Local
Robinson raising money for Dupont church
Gay bishop calls St. Thomas his ‘home away from home’
Editor’s note: Go here for the Blade’s Q&A with Robinson.
The Episcopal Church’s first out gay bishop joined more than 100 members and guests in a Saturday reception at D.C.’s St. Thomas’ Parish near Dupont Circle to promote plans for rebuilding the church’s sanctuary, which was destroyed by fire 40 years ago.
V. Gene Robinson, who was elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, called the LGBT-welcoming church “my home away from home.” He said he would play an active role in fundraising efforts to cover the costs for the new church building.
“This congregation reaches out to all of God’s children without shame, without apology,” he told the gathering during the reception, in which a model and several drawings of the proposed new building were displayed.
In an interview after the reception, Robinson told the Blade that St. Thomas’ long history of embracing progressive causes, including LGBT equality and its status as one of the first D.C. area churches to perform blessings of same-sex unions, were examples of how the Christian church in many ways has changed for the better.
“You know, asking an LGBT person to go back to the church that has been the source of so much pain and abuse is a little like asking an abused spouse to go back to her husband,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is in many places the church is changing. And the church realizes that for years it got it wrong about LGBT people,” he said. “And what I love about St. Thomas’ Parish is that it is really leading the way in that kind of radically inclusive message.”
The original St. Thomas’ Church, a distinctive English Gothic structure, first opened in 1893 at 18th and Church streets, N.W. Among its most famous parishioners were President Franklin Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Current church officials say that by the late 1960s, the church had become known as a welcoming place for residents and visitors in the diverse, changing neighborhood of Dupont Circle, where gays, hippies, and anti-Vietnam War protesters, among others, had settled in the then-inexpensive apartments and townhouses.
The church’s mix of new and longtime residents of the Dupont Circle area reacted with sadness and resolve in August 1970, according to current members, when the church was destroyed by a fire that authorities listed as arson. The exterior stone structure remained standing, but city building officials declared it an imminent safety hazard, forcing the congregation to suffer the additional trauma of paying for the demolition of their cherished place of worship.
The perpetrator or perpetrators of the arson were never identified.
For the past 40 years the congregation has worshiped in an adjacent building on Church Street, which members converted from the original church hall to a new sanctuary. The site of the demolished church building was transformed into a park, with the ruins of one of the church walls left standing as a monument to the congregation’s will to persevere.
“We are a community of radical hospitality,” St. Thomas’ rector, Rev. Dr. Nancy Lee Jose, said in a statement. “That means we invite everyone not only to belong, but to participate fully in all levels of parish life and leadership.”
The contemporary new structure will consist of an 8,500-square-foot sanctuary seating 275 people, according to literature released by the congregation. It will be built on the park where the original church stood and will incorporate within its walls the “Gothic High Altar” from the ruins of the old church, which will serve as a chapel, the literature says.
Matthew Jarvis, 33, the lead architect of the building, who is gay, said his design was inspired by the church’s history and the diversity of its members.
“The essence, if there is one, is that it embodies openness, transparency, and inclusivity in a physical building to match the theology of the people,” he said.
John Johnson, St. Thomas’ senior warden, a volunteer administrative post, said the total cost of the new church building is expected to come to $5.1 million.
He said funds for the new building will be raised through pledges by parishioners, a $2.9 million external fundraising campaign, the sale of a church rectory building located nearby and existing funds obtained from an insurance payout from the fire.
Robinson, whose election to the post of Bishop triggered a tumultuous debate within the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and abroad, said the church has taken a “dramatic step forward” in the years since his election.
He said many people, including gays, who have left the church due to a perceived anti-LGBT bias may not be fully aware of these changes.
“And so I would say to the gay community, take another look,” he said. “The church you left may be different now. And certainly St. Thomas is modeling I think the kind of inclusive love that God is all about.”
Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson (left) and Matthew Jarvis, the lead architect of the new St. Thomas building, who is also gay, attended a meeting on Saturday to unveil plans for the church. (Photo by Colleen Dermody)
Virginia
Prominent activists join ‘Living History’ panel at Freddie’s Beach Bar
Event organized by owner of new Friends of Dorothy Café in Alexandria
Six prominent LGBTQ community leaders and elders, including a beloved drag performer, talked about their role in advancing the rights of LGBTQ people and their thoughts on how the upcoming generation of LGBTQ youth should get ready to join the movement participated in an April 23 “Living History” panel discussion at Freddie’s Beach Bar.
The event was organized by Dorothy Edwards, who plans to open Friends of Dorothy Café in Alexandria. She said the café will be an LGBTQ community “intergenerational space” that will host events like the one she organized at Freddie’s Beach Bar.
“It will be a space for connection, storytelling, and belonging, especially for LGBTQ+ youth and community members who don’t always have places like that,” she said in a statement announcing the event at Freddie’s.
The six panelists at the Freddie’s event included Kierra Johnson, president of the D.C.-based National LGBTQ Task Force; Freddie Lutz, owner of Freddie’s Beach Bar located in the Crystal City section of Arlington, Va.; Donnell Robinson, who for many years performed in drag as the icon Ella Fitzgerald; Taylor Chandler Walker, a local transgender rights advocate, author and public speaker; Heidi Ellis, coordinator of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; and Leti Gomez, an LGBTQ Latino community advocate and chair of the board of the American LGBTQ+ Museum.
Dr. Ashley Elliott, an LGBTQ community advocate and clinician who also goes by the name Dr. Vivid, served as moderator of the panel discussion, asking each of the panelists a serious of questions before opening the event to questions from the audience.
Among the issues discussed by the panelists was who was “centered” and who was excluded in the earlier years of LGBTQ organizing. Elliot also asked the panelists to address topics such as racism within queer spaces, gender dynamics, and strategies for coalition building between the LGBTQ community and other movements, including civil rights, feminism, and immigrant rights.
Each of the panelists expressed various thoughts on how the LGBTQ rights movement can make changes in response to the questions: “What can we do better?” and “Who is being left out?”
“I’m overwhelmed and so thankful that everyone on this panel said yes and agreed to come,” Edwards told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think every one of those people, including the moderator, was so brilliant and has done such good work for this community,” she said.
Edwards noted that each of the panelists, who have been involved in LGBTQ advocacy work for many years, talked about how they interact with younger LGBTQ people who are just beginning to become involved in activism.
“Truly, it’s an intergenerational conversation, and their wisdom and their words and their experiences can be disseminated to younger generations and people who want to do this work, people who want to fight for our community,” Edwards said.
“I was pleasantly surprised,” Lutz said. “I thought it was a good turnout, and everybody was very enthusiastic and engaged,” he said. “And I think it was great and fabulous.”
Lutz has operated Freddie’s Beach Bar for more than 25 years and has hosted numerous LGBTQ events. A sign above the front entrance door to the popular LGBTQ bar and restaurant says, “Straight Friendly Gay Bar.”
Peters said the April 23 event was recorded and she will make arrangements for the recording to be released for others to view it. The Blade will post the link in this story when it becomes available.
District of Columbia
Second trans member announces plans to resign from Capital Pride board
Zion Peters cites ‘lack of interest in the Black trans community’
Zion Peters, a member of the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors who identifies as transgender, told the Washington Blade he plans to resign from the board “due to the lack of interest in the trans community, specifically the Black trans community.”
Peters continued, “Nobody has checked on me in the last two months so that shows their level of unprofessionalism towards their board members and the community as a whole.”
If he resigns, Peters would be the second known trans person to resign from the Capital Pride board since February, when longtime trans activist Taylor Lianne Chandler informed the board of her resignation in a detailed letter that was sent to the Blade by an anonymous source.
Chandler, who served as chair of the Capital Pride Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Intersex Committee, stated in her Feb. 24 letter that she resigned from the board out of frustration that the board had failed to address instances of “sexual misconduct” within the Capital Pride organization. The organization’s and the board’s transgender-related policies were not cited in her letter as a reason for her resignation.
The Blade learned of Peters’s plans to resign from an anonymous source who thought Peters had already resigned along with four other board members identified by the anonymous source. The others, who Capital Pride confirmed this week had resigned, include Anthony Musa, Bob Gilchrist, Kaniya Walker, and Dai Nguyen.
Musa and Gilchrist told the Blade they resigned for personal reasons related to their jobs and that they fully support Capital Pride’s work as an organization that coordinates the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
The Blade has been unable to reach Walker and Nguyen to determine their reasons for resigning.
Capital Pride CEO Ryan Bos and Board Chair Anna Jinkerson didn’t respond to a Blade question asking if they knew why Walker or Nguyen resigned.
In response to a request by the Blade for comment on the resignations and the concern raised by Zion Peters about trans-related issues, Bos and Jinkerson sent separate statements elaborating on the organization and the board’s position on various issues.
“We can confirm that the individuals you referenced, except for Zion, no longer serve on the Capital Pride Alliance Board of Directors,” Jinkerson said in her statement.
She added that following the WorldPride festival hosted by D.C. last May and June that was organized by Capital Pride Alliance, the group anticipated a “significant level of board transition,” with many board members reaching the end of their terms. But she said many board members chose to extend their service or apply for an additional term, showing a “powerful reflection of commitment.”
Without commenting on the specific reasons for the resignations of Peterson, Walker, and Nygun, Jinkerson noted, “As with all volunteer leadership roles, transitions occur for a range of personal and professional reasons, and we appreciate those transitions with both understanding and gratitude.”
In his own statement, Bos addressed Capital Pride’s record on transgender issues.
“The Capital Pride Alliance is committed to supporting and uplifting the Trans community through our work with the Trans Coalition under the Diversity of Prides Initiative, our partnership with Earline Budd on the LGBTQ+ Burial Fund with a focus on our Trans siblings, our collaboration with the National Trans Visibility March, and our ongoing investment in programming for Transgender Day of Visibility and Transgender Day of Remembrance,” Bos said in his statement.
“We also recognize there is always continued work to be done, and we always welcome feedback from our community to ensure our commitment remains unwavering,” he said.
At the time of her resignation in February, Chandler said she could not provide specific details of the instances of sexual misconduct to which she referred in her resignation letter, or who allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct, saying she and all other board members had signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement preventing them from disclosing further details.
Board Chair Jinkerson in a statement released at that time said she and the board were aware of Chandler’s concerns but did not specifically address allegations of sexual misconduct.
“When concerns are brought to CPA, we act quickly and appropriately to address them,” she said. “As we continue to grow as an organization, we’re proactively strengthening the policies and procedures that shape our systems, our infrastructure, and the support we provide to our team and partners,” she said.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
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