May 2024

In this Issue

• Pride Planning - on Slack
• Special Pride Month forum: June 12
• Queer in Christ on Slack

Upcoming Meetings & Events

Cancellation: June 2 Queer Conversations

Please note, the June 2 Queer Conversation has been cancelled

We had been planning a special Queer Conversation on June 5 in the organ gallery, led by Canon Michael Kleinschmidt, in a conversation about queer composers of the church. However, due to a conflicting event, this Queer Conversation has been cancelled. We will look to plan this at a later date with Canon Kleinschmidt...so stay tuned!

Pride Planning on Slack

Pride month is June!

This year, we will be having conversations about opportunities to engage in Pride month activities with the Saint Mark's community on our new Queer in Christ Slack channel. Slack is available as an app, and you can connect with us on Slack using this link. If you have questions about how to access slack, or about our Pride month activities in general, contact Rose Hazard (pinuprose90@gmail.com).

Pride Month Parish Forum

Thursday, June 12, 7-8:30pm in Bloedel Hall

Mark your calendars for the evening of June 12 in Bloedel Hall when Saint Mark's will host a Pride Month Forum . This will be an event geared for the entire cathedral community to learn about why Pride is important to the queer community, and provide an opportunity for education and fellowship. The forum is being planned by Michael Garrett, Rose Hazard, and Michael Seewer, and we are seeking others who may wish to assist in presenting a portion that evening, and also assisting in the Q&A session we are planning. We hope that as many people from the queer community at Saint Mark's as possible can join us, so please consider joining us!

Capitol Hill Pride Fest

Saturday, June 29, Noon-8pm on Broadway in Capitol Hill

Saint Mark's will again host a booth at this year's Capitol Hill Pride Fest. Being present at Pride Fest shows people that we are a church where queer people are welcomed and celebrated! Our booth includes information about Saint Mark's, and some fun trinkets for people to take with them. We are seeking volunteers to sign up for one of several 2-hour timeslots where you will be present at the booth, talking to people and answering their questions about Saint Mark's and the Episcopal Church. Interested in signing up? Click this link to pick a spot, all are welcome! Questions? Please contact Rose Hazard (pinuprose90@gmail.com)

Queer in Christ on Slack

We have started a new Queer in Christ group on Slack! All are invited to join this group if you'd like to participate in conversations about events, ask questions, make suggestions, etc. To join this group, click on this link from your smart phone. If you don't have the slack app on your phone, it will first ask you to download it. Then you can create an account, sign in, and join the conversation on slack.

With this new slack group, we will cancel our quarterly planning meetings that were planned for the first Fridays of January, April, and October.

News from the Broader Church

• Bishop's Electing Convention: We, the Diocese of Olympia, will elect our next bishop this Saturday, May 18! We ask for your prayers. You can watch the convention via our Saint Mark's Livestream page, starting at 9:30 that morning. More information about the search for our next bishop can be found on the Bishop Search Webpage.
• Church's "A Closer Look" on immigration series addresses LGBTIQ+ migration issues.
• The Episcopal Church appoints first Gender Justice Staff Officer, Aaron Scott, who has a connection to our diocese! This new position, approved at the 80th General Convention, is dedicated to LGBTQ+ and women's ministries. More info about this exciting new position can be found in this article.
• News from the United Methodist Church:
• United Methodists redefine marriage, end official condemnation of homosexuality.
• United Methodists strike down ban on ordination of gay clergy.

Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral

206-323-0300

info@saintmarks.org

www.saintmarks.org