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[Back to index of July 2008 articles] Episcopal parishes take part in Capital Pride events By Lucy Chumbley For the fourth year, Episcopal parishes in the Diocese of Washington turned out in force to take part in the 33rd annual Capital Pride celebration, held June 6-15. St. Thomas’, D.C., began its participation in the festival with a June 8 Service for Affirmation of Couples in Committed Relationships. The Rev. Frank Dunn, senior priest at St. Stephen and the Incarnation, gave a homily at the service, which drew a “handful” of couples, both gay and straight. The parish also manned a booth on the National Mall throughout the festival, distributing stickers, T-shirts and welcoming literature. As in previous years, the main event was the annual Pride Parade and preceding picnic on the church grounds at Dupont Circle, said the Rev. Nancy Lee Jose, rector of St. Thomas’. Bishop John Bryson Chane rode in the parade for the second time, and five Episcopal clergy joined parishioners from St. Margaret’s, D.C., St. Thomas’ and St. George’s, Glenn Dale to take part. “We’re growing in number and presence every year,” Jose said, noting that the diocese had six cars in this year’s parade, up from three the previous year. On the afternoon of the parade, St. Thomas’ parishioner John Johnson fired up the grill and began cooking hamburgers and hotdogs for the assembled Episcopalians before they joined the parade lineup en masse. The parade began at 7:15 p.m. – just as the heavens opened and soaked the participants, if not their spirits. Jose said she was encouraged to see a much stronger faith presence at this year’s parade. In addition to the three Episcopal parishes from the diocese, she said, the Seventh Day Adventists took part for the first time and the United Church of Christ, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists and the Metropolitan Community Churches all were represented. Bishop Chane received the most enthusiastic reaction from the crowd, she said. “When people see the bishop, the crowd just roars,” she said. “People get teary eyed. It’s such an incredible symbol of hospitality and welcome just to see him.” Jose described her parish’s decision to get involved in the Pride events as “a ministry of presence.” “Just showing up is important,” she said, “and this is a way to be out there. It’s also a reminder that God loves us, just as we are, and that the Episcopal Church welcomes us.” For the first time this year, a parish committee coordinated St. Thomas’s participation in the festival, Jose said, noting that her parish’s involvement in what has become one of its signature events began with a simple suggestion from a parishioner. “This idea was planted and driven by Dustin Cole, one of our young adults” she said. “Dustin actually created our very first banner: God Created the Rainbow.” The first year, Cole personally stapled candy to hundreds of postcards that were tossed out during the parade so they’d fly better, Jose said. “[The parade participation] was really his idea and really the parish has carried the idea since then,” she said. “It has grown, and grown in symbolism, each year.” Other parishioners have also contributed their ideas and talents: Louie Stewart suggested the Service of Affirmation, which in its first year drew about 30 couples, and Johnson, the hotdog chef, set up a table where children (and the young-at-heart) could make banners and signs to carry in the parade. Parishioners Phil Kronstine and Brad Latham lent their graphic design skills to the creation of this year’s booth on the National Mall. “This is the congregation,” Jose said. “They are the artists; they are the energy behind this.” Certainly, she added, lots of energy is required. “This year it took a lot more of our resources, personal and actual,” she said, welcoming a return to true “ordinary time” after all the recent activity. That said, “We’ll be ready for it again next year,” she promised. * Those interested in participating next year should contact St. Thomas’ at 202/332-0607, or pride@stthomasdc.org. Lucy Chumbley is the editor of Washington Window, the newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. [Back to index of July 2008 articles]
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