Post by M. Hawbaker on Jan 21, 2021 21:27:35 GMT
The nation’s largest LGBT advocacy group is calling Thursday’s Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service the “most LGBTQ inclusive” inaugural prayer service in history for its inclusion of two transgender faith leaders and three other “trailblazing LGBTQ faith leaders.”
The service was hosted by the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., although much of the program was virtual. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris watched the service remotely from the White House.
Patti LaBelle and Josh Groban sang, and several well-known faith leaders, including Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry, spoke.
The Human Rights Campaign applauded the service for placing two transgender faith leaders on the program: Paula Stone Williams, pastor of the Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colo.; and Barbara Satin, faith work director for the National LGBTQ Task Force in Minneapolis. HRC called it a “historic move.”
Williams read Isaiah 58:6-12. Satin said a brief prayer for the men and women of the U.S. armed forces.
HRC called it the “most LGBTQ inclusive inaugural prayer service in history.” The organization also applauded the program for including three other “trailblazing LGBTQ faith leaders”: Fred Davie, executive vice president of Union Theological Seminary in New York; Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries in Oakland, Calif., and; Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi of the Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that Biden’s “commitment to inclusion and mirroring the true image of America in the new administration shines through powerfully in this historic, LGBTQ inclusive, prayer service.”
Patti LaBelle and Josh Groban sang, and several well-known faith leaders, including Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry, spoke.
The Human Rights Campaign applauded the service for placing two transgender faith leaders on the program: Paula Stone Williams, pastor of the Left Hand Church in Longmont, Colo.; and Barbara Satin, faith work director for the National LGBTQ Task Force in Minneapolis. HRC called it a “historic move.”
Williams read Isaiah 58:6-12. Satin said a brief prayer for the men and women of the U.S. armed forces.
HRC called it the “most LGBTQ inclusive inaugural prayer service in history.” The organization also applauded the program for including three other “trailblazing LGBTQ faith leaders”: Fred Davie, executive vice president of Union Theological Seminary in New York; Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries in Oakland, Calif., and; Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi of the Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York.
Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that Biden’s “commitment to inclusion and mirroring the true image of America in the new administration shines through powerfully in this historic, LGBTQ inclusive, prayer service.”
