Our historic urban church is moving into a new era of ministry and mission with the launch of a new contemporary worship service. But we aren’t done growing and changing to meet the needs of the city we serve. We have grown our ministry to the LGBTQIA+ community in the last seven years I’ve been Senior Pastor. John’s UCC is an Open and Affirming UCC church. John’s first time PRIDE participants openly wept at the outpouring of welcome and acceptance.
Instead, the city gathered as a force for love on Saturday, as St. Gone were the days when protestors threw full-sized Bibles at me and and my family when we marched in the Columbus PRIDE parade with our church. Stonewall Columbus called the event “the biggest party in the Midwest!” The Saturday, June 15, parade featured more than 13,000 participants, who marched for three hours before an estimated 700,000 spectators. John’s United Church of Christ in Columbus, Ohio shared a profound witness of God’s love for ALL, no exceptions, by proudly participating in the largest PRIDE parade in the Midwest, Stonewall Columbus PRIDE.