The Cathedral of Hope (CoH), a member congregation of the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
, is an historically and predominantly
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
congregation located in the
Oak Lawn area of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, in the United States. The Dallas Cathedral of Hope is said to be the world's largest inclusive "
liberal Christian
Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration m ...
church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons", with a membership of over 4,000 local members.
![2019 The cathedral of hope dallas church (36)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/2019_The_cathedral_of_hope_dallas_church_%2836%29.jpg)
The
postmodern
Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
cathedral was designed by
Philip Cortelyou Johnson and has not been built yet, even after it was revised five times from the first design by the architect at the request of the Rev.
Michael Piazza, then dean of the cathedral.
Donald Bruce Kaufman Donald Bruce Kaufman (1922 – 1983) was an American home builder and entrepreneur who with Eli Broad co-founded Kaufman & Broad, now known as KB Home (NYSE: KBH), in 1957.
Early life
Donald Bruce Kaufman was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1922, ...
was consulted for the painting of the exterior. The building is ten stories high and complemented with a 78-foot bell tower commemoration of HIV/AIDS victims. The physical building is symbolic to the liberal Christian faith that hosts and is found in a considerably conservative area. The main building was completed in 2002, at a construction cost of approximately $20 million, and can accommodate up to 2,200 worshippers at once. Piazza was the senior pastor for nearly twenty years between the late 1980s and 1990s. He oversaw the largest growth in the church's history, from 250 members to more than 3,000, while ministering through the AIDS crisis.
Other campuses are located in Mid-Cities (between Dallas and Fort Worth), and
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
. Its national outreach program reaches a further online audience nationwide. The Cathedral of Hope joined the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
in February 2007, having previously been the flagship congregation of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a t ...
. In November 2009, construction was commenced on the Cathedral of Hope's Interfaith Peace Chapel, designed by the prominent architect
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...
(Alan Ritchie Architects). Dedication of the building was on November 7, 2010. The Rev. Dr.
Neil Cazares-Thomas has been the cathedral's senior pastor since May 2015.
History
On July 30, 1970, a group of twelve people gathered at a home at 4612 Victor Street in Dallas to discuss establishing a Metropolitan Community Church congregation. In May 1971, Richard Vincent was elected as the first pastor of MCC-Dallas. The group worshiped in homes for the first year and a half, using a coffee table as an altar.
![2019 The cathedral of hope dallas church (17)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/2019_The_cathedral_of_hope_dallas_church_%2817%29.jpg)
In 1972, MCC-Dallas moved into its first church home at 3834 Ross Avenue. The building had been originally built as a small private hospital in the 1920s. In 1974, James Harris was elected as the church's second pastor.
On October 4, 1976, MCC-Dallas purchased a former Church of Christ building at 2701 Regan, Dallas.
In November 1977,
Don Eastman was elected as the church's third pastor. At this time, the membership had grown to almost 400. Michael Piazza was elected senior pastor in November 1987 bringing in new members attracted by Piazza's preaching.
[Hodges, Sam (July 24, 2010).]
Dallas' Cathedral of Hope, world's largest predominantly gay church, celebrates 40 years
. ''The Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''. dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2018-07-13. Membership grew to 600.
In late 1990, MCC-Dallas became the Cathedral of Hope MCC to reflect a new broader mission to reach out LGBT people everywhere with a message of hope. The church began its "Pink-Period" quest to build a larger church to accommodate a growing congregation. This new home was completed in 1992. That same year, the Christmas Eve service was broadcast on
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
. The congregation now approached 1,000 members. During 1993 the cathedral grows by a record 300 members.
The Cathedral of Hope in 1995 commissioned the prominent architect Philip Johnson to design a new cathedral campus.
Membership grew to over 2,300 by 1998 and the cathedral served a rapidly growing congregation of more than 3,000. In 1999, CoH-TV begins hosting live Internet worship services via the cathedral's website.
In 2000, the Cathedral of Hope began the "Century of Compassion" by donating more than one million dollars in direct assistance and volunteer community support annually. On July 30, 2000, the John Thomas Bell Wall, a National AIDS Memorial, was dedicated. The church saw more than 1,500 AIDS funerals and memorial services.
On August 6, 2000, nearly 100 people attended the inaugural worship service at the Cathedral of Hope – Oklahoma City.
On July 28, 2002, the newly completed Congregational Life Center was dedicated. It featured new classrooms for children and youth, renovated office space for the Hope Counseling Center and expanded office space for cathedral staff. The close of 2002 saw a local and national membership of nearly 4,000.
![2019 The cathedral of hope dallas church (24)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/2019_The_cathedral_of_hope_dallas_church_%2824%29.jpg)
In 2003, a group calling themselves the Cathedral of Hope Reform was formed, led by church member Terri Frey. In April 2003, Frey filed a complaint with MCC that prompted the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches to open an investigation against Michael Piazza. In July 2003, believing the investigators had overstepped their bounds, the church's board called for a vote to disaffiliate from the denomination, which passed with 88 percent support, effectively ending the UFMCC investigation. Piazza took a three-month sabbatical after the vote. Half of those who voted to remain affiliated with the MCC denomination formed their own church known as MCC of Greater Dallas with pastor Cindi Love.
On February 6, 2005, Jo Hudson was elected as senior pastor of the Cathedral of Hope. Michael Piazza became dean of the cathedral. In 2005, the church celebrated 35 years of ministry and activism. It launched a capital campaign to build the next phase of Philip Johnson's campus design, an interfaith peace chapel. The church launched a new non-profit organization,
Hope for Peace & Justice, with Michael Piazza as president.
In October 2006, the Cathedral of Hope was granted standing by the North Texas Association of the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
(UCC) as a member congregation, becoming the fourth largest congregation in the denomination.
The Cathedral of Hope's Interfaith Peace Chapel began construction in 2009 and was completed in November 2010.
In July 2010 the Cathedral of Hope's 4000 members celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Jo Hudson resigned to pursue other ministry opportunities on May 19, 2013. Jim Mitulski became the interim senior pastor on August 1.
After a year long search process,
Neil Cazares-Thomas became the new pastor on May 24, 2015, after active service in the Metropolitan Community Church of Bournemouth, England, and Founders MCC, Los Angeles.
In July 2015, the Cathedral of Hope celebrated its 45th anniversary. In 2019, the
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
campus, led by Lester Jackson, merged with St. Peter Lutheran Church (a historically German-speaking congregation) to become St. Peter United Church of Christ.
Pastors
* 1971–1974: Richard Vincent
* 1974–1977: James Harris
* 1977–1987:
Don Eastman
* 1987–2003:
Michael S. Piazza
* 2005–2013: Jo Hudson
* 2013–2014: Jim Mitulski
* 2015–present:
Neil Cazares-Thomas
Charity work
The main Dallas congregation is involved in multiple charitable programs through its Dallas Hope Charities initiative. iCare is a program utilizing volunteers who serve lunch to the needy each Monday, as well as giving out donated food, toiletries, and sundries from the cathedral's food pantry to those who are also in need, in conjunction with the lunch. BACH (Breakfast at Cathedral of Hope) is a weekly breakfast served to the needy each Saturday morning. On several occasions, the iCare and BACH meals are accompanied by haircutting and also medical testing of vital signs by a visiting medical professional. A monthly Pack the Pantry night on the last Sunday of the month occurs when volunteers gather for collection and organization of donated food items for the cathedral's food pantry.
Columbarium
Cathedral of Hope provides niche spaces for church members in the event of their death, if they so choose, at an on-site columbarium. Church members can elect not to take advantage of this service, but are remembered upon their deaths with their name displayed on a side wall of the columbarium area.
Cathedral of Hope Columbarium
Find A Grave
Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...
. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
See also
* List of Christian denominations affirming LGBT
Various Christian denominations do not consider homosexuality or transgender identity to be Sin in Christianity, sins. These include entire denominations, as well as individual Church (building), churches and congregations. Some are composed ...
References
External links
*
Interfaith Peace Chapel website
Cathedral of Hope Columbarium
at Find A Grave
Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral Of Hope (Dallas)
Churches in Dallas
LGBT churches in the United States
Christian organizations established in 1970
Metropolitan Community Churches
United Church of Christ churches
Cathedrals in Texas
LGBT in Texas
1970 establishments in Texas
Protestant cathedrals in the United States