Arts & Entertainment
Holidays and holy days
Several D.C.-area churches welcome gays for Christmas services
Foundry United Methodist Church (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Not all houses of worship spew the same old tiresome fire-and-brimstone theology. Several churches in the Washington region are openly LGBT welcoming and affirming and have services planned over Christmas Eve and Christmas. Here are a few:
Christmas Eve
Foundry United Methodist Church (16th and P streets, N.W.) holds a children and family Christmas Eve service this evening at from 6:30-7:30 p.m. At 8 the church will also host a Christmas Eve lessons, carols and candlelight service filled with music and scripture readings. Rev. Dean Snyder will share a homily. For more information visit foundryumc.org.
All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church (2300 Cathedral Ave., N.W.) has a children’s Mass and blessing of the Creche today at 4 p.m. This includes carols, scripture and the story from the rector. Later at 7, staff will hold Christmas lessons and carols, which will include songs sung by the choir. The High Mass will be held at 11pm with a prelude of music at 10:30 pm. For more information, visit allsoulsdc.org.
Metropolitan Community Church of Washington (474 Ridge St., N.W.) holds a Christmas Eve worship service tonight at 8 with Rev. Dwayne Johnson. Visit mccdc.com for details. Johnson is openly gay and MCC is the city’s largest mostly LGBT church.
Washington National Cathedral (3101 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) has carols by candlelight with Revs. Mariann Budd and Gary Hall this evening at 6. At 10 p.m., there’s Festival Holy Eucharist. For more information, visit nationalcathedral.org.
Covenant Baptist Church United Church of Christ (3845 S. Capitol St.) holds its Christmas Eve service tonight at 7. For details, visit covenantbaptistucc.org.
Dumbarton United Methodist Church (3133 Dumbarton St., N.W.) offers two Christmas Eve services today at 5 and10 p.m. The first service is geared toward children while the later service is more formal and will connect with the Advent worship themes. Visit dumbartonumc.org for details.
National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.) has a service tonight at 7:30 with a musical prelude starting at 7 that includes a vocal soloist, organ, harp and other instrumentalists. National City has one of the region’s largest and best-sounding pipe organs. For more information visit nationalcitycc.org.
The Christ Church on Capitol Hill (620 G St., S.E.) holds a Christmas Eve service this evening at 5:30 p.m. and a Choir Festive service at 10:30 p.m. with a choral prelude starting at 10. For details visit washingtonparish.org.
Saint John’s Episcopal Church (3240 O St., N.W.) presents its Christmas Pageant today at 4 p.m. Later in the evening there’s a Festival Holy Eucharist service with choral prelude beginning at 8:30 p.m. Visit stjohnsgeorgetown.org for more information.
Seekers Church (276 Carroll St., N.W.) holds a Christmas Eve dinner and service from 6-9 p.m. For more information, visit seekerschurch.org.
First Trinity Lutheran Church (309 E St., N.W.) has a Christmas Eve service tonight at 7:30 p.m. For details, visit firsttrinitydc.org.
Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P St., N.W.) offers a Christmas Eve candlelight service with Christmas music, celebration of the Lord’s supper and candlelighting. Visit churchofthepilgrims.org for details.
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (1725 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) has a Christmas Eve Mass with a musical prelude today at 4, a Misa De Vigilia de Navidad at 6:30 p.m. and a Solemn Mass of Christmas with a musical prelude beginning at 9:15 p.m. The Roman Catholic Church’s official stance is anti-gay, but some parishes are quietly LGBT welcoming. For more information, visit stmatthewscathedral.org or dignitywashintgon.org.
Christmas
All Souls Memorial Episcopal Church (2300 Cathedral Ave., N.W.) holds low Mass this morning at 10 a.m. Visit allsoulsdc.org for more information.
Washington National Cathedral (3101 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) holds Festival Holy Eucharist this morning at 11 a.m. There is a Christmas Day Service of Lessons and Carols today at 4 p.m. followed by an organ recital featuring Jeremy Filsell this evening at 5:15 p.m.
The Christ Church on Capitol Hill (620 G St., S.E.) has its Christmas Day service this morning at 10 a.m. For more information visit washingtonparish.org.
Saint John’s Episcopal Church (3240 O St., N.W.) has a Christmas Day Holy Eucharist service beginning at 10 a.m. For details, visit stjohnsgeorgetown.org.
Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (1725 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) offers four different Christmas services: one at 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and a service in Spanish at 1 p.m. Visit stmatthewscathedral.org for more information.
Dignity Washington (1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) has its Christmas Mass this evening at 6 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Church. Dignity is a special group for LGBT Roman Catholics. For more information, visit dignitywashington.org.
The Freddie’s Follies drag show was held at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, Jan. 3. Performers included Monet Dupree, Michelle Livigne, Shirley Naytch, Gigi Paris Couture and Shenandoah.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
a&e features
Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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