Jonathan Frazier performing at Aging With Pride luncheon
Tables of pizza, a disco ball, and live music set the scene for a Wednesday Pride Month luncheon with dozens of LGBTQ elders.
Tucked into the basement of Temple Ohev Sholom, members of the “Aging with Pride” group gathered in groups around tables, mixing, mingling and enjoying the feeling of community.
The LGBT Center of Central PA social group fosters connection with monthly lunches and more, according to Brad Gebhart, an LGBT Center of Central PA board member, and has been doing so now for 15 years.
According to Barry Loveland, one of the cofounders of Aging With Pride, the group began in 2011.
“The group started basically as just an idea that we would have some kind of programming and some kind of social events for older members of the LGBTQ+ community,” explained Loveland. “This was even before the center had a physical location. They did a survey at the 2011 Central PA Pride Festival. They had a booth there. They handed out surveys of people who were attending to see what the interest would be.”
Years in, members of the group appreciate the space to meet with other LGBTQ community members in their age range, who might have experienced similar life milestones or gone through similar challenges.
According to Loveland, the group helped inspire “The History Project,” a partnership with Dickinson College’s archives that collected and preserved local elder LGBTQ members’ oral histories, documents and artifacts.
Barry Loveland
Gebhart noted that the group’s growth in recent years, following Covid-19, has been so sharp it has outgrown the LGBT Center’s front street location as a gathering space.
“Sometimes there’s 20 people, sometimes 40, sometimes 60 people depending on the day or the time,” Gebhart said.
He credits Doug Bell, Aging with Pride co-facilitator, as a part of the reason for the large number of attendees. Bell, who joined the group in 2023 after retirement, asked if he could show up a little early, greet attendees and hand out name tags for the events.
“After a few months of that, it started to grow,” Bell said.
Internally, the group has a roster, Bell said, which allows members to invite others to connect socially outside the once-a-month meetings.
Steven McElrath and Rodney Pate, members of Aging With Pride, for instance, have run a card-playing circle with members of the group.
“A lot of us were retired and we would have the time,” McElrath said. “I thought it would be nice to do it on a weekday in the afternoon.”
Aging With Pride members
The LGBT Center of Central PA is located at 1323 N. Front St., Harrisburg. For more information on Aging With Pride, or to support or donate visit www.centralpalgbtcenter.org.
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