2010 Pride at Saint Mark

What a great year for Pride at Saint Mark!

In 1991 when Saint Mark members and Rev. Mike Cordle first began handing out a cool cup of water and a warm welcome to the marchers in the Pride Parade, I’m sure they had no idea of what an impact their simple actions would have on many individuals and on the community-at-large.

This year Saint Markers went farther than ever before in assuring that members of the LGBT community know that Christ’s love is for everyone. As our own Beth so strongly proclaimed in her Pride Sunday sermon, Hear the truth from me today...it is not a sin to be gay! It is not a sin to be a transgendered person! All of us ... all of us are God’s true children, now and always. Do not hide from anyone! Do not apologize to anyone for God is with you!

Many of us will have our own favorite moments from the weekend. However, let’s not forget the totality of what we have done. We’ve made a difference in the lives of many of our brothers and sisters. For that, we should be extremely PROUD!

2010 PRIDE Sponsors

Pride at Saint Mark could not be accomplished without your support! Thanks to each of you who helped in any way: by volunteering in any way, by purchasing a T-shirt or a Diversity Dinner ticket, through direct financial support, or through your prayers. Pride activities are funded only through donations and we particularly thank the following financial donors:

2010 PRIDE Team

• Saint Mark Special Events Chair: Phil Hulst
• Pride Co-chairpersons: Miles Cline & Bill Jaynes

Subcommittee Chairs

• Diversity Worship Service: Rev. Dr. Beth LaRocca-Pitts
• Sunday Worship Service: Rev. Dr. Beth LaRocca-Pitts
• Diversity Dinner: Keith Hand, Miles Cline, Tom Smouse, Roger Brown
• Diversity Award: Rev. Phillip Thomason
• Henry F. Thompson, Jr. Volunteer Award: Alex Gallagher
• Piedmont Park Booth: Jason Henderson & Jay Varnedoe
• Parade Float: Brian Isbell, Warren Schmitt & David Marier
• Parade Marchers: Louisa Bailey & Kevin Garcia
• Water Stop: Mary LeVan & Art Multop
• T-Shirts/Diversity Dinner Ticket Sales: Carl Leary

Saint Mark Pride Events

The Atlanta Pride AIDS Vigil - Held this year for the first time at Saint Mark, this Wednesday evening activity drew 100 persons. This sombre and spiritual opening to Pride, organized by the AIDS Alliance for Faith & Health, included presentations by the Saint Mark Choir, OurSong, the gay and lesbian choir, and representatives from Georgia Equality and First MCC.

The Diversity Dinner was held on Thursday evening and was a festive and gala affair for 100 participants.

The annual Diversity Service followed the dinner and was attended by 140 persons. During the evening, the 13th annual Saint Mark Diversity Award was presented to Vandy Beth Glenn, the transsexual woman who sued the State of Georgia (and won) to regain her job from which she had been fired because of her gender status, and Derrick Martin, the 18 year old Cochran high school student (now a freshman in college) who successfully worked through his local school system hierarchy in order to take his boyfriend to his senior prom.

Read about Derrick Martin & Vandy Beth Glenn, the recipients of the 2010 Acceeptance of Diversity Award.

The Saint Mark Booth at the Pride Festival gave Saint Markers another great opportunity to share the story of Christ’s love over the weekend.

Our Pride Sunday Services (with 525 persons in attendance) were outstanding and included our traditional “Many Gifts, One Spirit” (also presented on Thursday night) sung by the Saint Mark Choir during which the Pride colors were brought into the church by diverse members of the congregation. The Inaugural Henry F. Thompson, Jr. Award for Outstanding Pride Volunteer was presented by Alex Gallagher to Miles Cline & Bill Jaynes. Beth’s sermon was amazing and is available to listen to on the Saint Mark Web Page and is not to be missed.

We attempted our first Hot Dog Sale on the church lawn between the second service and the beginning of the Pride Parade, and it was successful beyond our hope. In fact, we ran out of hot dogs! We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen next year!

For those who’ve never participated in the Pride Parade, plan to do so next year. The power of walking along and realizing that Saint Mark is so well recognized and appreciated among the LGBT community and our straight allies is remarkable. Thanks to all of you who participated in the march with Saint Mark. Thanks also to the volunteers who built our float this year. It was a realistic replica of our tower, complete with Pride colors.

The Saint Mark Water Stop. Saint Mark was the first church to offer a cool cup of water and a warm welcome to marchers in the Pride Parade back in 1991 and we have continued that symbolic tradition yearly since then. It’s true that other churches along the way do the same thing now and, frankly, we don’t mind; but let’s always remember Saint Mark was the first to make, what was considered then, a bold statement.

Let’s remember, however, that the sense of Pride, of welcome, of reaching out to our total community is not just for one week each fall; it’s who we are and what we do every day of the year!

Saint Mark and Saint Markers, during Pride 2010, you made us PROUD!!

Saint Mark Pride Photo Contest

Look for details in this week’s ReMarks about our photography contest. Plan to enter your best photos of Saint Mark Pride-related activities in one or more of the following categories*:

• photos of Saint Mark
• photos of Saint Mark people
• photos at the Pride Festival in Piedmont Park
• photos of the Pride Parade
• general photos of any Pride-related activity
• photos of Saint Mark Pride volunteers

*Note that entered photos must relate in some way to Saint Mark or Saint Markers.

Saint Mark Pride Marketing

The Pride Committee was able to market Saint Mark in the following publications: The Pride issue of GAVoice (full page inside back cover ad); the Pride Guide (half-page ad) and Mega Family Project Conference Program (free quarter page ad).