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Today we honor the courage it takes to live openly and authentically—especially in a time when coming out can still be risky, and sometimes even dangerous.

In 1988, artist Keith Haring created the first official image for National Coming Out Day: a single bright yellow figure stepping boldly out of a dark closet. His art transformed visibility into celebration and made activism something you could feel in color and motion.

As an artist, pastor, and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I wanted to honor that legacy with my own reinterpretation—a digital watercolor inspired by Haring’s style, filled with figures of different sizes and shapes joyfully coming out of a closet bursting with the colors of the Progress Pride flag.

Because closets are for clothes—not for people. They’re dark, cramped, and confining. And yet, even now, coming out can be dangerous.

Across the country, LGBTQ+ people—especially trans and nonbinary youth, queer parents, and teachers—face growing hostility, restrictive laws, and targeted hate. For many, living openly is still not safe. For others, it’s an act of holy defiance.

So today, we celebrate every kind of coming out:
Those who come out boldly and publicly.
Those who come out quietly to a few.
Those who come out only to themselves.
And those who can’t yet—whose truth still matters, and whose safety comes first.

As the Open and Affirming Coalition, we also pray that our churches continue to “come out”—publicly and joyfully proclaiming that LGBTQ+ people are beloved, whole, and fully part of the Body of Christ.

Coming out should never be an act of survival. It should be a celebration of life. And every day, your support helps us build brave, affirming spaces where people of every age, background, and identity can live fully and freely as God created them.

Please consider celebrating National Coming Out Day with a special donation to the Open and Affirming Coalition. Your gift will help us continue resourcing congregations, training leaders, and creating communities where everyone can come out safely, joyfully, and without fear.

Let’s keep building a world where closets are for clothes—and churches are for love.

— Rev. Derek A. Terry
Artist • Pastor • Acting Executive Director
Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ

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