Come As You Are: Santa Fe's Jewish Community Shows Up for Pride
By Tori DeAnda
Rainbows filled Santa Fe Plaza and nearby streets on Saturday, June 27th, as thousands celebrated Pride Month, showering the streets with bubbles and music in a joyous show of support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Booths lined the sidewalks featuring local businesses, organizations, and supportive religious institutions — among them Temple Beth Shalom, whose members staffed a booth passing out rainbow flags and stickers.
Temple Beth Shalom's Rabbi Neil Amswych spoke about why the congregation shows up to Pride year after year — and why, for Reform Judaism, that support isn't incidental but foundational.
"For us, this is about celebrating God's creation," Amswych said. "We believe that everyone is created in God's image. We believe that God doesn't make mistakes, and so for us, the question of how do we support it is part of who we are. It's part of Reform Judaism."
Reform Judaism, he explained, is a movement a couple hundred years old, built on the premise that Judaism has always evolved — from a temple-based sacrificial tradition to mysticism to legal scholarship and beyond. "The past has a vote, not a veto in Reform Judaism," Amswych said. "God wants us to use our brains. God wants us to try to bring in wisdom from other places too, and use it to develop Judaism, and have Judaism be inclusive and loving to everyone."
He was candid that inclusion hasn't always been Judaism's default. "It's fair to say that Judaism hasn't always been inclusive," he said. "It's often looked inward." But at Temple Beth Shalom, he said, the congregation looks both inward and outward, guided by a simple motto: "Come as you are."
"We want everyone to be able to bring their authentic self, for us to be able to say, 'You are created in God's image too, and so we celebrate you,'" Amswych said. "A lot of people are joining Temple Beth Shalom, a lot of people are coming to Reform Judaism because they understand that Judaism and modernity can live together."
Pride attendees Alex Price and Jenna Hernandez described what the day meant to them.
"This is my first year coming to Pride with my girlfriend, and it's such a euphoric feeling," Price said. "I love having queer joy, I love being around queer joy, and this makes me so happy."
"Every year it's so fun, and I like being surrounded with people like me," Hernandez said. Both described the day as one of feeling seen and supported — a feeling that extended past the Plaza, as businesses throughout Santa Fe flew rainbow flags.
People of all ages turned out, pets included. First-time Santa Fe Pride participants Jayda and Chucky said they were struck by the range of people in attendance.
"It's really awesome to see all the littles at Pride and the dogs. It's good vibes today," Jayda said.
The parade itself was a rolling display of handmade floats, music, and bubble machines, as dancers, musicians, and artists shared their creativity with the crowds lining the route.
Political issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community were woven throughout — Pride's roots as protest were visible in signs reading "No Kings," "Diplomacy," and "Stronger Together" carried on parade floats.
The event's official end at 4 p.m. didn't slow things down much — attendees carried the celebration into after-parties set up around the Plaza.
Tori DeAnda, 20, a student at the University of New Mexico with a double major in Political Science and Journalism (multi-media), is doing community engagement multi-media work for the NM Jewish Journal.
A generous gift from the David Specter Shalom House Board has enabled the New Mexico Jewish Journal to bring on student writers and expand its coverage of community events.
Editor's note: This piece was reported by student contributor Tori DeAnda. The Temple Beth Shalom section was drawn from a transcript of DeAnda's interview with Rabbi Neil Amswych during the parade that Claude, an AI assistant, selected quotes from and composed text around. The final text was reviewed, verified, and edited for publication by DJS.
RELATED: Watch Rabbi Neil's Pre-Shabbat message, "Adam Was Male and Female," as posted by Temple Beth Shalom.
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