Winkler’s first Pride draws stories of pain and hope

Sebastian Saunders is both excited and nervous about returning to Winkler to tell his story at his hometown’s first Pride event.

To get through his anxiety, he imagines a younger version of himself in the audience. “I’m just imagining that kid being like: ‘Oh, I can be happy and healthy and be myself and find community and be OK,’” he says.

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Growing up attending church in Winkler, Saunders internalized a lot of homophobia and transphobia. “I was indoctrinated to believe I was a giant abomination,” he says. At times he thought about taking his own life.

Saunders was diagnosed with cancer when he was 19. The experience forced him to ask himself hard questions. When he finished chemotherapy, he told his family and friends he was queer. “I was ostracized by most of the people around me,” he says.

He moved to Winnipeg where he found a supportive community. He later came out as trans.

Saunders says cancer saved his life. “When I was younger, my family and friends and peers in Winkler didn’t even know who I was. It felt like I was living this giant lie and it felt weird that I could’ve passed away without anyone really knowing who I was,” he says.

2SLGBTQ+ people and their allies in Winkler hope for a celebratory event on Saturday.

Pauline Emerson-Froebe, president of Pembina Valley Pride, says people have been asking for a Pride event in Winkler for years. Organizers decided to have a gathering at a park instead of marching through the streets. The gathering will take place at the Triple E Main Stage and include a procession through the park.

Winkler is deeply divided when it comes to 2SLGBTQ+ acceptance. The community, which has just under 14,000 people, has 19 churches. Eighty-four per cent of the population identifies as Christian.

Last September, hundreds of people gathered at an outdoor stage to preach, pray, and pay tribute to assassinated right-wing American activist Charlie Kirk, who spread disinformation about 2SLGBTQ+ people and called transgender rights a “middle finger to God.”

Local activists have tried to remove books that depict queer families and discuss gender identity from the public library.

After it was announced that Winkler would host its first Pride event, a delegation appeared before city council urging the mayor to deny permits for the event. “Are we allowing Satan to come in? It is not from God, this Pride parade, we know that for sure,” said John Dyck. “We want this (to be) a Christian town.”

Mayor Henry Siemens replied that any group has the right to gather, and people who don’t want to attend, don’t have to.

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In September, Steinbach cancelled its Pride parade after organizers received threats. For this year’s event, Pembina Valley Pride has hired a security company that specializes in de-escalating conflicts.

Greg Costen, a psychotherapist and former pastor from Winkler, has spent years counselling 2SLGBTQ+ clients. “Every last one of my queer clients, if they had experience of local churches in this district, it was exceedingly negative,” he says.

Costen has listened to stories about people expelled from volunteer positions at their church or asked to leave because they or their child were gay. “If you’re a 30-year-old gay person in southern Manitoba you’ve had 30 years of messaging from the church that you are somehow less than, that you are sinful, out of God’s favour,” he said.

A handful of nearby churches, including Altona Mennonite Church and St. Paul’s United Church in Morden, openly welcome and affirm 2SLGBTQ+ people. No church in Winkler has made a public statement of welcome and affirmation.

Costen wanted to do something to change that narrative. So when he heard that his friend Erika Enns Rodine, a Mennonite pastor, was involved in organizing a “Rainbow Church” service in Winkler in advance of the Pride gathering, he volunteered to serve communion.

Rainbow Church will take place at Covenant Mennonite Church Saturday morning. Pastor Kevin Drudge says his church is still figuring out what it means to be welcoming, but the congregation wants their church “to be a place of hospitality to all” including 2SLGBTQ+ people. He points out that Jesus sought out people who were silenced and condemned by religious power structures.

Dave Stobbe, who attends Covenant, said he looks forward to his hometown’s first Pride. He and his wife plan to be there as an act of solidarity with their child, who is queer.

“What would Jesus do? Jesus would come on the (Pride) walk,” he said. “I try to be gracious with those who are struggling with this. Like many issues, you can have all the Bible verses or speeches you want, but when you know someone or perhaps love someone in the rainbow community, then you have a context for how you read your scripture.”

One local pastor, who asked not to be named, says people in his church hold a range of views. Some want their congregation to open its doors to 2SLGBTQ+ people while others are upset about the Pride gathering. “But the largest segment of our congregation would say that regardless of what we think, we want Winkler to be a place where everyone can gather and belong and feel safe,” he said.

Emerson-Froebe hopes Saturday’s event will be a party. “I love Pride celebrations because, honest to goodness, everybody is in such a good mood,” she says.

Saunders plans to drive to Winkler Saturday morning with his friends and supporters. “I’m anxious and excited at the same time,” he says. “So I’ll go with ‘excited’ and pretend that’s the only thing I’m feeling. It’ll be well worth it. I’m going to be brave and share my story, come what may.”

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Josiah Neufeld is a writer in Winnipeg and the author of “The Temple at the End of the Universe.”

This story was produced in conjunction with Winnipeg Free Press, as part of a joint Religion in the News partnership covering issues of faith in Manitoba and nationally.