The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in Morningside Heights in Harlem will light its columns in bright, beautiful rainbow colors in support of LGBTQ communities during Pride Month.
If you’re interested in seeing the Pride Month light display and speaking to Reverend Canon Patrick Malloy, Sub-Dean and Canon for Liturgy and the Arts at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine to hear about the Cathedral’s historic engagement with the LGBTQ community, please let me know.
The Cathedral has long been a home for progressive social causes, beginning with its charter as a “house of prayer for all people.”
As one of the first religious institutions in New York City to champion the causes of the LGBTQ community, the Cathedral has built upon a legacy of inclusivity and a powerful religious presence in the fight for social justice.
The Cathedral is proud to serve its LGBTQ community both in times of joy and through periods of crisis.
The Cathedral was one of the first churches in the country to recognize the impact of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and it continues to honor survivors today.
The nave of the Cathedral contains an AIDS Memorial dedicated to the memories of those who have died from the disease.
One of artist Keith Haring’s final works, a triptych altarpiece titled The Life of Christ, made just before he passed away from AIDS, is on public view in the Cathedral’s Chapel of St. Saviour.
The Cathedral
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is chartered as a house of prayer for all people and a unifying center of intellectual light and leadership.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cathedral has responded to changing needs in the local community and across the city and state.
People from many faiths and communities worship together in daily services held online and in person; the soup kitchen serves roughly 50,000 meals annually; social service outreach has an increasingly varied roster of programs to safely provide resources and aid to the hardest-hit New Yorkers; the distinguished Cathedral School prepares young students to be future leaders; Advancing the Community of Tomorrow, the
renowned preschool, afterschool and summer program, offers diverse educational and nurturing experiences; the outstanding Textile Conservation Lab preserves world treasures; concerts, exhibitions, performances and civic gatherings allow conversation, celebration, reflection and remembrance—such is the joyfully busy life of this beloved and venerated Cathedral in Harlem.