St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (Pride Weekend)

For many years, St. Bart’s has found in the words and actions of Jesus Christ a Gospel of extreme empathy and mercy for people forced to the margins of society, of frustration and confrontation with the wielders of power, of drawing in those whom others would exclude. One way our parish has modeled this Gospel message is through its allyship with LGBTQIA+ people and affirmation of their lives, relationships, and families. This congregation includes people belonging to most, if not all, of the communities that make up the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, as well as many parents, grandparents, siblings, and best friends of the people in these communities. St. Bart’s has proudly flown its “All Are Welcome, No Exceptions” banner on Pomerado Road for years and, in doing so, has offered itself as a spiritual home to countless people who never believed, or long ago stopped believing, that the Church could ever be such a place for them. Simply put, the message our banner carries attracts people seeking a community of allies. Many of our parishioners are here today for precisely this reason.