Dean's Message for May 28, 2026

Author:
May 27, 2026

This Sunday, as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, we are delighted to welcome the Very Rev. Joseph Alsay as our guest preacher at St. Paul’s!

Many across Oklahoma know Joseph from his fifteen years of faithful ministry as rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church here in Oklahoma City. More recently, he was installed as Dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit — and it was a special privilege for me to participate in that installation service.

While Dean Alsay’s years in Oklahoma began long before my own time in the diocese, our paths have become deeply and meaningfully intertwined through the wider Church, shared ministry, friendship, and mutual colleagues. I am grateful for his leadership, his thoughtful spirit, and his faithful witness to the Gospel, and I know you will be blessed by his presence among us this Sunday.

As we move into June, we also look ahead to Pride Month and several opportunities for fellowship, visibility, and connection at St. Paul’s. I am especially excited to share the beginning of a new Cathedral Circle at St. Paul’s: The Beloved Circle — a community for LGBTQ+ persons, allies, friends, and all who wish to gather in fellowship, encouragement, conversation, and faith.
Our first gathering will take place on Sunday, June 7 at 12:30 p.m. in Dean Willey Hall for lunch and Pride poster making ahead of the parade and Pride festivities. This will be a relaxed and welcoming opportunity to get to know one another and begin imagining what this ministry might become together. All are welcome. Youth are always welcome to the Beloved Circle when accompanied by an adult.

We will then gather again for our official launch dinner on Friday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the cathedral. Again, all are welcome, and youth should attend with an accompanying adult.

One of the great gifts of cathedral life is the way relationships stretch across congregations, dioceses, generations, and experiences — reminding us that the Church is always larger, richer, and more connected than we sometimes realize. I give thanks for those connections and for the ways the Holy Spirit continues to draw us together in love and community.
I hope to see you this Sunday!

The Very Reverend Katie Churchwell +
15th Dean, St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral

 

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