The 10th annual Spiritual Pride dinner, hosted by the Friends of St. Aelred, will be at 6 pm Saturday, June 15, in Harvard Hall. June is Pride Month, and we hope you will come and enjoy a catered banquet, flowers, decorations, an inspiring program, and a chance to meet with other welcoming and affirming people from faith communities throughout the Tampa Bay area.

All are welcome! Spiritual Pride lifts up the importance of a supportive faith community for LGBTQI+ Episcopalians. That support is more important than ever now, when equality issues are under fire. Perhaps this year you’ll consider inviting someone you haven’t seen at the banquet before — and maybe even buying their ticket. Can you imagine what that might mean to a young adult: to see a room full of supporters and to know that you are one of them.

Our speaker will be our own Stephen Willis, moderator of the Friends of St. Aelred. Stephen is a real estate agent and manages the Court Administration-Polk County Juvenile Court Division, and was formerly a Pentecostal minister. At the Cathedral he is an usher and lector. His partner, Rodney Kayton, managing partner of a market research firm, serves on the Flower Guild and as a verger and is coordinating several aspects of the Spiritual Pride banquet.

Tickets ($40) will be sold at the Cathedral on Sundays: May 19 in the Narthex after the 8 am service; and May 19 and 26 and June 2 in Harvard Hall after the 10:15 am service. Visit spcathedral.org/pride to purchase tickets online.

Please buy your tickets early! We are space-limited to 118 attendees, and the dinner is often a sellout. Because beer and wine will be served, this event is open only to those age 21 and older.