The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas is a Congregation of THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST and has a deeply embedded historical significance. The Cathedral of Hope related to The United Church of Christ in February 2007. The Blueprints of the Cathedral of Hope was laid out by Philip Cortelyou Johnson, and on special request by the Reverend Michael Piazza, it was finally built after being modified five times by the architects.
It is located at Cedar Springs Road, Dallas, Texas, USA. The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas is the most extensive “inclusive liberal Christian Cathedral” in the world with prevalent LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) following.
The Cathedral of Hope welcomes people regardless of their sexual orientation and religious background.
Core Values
Here, at the Cathedral of Hope, it is believed “to serve, not to be served,” every member is a curator of the church. With this the Cathedral of Hope has five core values:
- Compassion
- Inclusion
- Liberation
- Hope
- Faith in Jesus
History
The History of The Cathedral of Hope goes back to July 30, 1970. When at Victor Street in Dallas, a crowd of twelve people assembled to think about building a Metropolitan Community Church and Reverend Richard Vincent was voted in the first pastor of the church in May 1971. In 1972, 3834 Ross Avenue became the first Metropolitan Community Church’s home, and two years later in 1974, Reverend James Harris got elected as the second senior pastor of the church. In 1976, a congregation of the Church of Christ was provided sheltered at 2701 Reagan, a building purchased by the Metropolitan Community Church and in the same year Reverend Don Eastman became the church’s third senior pastor. In 1990, under the ministry of Senior Pastor Reverend Michael Piazza the membership grew up to 600 people with a unique mission to accept the people from LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and transgender) society and became the Cathedral of Hope as it gave a message of hope to the unrecognized section of the society. In the year 2002, finally, the main building was completed at the cost of 20 million USD and now can comfortably host 2200 people at once.
In the year 2005, The Cathedral of Hope celebrated its 35th anniversary with Reverend Dr. Jo Hudson as the senior pastor and also the United Church of Christ(UCC) accepts the Cathedral of Hope, also known as the “world’s largest gay church”.
The present elected senior pastor is Reverend Dr. Neil G. Cazares; he was elected on April 12, 2015.
Things To Expect
The Cathedral of Hope believes in Inclusion; it’s one of their core values, so all kinds of people are welcomed to the Cathedral of Hope. The people of CoH are polite, friendly and welcoming.