LEXINGTON, Ky.- In honor of pride month, a Saint Paul Catholic Church in Lexington has placed rainbow doors and signs welcoming the LGBTQ community in front of their church. 

What You Need To Know

  • Saint Paul Catholic Church is opening its doors to the LGBTQ community

  • For Pride month the church has an art installation in front of the church

  • Saint Paul Catholic church hopes to make everyone feel welcomed and loved no matter their views on the LGBTQ community

  • The director of the LGBT ministries is working to change the negative views the church may have about the LGBTQ community

 

JR Zerkowski, director of the LGBT Ministries wants everyone to know their doors are open to anyone and everyone in the community.

“I think sadly the church sometimes gives the wrong impression. And sometimes it just does dumb things. And the church has not been kind. I myself know that personally as a gay man. I know that I have not been treated well by the church leaders, nor by some parishioners, but we're on a learning curve, all of us,” Zerkowski said.

By placing six different rainbow-colored doors outside of their church, along with a sign that says come out and come in. Zerkowski says they hope to welcome some new faces into the church. 

“Our doors are open as well. We want to let the LGBTQ community know, and their families and friends and everybody that feels marginalized because of this issue because the church hasn't always been true, kind or sensitive to the LGBTQ people that they're welcomed here,” Zerkowski said.

Susan O'Connell was taking her morning walk downtown and stopped to take pictures of the art insulation and says she’s happy to see this type of change in this Catholic Church.

“I mean I was just like, pleasantly surprised that there was an embracement here. Again, I'm not Catholic, so I can't speak to the religion itself but I guess I'm just totally surprised by that,” O’Connell said.

Zerkowski says this is just the beginning. The church hopes to continue making everyone feel welcomed over the next few months.

“Next month we'll have another banner out there and I think you might find that really interesting. It'll sort of tie in a bigger picture. We've got these things planned. We send a lot of messages out there in front of the church in the middle of downtown,” Zerkowski said.

The church plans to keep the art installations up in front of the church through the end of the month and will reinstall the artwork in September for the Lexington Pride Festival. 

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