Pride Arrives in Kel-So

The inaugural Keller-Southlake Pride event has experienced some difficulty launching.

Pushback to Pride Kel-So was expected. The wealthy, white, Christian area is a conservative Republican stronghold.

“We’ve certainly had a lot of strangers on Facebook posting hateful comments,” said April Dreyson, who co-founded the event with wife and fellow Kel-So resident Shaina Dreyson. “You know, the insane notion that we are targeting innocent children, sexualizing them, that we’re going to hell.”

And the site of the event, St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Keller, has also been targeted by bigots. The priest, the Rev. Alan D. Bentrup, is an ally. It was he who opened the church’s 13 acres to the event. Along with negative Google reviews, Rev. Bentrup has also received threats of violence.

But the show will go on. Scheduled for 2-6pm Sat, Oct 4, at St. Martin-in-the-Fields (223 S Pearson Ln, 817-431-2396), Pride Kel-So will feature the Oak Lawn Band, food trucks, more than 100 vendors, a drag makeover, kids and teen areas, and more. The event is also sponsored by Badge of Pride, an LGBTQIA+ nonproft.

“At St. Martin’s,” Rev. Bentrup said, “we believe in God’s radical welcome. We believe the church is called to be a place of hospitality and healing, where folks can experience the love of Jesus without condition. When I first met the Dreysons and the idea of Pride Kel-So came up, it felt like a natural extension of that mission.”

Rev. Bentrup feels that being part of Pride Kel-So is a great opportunity to reach some of the most vulnerable members of society — exactly like Jesus did in his day.

“We believe all people are made in the image of God and deeply loved by Jesus,” the reverend said, “and we want to be part of an event that celebrates the dignity and worth of every single person. We hope to create a space where people know they’re seen, valued, and safe, especially for folks who have been hurt or excluded by religious communities in the past. Our goal is not to make a political statement but a theological one: God’s love is wider and deeper than we could ever imagine. If even one person walks away from this event feeling more loved and less alone, then we’ve done something right.”

The Dreysons feel Pride events are more important now than ever.

“Pride allows LGBTQ+ humans to feel seen, to feel normal in a world that tells them they’re not normal,” April said. “Pride events also allow our allies to get a glimpse into our world, who we really are at the core, and receive education that may help them see how their votes and their silence impact us. Pride is especially important now as our rights are being taken away or threatened on a daily basis and cruelty has amped up. As humans, we should never be worried that our rights will be taken from us.”

Pride events, the Dreysons feel, are especially important in highly conservative areas. Growing up in Keller and graduating from Keller High School, April and Shaina spent their formative years in the closet because they “had to be,” April said. Once they fell in love and got married, they decided to stay in Keller, where they started a family and launched a corporate events business. The Dreysons knew that if they wanted their company, The Dreyson, to grow, they would have to simply be themselves while interfacing with clients or networking.

“It’s been interesting,” April said. “Everyone has been nice, of course, but didn’t take us seriously for a long while. Now, with us announcing Pride Kel-So, you can tell a shift. You can tell they don’t agree with it and are distancing themselves from us.”

While the hate directed at Pride Kel-So has been expectedly sizable, April says the support has been surprising and not that all small. She, wife Shaina, and their team have been receiving “hundreds” of private messages from “people being very vulnerable and sharing with us how much [the event] means to them.”

April and her team simply have been “blown away by how huge the LGBTQ+ community is here in Keller/Southlake. The connections people have made have been incredible. We have had LGBTQ+ parents find each other, and, for the first time, their kids have other kids that are allowed to come over for playdates. There are just way too many stories to share.”

For the Dreysons, reconciling their identity with organized religion took some effort.

“It’s been very interesting,” said April, who grew up in a Southern Baptist environment. “It’s difficult for us to say how we really feel about it. I think I, myself, am still working through it and trying to reconcile it. I will say this: For the first time in many years, I am considering trying church out again. I never thought I’d say that.”

The biggest explanation for April’s new attitude toward spiritual worship is Rev. Bentrup, “one of the most amazing humans I’ve ever met,” she said.

Originally from Fort Worth, Rev. Bentrup worked in PR and marketing here and in Houston before becoming a pastor about a decade ago. He has served churches in Washington, D.C., Houston, and South Carolina before returning home to be the priest of a flock of 200-plus at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2021. His message to the bigots, many of them so-called Christians, is clear.

“I understand not everyone sees this the same way, but I invite fellow Christians to remember how Jesus responded to people who felt excluded in their communities,” Rev. Bentrup said. “It’s right there in the Bible. He showed compassion, not condemnation. Mercy, not malice. Our faith is rooted in the life, death, and resurrection of a savior who crossed every boundary to restore our relationships with God and each other. We’re not compromising the gospel by showing up in love. We’re living it. And sometimes that looks like opening our fields for a party that says, ‘You belong.’ ”