Local
Robinson raising money for Dupont church
Gay bishop calls St. Thomas his ‘home away from home’
Editor’s note: Go here for the Blade’s Q&A with Robinson.
The Episcopal Church’s first out gay bishop joined more than 100 members and guests in a Saturday reception at D.C.’s St. Thomas’ Parish near Dupont Circle to promote plans for rebuilding the church’s sanctuary, which was destroyed by fire 40 years ago.
V. Gene Robinson, who was elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, called the LGBT-welcoming church “my home away from home.” He said he would play an active role in fundraising efforts to cover the costs for the new church building.
“This congregation reaches out to all of God’s children without shame, without apology,” he told the gathering during the reception, in which a model and several drawings of the proposed new building were displayed.
In an interview after the reception, Robinson told the Blade that St. Thomas’ long history of embracing progressive causes, including LGBT equality and its status as one of the first D.C. area churches to perform blessings of same-sex unions, were examples of how the Christian church in many ways has changed for the better.
“You know, asking an LGBT person to go back to the church that has been the source of so much pain and abuse is a little like asking an abused spouse to go back to her husband,” he said.
“The fact of the matter is in many places the church is changing. And the church realizes that for years it got it wrong about LGBT people,” he said. “And what I love about St. Thomas’ Parish is that it is really leading the way in that kind of radically inclusive message.”
The original St. Thomas’ Church, a distinctive English Gothic structure, first opened in 1893 at 18th and Church streets, N.W. Among its most famous parishioners were President Franklin Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Current church officials say that by the late 1960s, the church had become known as a welcoming place for residents and visitors in the diverse, changing neighborhood of Dupont Circle, where gays, hippies, and anti-Vietnam War protesters, among others, had settled in the then-inexpensive apartments and townhouses.
The church’s mix of new and longtime residents of the Dupont Circle area reacted with sadness and resolve in August 1970, according to current members, when the church was destroyed by a fire that authorities listed as arson. The exterior stone structure remained standing, but city building officials declared it an imminent safety hazard, forcing the congregation to suffer the additional trauma of paying for the demolition of their cherished place of worship.
The perpetrator or perpetrators of the arson were never identified.
For the past 40 years the congregation has worshiped in an adjacent building on Church Street, which members converted from the original church hall to a new sanctuary. The site of the demolished church building was transformed into a park, with the ruins of one of the church walls left standing as a monument to the congregation’s will to persevere.
“We are a community of radical hospitality,” St. Thomas’ rector, Rev. Dr. Nancy Lee Jose, said in a statement. “That means we invite everyone not only to belong, but to participate fully in all levels of parish life and leadership.”
The contemporary new structure will consist of an 8,500-square-foot sanctuary seating 275 people, according to literature released by the congregation. It will be built on the park where the original church stood and will incorporate within its walls the “Gothic High Altar” from the ruins of the old church, which will serve as a chapel, the literature says.
Matthew Jarvis, 33, the lead architect of the building, who is gay, said his design was inspired by the church’s history and the diversity of its members.
“The essence, if there is one, is that it embodies openness, transparency, and inclusivity in a physical building to match the theology of the people,” he said.
John Johnson, St. Thomas’ senior warden, a volunteer administrative post, said the total cost of the new church building is expected to come to $5.1 million.
He said funds for the new building will be raised through pledges by parishioners, a $2.9 million external fundraising campaign, the sale of a church rectory building located nearby and existing funds obtained from an insurance payout from the fire.
Robinson, whose election to the post of Bishop triggered a tumultuous debate within the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and abroad, said the church has taken a “dramatic step forward” in the years since his election.
He said many people, including gays, who have left the church due to a perceived anti-LGBT bias may not be fully aware of these changes.
“And so I would say to the gay community, take another look,” he said. “The church you left may be different now. And certainly St. Thomas is modeling I think the kind of inclusive love that God is all about.”
Gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson (left) and Matthew Jarvis, the lead architect of the new St. Thomas building, who is also gay, attended a meeting on Saturday to unveil plans for the church. (Photo by Colleen Dermody)
Virginia
DOJ seeks to join lawsuit against Loudoun County over trans student in locker room
Three male high school students suspended after complaining about classmate
The Justice Department has asked to join a federal lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools over the way it handled the case of three male high school students who complained about a transgender student in a boys’ locker room.
The Washington Blade earlier this year reported Loudoun County public schools suspended the three boys and launched a Title IX investigation into whether they sexually harassed the student after they said they felt uncomfortable with their classmate in the locker room at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn.
The parents of two of the boys filed a lawsuit against Loudoun County public schools in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. The Richmond-based Founding Freedoms Law Center and America First Legal, which White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller co-founded, represent them.
The Justice Department in a Dec. 8 press release announced that “it filed legal action against the Loudoun County (Va.) School Board (Loudoun County) for its denial of equal protection based on religion.”
“The suit alleges that Loudoun County applied Policy 8040, which requires students and faculty to accept and promote gender ideology, to two Christian, male students in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” reads the press release.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in the press release said “students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate.”
“Loudoun County’s decision to advance and promote gender ideology tramples on the rights of religious students who cannot embrace ideas that deny biological reality,” said Dhillon.
Outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and outgoing Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in May announced an investigation into the case.
The Virginia Department of Education in 2023 announced the new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students for which Youngkin asked. Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups claim they, among other things, forcibly out trans and nonbinary students.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in February launched an investigation into whether Loudoun County and four other Northern Virginia school districts’ policies in support of trans and nonbinary students violate Title IX and President Donald Trump’s executive order that prohibits federally funded educational institutions from promoting “gender ideology.”
District of Columbia
Capital Pride announces change in date for 2026 D.C. Pride parade and festival
Events related to U.S. 250th anniversary and Trump birthday cited as reasons for change
The Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. based group that organizes the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, has announced it is changing the dates for the 2026 Capital Pride Parade and Festival from the second weekend in June to the third weekend.
“For over a decade, Capital Pride has taken place during the second weekend in June, but in 2026, we are shifting our dates in response to the city’s capacity due to major events and preparations for the 250th anniversary of the United States,” according to a Dec. 9 statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.
The statement says the parade will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026, with the festival and related concert taking place on June 21.
“This change ensures our community can gather safely and without unnecessary barriers,” the statement says. “By moving the celebration, we are protecting our space and preserving Pride as a powerful act of visibility, solidarity, and resistance,” it says.
Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance CEO and President, told the Washington Blade the change in dates came after the group conferred with D.C. government officials regarding plans for a number of events in the city on the second weekend in June. Among them, he noted, is a planned White House celebration of President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and other events related to the U.S. 250th anniversary, which are expected to take place from early June through Independence Day on July 4.
The White House has announced plans for a large June 14, 2026 celebration on the White House south lawn of Trump’s 80th birthday that will include a large-scale Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event involving boxing and wrestling competition.
Bos said the Capital Pride Parade will take place along the same route it has in the past number of years, starting at 14th and T Streets, N.W. and traveling along 14th Street to Pennsylvania Ave., where it will end. He said the festival set for the following day will also take place at its usual location on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., between 2nd Street near the U.S. Capitol, to around 7th Street, N.W.
“Our Pride events thrive because of the passion and support of the community,” Capital Pride Board Chair Anna Jinkerson said in the statement. “In 2026, your involvement is more important than ever,” she said.
District of Columbia
Three women elected leaders of Capital Pride Alliance board
Restructured body includes chair rather than president as top leader
The Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based group that organizes the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced it has restructured its board of directors and elected for the first time three women to serve as leaders of the board’s Executive Committee.
“Congratulations to our newly elected Executive Officers, making history as Capital Pride Alliance’s first all-women Board leadership,” the group said in a statement.
“As we head into 2026 with a bold new leadership structure, we’re proud to welcome Anna Jinkerson as Board Chair, Kim Baker as Board Treasurer, and Taylor Lianne Chandler as Board Secretary,” the statement says.
In a separate statement released on Nov. 20, Capital Pride Alliance says the restructured Board now includes the top leadership posts of Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, replacing the previous structure of President and Vice President as the top board leaders.
It says an additional update to the leadership structure includes a change in title for longtime Capital Pride official Ryan Bos from executive director to chief executive officer and president.
According to the statement, June Crenshaw, who served as acting deputy director during the time the group organized WorldPride 2025 in D.C., will now continue in that role as permanent deputy director.
The statement provides background information on the three newly elected women Board leaders.
• Anna Jinkerson (chair), who joined the Capital Pride Alliance board in 2022, previously served as the group’s vice president for operations and acting president. “A seasoned non-profit executive, she currently serves as Assistant to the President and CEO and Chief of Staff at Living Cities, a national member collaborative of leading philanthropic foundations and financial institutions committed to closing income and wealth gaps in the United States and building an economy that works for everyone.”
• Kim Baker (treasurer) is a “biracial Filipino American and queer leader,” a “retired, disabled U.S. Army veteran with more than 20 years of service and extensive experience in finance, security, and risk management.” She has served on the Capital Pride Board since 2018, “bringing a proven track record of steady, principled leadership and unwavering dedication to the LGBTQ+ community.”
• Taylor Lianne Chandler (Secretary) is a former sign language interpreter and crisis management consultant. She “takes office as the first intersex and trans-identifying member of the Executive Committee.” She joined the Capital Pride Board in 2019 and previously served as executive producer from 2016 to 2018.
Bos told the Washington Blade in a Dec. 2 interview that the Capital Pride board currently has 12 members, and is in the process of interviewing additional potential board members.
“In January we will be announcing in another likely press release the full board,” Bos said. “We are finishing the interview process of new board members this month,” he said. “And they will take office to join the board in January.”
Bos said the organization’s rules set a cap of 25 total board members, but the board, which elects its members, has not yet decided how many additional members it will select and a full 25-member board is not required.
The Nov. 20 Capital Pride statement says the new board executive members will succeed the organization’s previous leadership team, which included Ashley Smith, who served as president for eight years before he resigned earlier this year; Anthony Musa, who served for seven years as vice president of board engagement; Natalie Thompson, who served eight years on the executive committee; and Vince Micone, who served for eight years as vice president of operations.
“I am grateful for the leadership, dedication, and commitment shown by our former executive officers — Ashley, Natalie, Anthony, and Vince — who have been instrumental in CPA’s growth and the exceptional success of WorldPride 2025,” Bos said in the statement.
“I look forward to collaborating with Anna in her new role, as well as Kim and Taylor in theirs, as we take on the important work ahead, prepare for Capital Pride 2026, and expand our platform and voice through Pride365,” Bos said.
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