When: Sunday, April 17, 2011
Web: The Dignity/Washington website is located here.
We attended the regular Sunday evening Mass organised by the Dignity/Washington group and held at St Margaret's Episcopal Church just north of Dupont Circle. This is the only regularly-scheduled Catholic Mass in the District organized by and largely for gay Catholics.
Today was Palm Sunday. Before the Mass started, the priest and congregation gathered in the hall just outside the church entrance to bless a new crucifix and to bless the palms. We then processed around the pews to our seats. A single priest celebrated Mass, assisted by a pianist, organist, several readers, a choir of about seven, and an altar server. The Mass followed the standard rite, with the appropriate deviations for Palm Sunday.
The priest chose to read the long form of today's Gospel, which described Jesus' Passion from the time of the Last Supper to just before His Resurrection. Because of its length, five members of the congregation assisted the priest with the reading; each read the lines of a particular person (Judas, Pontious Pilate, etc.) The group read the Gospel very clearly and with great passion. The priest gave a brief homily beforehand; he noted adriotly that many of us who would have cheered Jesus into Jerusalem with our palms would also have betrayed him in the garden.
The congregation was about fifty strong - mainly white, middle-aged men. There were some women and some younger people too. Most seemed to be members of the Dignity/Washington group (they wore name badges).