God Loves Everyone… No Exceptions
At the 2022 Arizona Diocesan convention, Resolution 2022-03 – Creation of a Committee for LGBTQIA+ Inclusion and Ministry was passed. The purpose of this pride committee is to:
“Educate our neighbors in matters pertaining to the health and physical, emotional, and spiritual safety of LGBTQIA+ identifying persons; Build community with LGBTQIA+ community members and their families; Create a coordinated, courageous, visible presence of supporters within our congregations and in our towns and cities; Identify and name the forces and actions that exclude and marginalize; Engage in healing work, reconciliation, and restoration where the evil we have done, the evil done on our behalf, and the evil we have witnessed in silence have caused harm; Be agents of systemic change working to amend existing church canons, secular laws, policies, and procedures that marginalize the LGBTQIA+ community and their families and for the creation and passage of legislation that upholds greater equity and more full inclusion”
Resolution 2022-03
Interested in Joining Our Committee?
We are looking for new members to expand the LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Committee! This committee is working towards inclusivity and acceptance all across Arizona. To join our committee email pride@azdiocese.org.
Upcoming LGBTQIA+ Pride Events
2025 Phoenix Rainbow Festival
This year, the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona will have a booth at the Phoenix Rainbow Festival on Saturday, April 5th and Sunday, April 6th. We need volunteers to manage the booth, answer questions from Rainbow Festival participants and hand out small items. The festival is from 10am to 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Booth shifts would be 3 hours at a time and festival entry is free. Water, snacks, and chairs will be provided at the booth.
The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona participates in PRIDE events all over the state. Participation and representation are important as a body of faith looking to reconcile with persons so often left out and feeling shame, not pride. At PRIDE events we can minister to seekers and put them in touch with local churches, clergy, and resources. PRIDE events are a great way for LGBTQIA2SP+ members to meet others in the community and tell stories of reconciliation.
This year, the LGBTQIA2S+ Committee of the Diocese of Arizona participated in the Phoenix Pride Parade & Festival and the Tucson Pride Parade. They also participated in the Chandler Pride Festival and Prescott Pride Festival.
To learn more, visit our events page.
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Trans Day of Remembrance 2024
Why Pride?
The Biblical understanding of pride has been a negative and sinful angle. However, within the 2SLGBTQIAP+ community, pride is a sense that we are made in the image of God just as we are. God is well-pleased with who we are and whom we love. Our pride extends to our communities who welcome persons with the same regard God has for members of the 2SLGBTQIAP+ community.
Meet Our Pride Team
The LGBTQIA2S+ Pride Committee is led by a steering council composed of clergy and lay members.
Foster Crosslin
Co-Chair
Foster attends St. Matthew’s Chandler and is a member of the Episcopal Campus Ministries at St. Augustine’s in Tempe. Although they were baptized Episcopalian as an infant, it wasn’t until adulthood that they became an active member of The Church. Drawn by a calling to deepen their relationship with Christ, and further inspired by the Episcopal Church’s inclusivity of the LGBT+ community. The fellowship and devotion they’ve found guide them in participation in their ministry with the LGBT+ community, including helping to organize the Transgender Day of Remembrance service at St James, as well as serving on the planning team and working the booths of the 2024 PHX and Tuscon Pride festivals. Foster strives to uplift the voices of others and hold space through the joys and sorrows of life for everyone they meet. Just as the Episcopalian Church has done for them.
Currently, they’re studying for a B.S. in Psychology with a minor in ASL at South Mountain Community College. In addition, they work as program aides at LEARN Academy, an A.B.A. school for students, K-12, with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and provide individual respite care for clients on the weekends.
They are a long-time practitioner of Zen Buddhism. And follow a spiritually eclectic path drawing on the wisdom of those who hold faith in any form. Some of their deepest inspiration comes from the engaged spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi, and Thich Nhat Hanh, whose teachings resonate with their commitment to compassion, justice, and helping to create and cultivate inclusive communities. As a queer and non-binary individual, Foster strives to live authentically and empower others to do the same. They are committed to uplifting The Christ in all beings and shining God’s Rainbow Light for the world.
Jennifer Lopez (she/her)
Co-Chair
Jennifer was born on April 23, 1956, in Tucson, AZ. She was active in the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA) and Wingspan, the LGBTQ+ Community Center from 1999 to 2005. In 2004, Jennifer was appointed to the LGBTQ+ Commission for the City of Tucson listening to issues from the community and making recommendations to the Mayor and Council. Jennifer was also a member of the Citizens Police Advisory Review Board (CPARB), reviewing citizen complaints about the Police Department and making recommendations to the Chief of Police and the Mayor.
Jennifer’s main hobby is playing music with her band, Too Much Information (TMI). The band has performed at many Pride events including Tucson Pride, Phoenix Pride and Bisbee Pride. She continues performing at different clubs in the Tucson area.
Jennifer was admitted to Deacon Formation, class of January 2026, and invited to join the LGBTQIA2S+ Committee in 2023 and is excited in this new chapter in her life. She attends St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Tucson, AZ.
The Rev. Dominic Moore
(he/him)
Co-Chair
The Rev. Dominic Moore is the Vicar at Oro Valley’s Episcopal Church of Apostles. Before moving to Oro Valley, he was the Rector of Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Chandler, AZ for eight years. Prior to coming to Arizona, he served as the Associate for Pastoral Care and Newcomer Ministry at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Lexington, KY. Dominic has also served two parishes in California as a Field Education Student and completed a chaplaincy internship at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
Dominic holds a Master of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA and an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. His academic interests are primarily in the history of the Protestant Reformation and Reformed Theology. He teaches Scripture and the Formation of the Biblical Canon through the Diocese of Arizona’s Deacon Formation Academy and regularly offers reading groups on theological topics.
Paul Bixler
Legislative Coordinator
Moving from my birthplace in Akron, Ohio, my family moved to Phoenix in 1955. As a product of Arizona’s public school system, I attended multiple elementary and junior high schools across the Valley. After attending both West Phoenix and North Phoenix high schools, I graduated from East Phoenix High School.
After two years at Northern Arizona University, I enlisted in the military and served two years with the United States Navy and then two years with the United States Marine Corps.
Returning to Arizona State University, I graduated with a Cum Laude, Bachelor of Science in Education degree with a major in History. Three years later I received my Masters in Education, Guidance Counseling.
In 1986, I was honored as the 4A Boys’ Cross Country, Coach of the Year. After more than thirty years in public education; serving as a classroom teacher, counselor, coach, building, and central office administrator, I retired in 2009.
In 2020, I ran for and won a seat on the Liberty Elementary School District #25, Governing Board. Successfully winning this seat also established me as the first transgender woman to hold an elected office in Arizona’s 112-year history. Up for re-election in 2024, I intend to keep this seat.
In 2024, I was honored by the Arizona List as one of the “20 Women Who Changed Arizona.”
Stevie Bai-Hornby
Social Media Coordinator
Stevie is an elementary school teacher in the Phoenix metro area. They joined St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in 2017, and love contributing to the church by cooking, teaching Sunday school, and climbing on ladders whenever possible. Stevie first found St. A’s after moving to Tempe to attend Arizona State University for their undergraduate studies.
Stevie’s goal is to show how welcoming, affirming, and restorative the Episcopal Church’s spaces can be for everyone, especially young LGBT+ people looking for a religious community. They live with their spouse in Phoenix, AZ.