some pie and coffee together, or donating to take a pie home, may seem like a small gesture, but it can actually have a large impact. In a political and cultural climate that has been increasingly vocal in casting the queer community as ‘other’, your participation in the PIE Day Pride Café sends a clear message to the queer community here in Swift Current that they are seen, valued, and supported.”
The Pride Drop-in Centre, which is located in the Dickson Community Centre at 751 Lorne St W, is open Saturdays 1pm to 5pm during the winter (check the United Church’s website for summer hours). Southwest Pride envisions a greater southwest Saskatchewan that is connected to and supportive of the queer community.
Living by the United Church’s values of Presence, Representation, Identity, Diversity and Engagement, SW Pride cultivates opportunities for the 2SLGBTQ+ community to flourish.
Swift Current’s area’s engagement has enabled projects like Saskatchewan’s first Rainbow Crosswalk right here in Swift Current, and a welcoming and inclusive Drop-in Center to provide information and a safe and accepting space for the community.
For more information, please contact: First United Church at firstunitedchurch@ sasktel.net or 306-773-9353, or Southwest Saskatchewan Pride at swiftcurrentpride@ gmail.com.