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Dear Cincinnati-area church leaders,
Pride month is upon us, and I wanted to reach out to all of you with information around Cincinnati Pride events that are being planned. The Cincinnati Pride parade and festival are scheduled for Saturday, June 24.
The diocese, with support from Christ Church Cathedral, will be entering a float in the parade. All Episcopalians are invited to help decorate and walk or ride (limited seating) along with the float as the Episcopal Church in Southern Ohio. Congregations are welcome and encouraged to walk and bring church banners, wear your church t-shirts or hats, and other gear, and be a large presence in the parade as a group. We will have water available for parade participants, but you are also welcome to bring your own.
- More logistical information is available here.
- Download a map here.
I would like to thank Stacy Tuttle of St. Anne's, West Chester, and Drew Abbott and Robert DiMartino of Christ Church Cathedral for all their work coordinating the float and parade presence. Please encourage your parishioners to sign up (diosohio.org/pride) if they would like to participate. If your church is bringing a large delegation there is no need to have everyone sign up, but if one person could sign up and put the expected number in the "comments" section, it would be most appreciated.
The diocese, on behalf of all area congregations, is sponsoring the inclusive teen zone at this year's Pride festival. Our booth will be located near this zone and I encourage you to let your parishioners know that we are proud to be sponsors and to have the opportunity to let area LBTGQ+ teens know that the Episcopal Church is a safe space for them. Again, we really need for people to sign up to work at the booth. Lots of hands make light work! Sign up at diosohio.org/pride.
I am still looking for a volunteer to coordinate the booth. I took an unfortunate tumble June 1 while walking downtown and badly dislocated my elbow and fractured it in 2 places. (I'm typing this one-handed!) I had surgery last week and am on the mend, but I am somewhat out of commission for a couple weeks. If you, or one of your parishioners would be able to help with this, I would so appreciate it.
You should have or will soon be receiving a poster in the mail for a Pride Mass at Christ Cathedral on Sunday, June 25 at 5 p.m. All clergy are invited to vest and process. Download the poster here.
Finally, as a part of the cathedral's desire to start an an LBGTQ+ ministry, several people met back in March to begin talking about some possibilities. One of the ideas was for periodic meet-ups, and I'm happy to share that a LBTGQ+ Happy Hour has been organized for Wednesday, June 28, at Queen City Exchange on Court Street from 5 to 6:30 p.m. All are welcome!
Please share this information with your congregations and encourage participation.
Details
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Friday June 23: 5 to 8 pm: Float Trailer decoration at Mooney-Bullock Farm 5614 Winton Ridge Ln. Cincinnati, OH 45232
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Saturday June 24 Parade: Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio Float- Red line, float 37
- Plan to arrive between 10:15 - 10:45 a.m. at 7th & Central Ave.
- Water will be provided. There are some seats available on the float.
- Festival: 12 to 8 p.m. Congregations are invited to bring materials from their church for our booth, and we have lots of fun giveaways
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Sunday June 25 Pride Eucharist:
- 3pm rehearsal for choir- all are welcome to join in and sing with the cathedral choir
- 5pm service
- 6:15pm potluck supper- please bring a dish to share
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Wednesday, June 28: LGBTQIA+ Happy Hour at Queen City Exchange- 32 West Court Street Cincinnati, OH 45202
- Appetizers will be provided
- Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for sale
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