Faith leaders and community members will gather for the second annual Mansfield Interfaith Pride Service at 7 p.m. June 24 at Grace Episcopal Church and Pantry, 41 Bowman St., according to a community announcement.

The event, themed “Pride Rising,” is intended to bring together multiple religious traditions, LGBTQAI+ advocates and local performers as part of Mansfield-area Pride celebrations.

Organizers say the service aims to promote unity and inclusion through worship and shared community experience, according to the announcement.

Interfaith service brings leaders and community together

The program will include participation from clergy representing Jewish and Christian traditions, with prayers and readings reflecting an interfaith approach.

The homily is scheduled to be delivered by Joseph C. Richards of the Inclusive Catholic Church.

Local LGBTQAI+ leaders also are expected to offer remarks during the service, highlighting advocacy efforts and community visibility, according to the announcement.

Music, fellowship planned after service

Musical performances are planned by vocalists Tim Denis and Patrick Clinage, accompanied by David Crane.

Following the service, attendees are invited to attend a fellowship gathering with faith leaders and other community members.

“Beginning our local Pride celebrations with an interfaith prayer service centers our community in love, affirmation, and sacred community,” said Christopher D. Hofer, priest-in-charge at Grace Episcopal Church and Pantry in Mansfield and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Ashland. “It sends a clear, undeniable message that the LGBTQAI+ community is deeply loved, valued and divinely blessed.”

Hofer added that the church will continue to host the service as part of its commitment to inclusion.

“Grace Episcopal Church is honored to host and organize this service for the second year in a row because our doors and our hearts are explicitly open to everyone,” Hofer said. “We believe that a vibrant faith community must actively stand as a beacon of sanctuary, celebration, and radical hospitality for all people.”

Organizers emphasize that the service is open to the public and designed to foster connection across different faiths and identities, according to the announcement.

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