While Christian denominations such as the Metropolitan Community Church and the Unitarian Universalists welcome full participation by glbtq members and clergy, others are divided over glbtq issues, and some are ardent supporters of the most homophobic elements of the New Right. Churches of the Anglican Communion include the Episcopal Church and the Church of England. The recent consecration of Reverend V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as a bishop in the United States brought tensions within the worldwide communion into sharp focus. The Bible is the foundational text of Christianity. Perhaps no other book has been more influential--for better or worse--in determining the construction of gay and lesbian identity in the modern world, as well as social

Both parades and marches serve to render a community visible, but the purposes of the two kinds of events are different. Marches typically have the goal of effecting political or social change, whereas parades are celebratory. In practice, the distinction is not always so clear: some contingents in a parade may bear messages of political protest, and marches may have festive elements or be part of a larger program that includes concerts or picnics and similar events. Pride parades have become significant events in most North American cities and in many European and Asian cities as well. Typically held in conjunction with other gay pride events, and often in June, pride parades offer opportunities for local glbtq communities to celebrate their diversity and to affirm their