Coalition Programs
Year-Round Programs
At the 2024 Pride Parade | Photo by Ken Johnson
We work throughout the year to spread the message of inclusion and to connect our members to one another and
to resources of interest to welcoming faith communities.
Weekly Advertisement
in the
Windy City Times
Justice Witness on behalf of the CCWC, Planning Team members author relevant press releases and letters, and also
sign petitions (for example, on marriage equality). In addition, we may encourage attendance in area protests, vigils and
other gatherings for social change.
Subscribe to Coalition Messages
Coalition Calendar: The Coalition's calendar advertises events related to
LGBTQ inclusion. Partner organizations may contact chicagowelcomingchurches@gmail.com
for access. (Non-members may email the Coalition
to submit announcements to the calendar.)
Occasional Gatherings are held three or four times a year. These are usually a blend of fellowship, worship and work.
Drone Shot of the
Coalition Marchers in the 2024 Pride Parade | Photo by Mark Johnson
Pride-Month Programs
Coalition Worship Service(s) feature ecumenical and LGBTQ pride themes during the month of June.
Other Events: A wide array of worship and educational events are hosted by our partners and/or cosponsored by the
Coalition.
Pride Parade Witness: Each year, we turn out in force for an impressive witness of welcome in the Annual Chicago
Pride Parade. For the last several years, 300-400 members of our partner organizations have marched together representing
the Coalition; however, in 2024 the city and the parade organizers limited the number of
people who could walk in our unit. For the first time in pride parade history we had to turn
away churches that wished to join us. We were limited to 150 members of our partner congregations.
Service Opportunities
At the 2024 Pride Parade | Photo by Elizabeth
Simpson
Our members and partners have many opportunities to support LGBTQ acceptance, inclusion and equality. We are developing a list of opportunities such as these:
Broadway Youth Center
Broadway Youth Center is a part of Howard Brown Health and is a haven for LGBTQ youth and young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. Here, young people find a safe community as well as medical, social and mental health care services. All services are for youth, ages 12 to 24 regardless of their ability to pay.
For more information about The Broadway Youth Center, visit howardbrown.org/service/broadway-youth-center/.
Chicago LGBT Asylum Support Program
CLASP is dedicated to helping people who are seeking safety in the U.S. because of persecution based on sexual orientation or gender identity in their home countries.
The offering taken at the Coalition's 2014 Ecumenical Pride Service went to CLASP.
For more information about CLASP contact Broadway United Methodist Church.
At the 2024 Pride Parade | Photo by Matthew Krings.
Co-Sponsored Programs
Co-sponsored programs include:
- Pride worship services during June
- Events that CCWC volunteer leaders envision, and for which they reach out for co-sponsorship for logistical/outreach support from one or more local church
- Events that CCWC members envision and for which they seek CCWC name for co-sponsorship
Co-sponsorship will be considered for approval by the Coalition's Planning Team.
At the 2019 Pride Parade
In addition to co-sponsored events, Our partners' events may be listed on the Coalition's calendar subject to the approval of the Coalition's Planning Team.
Coalition History
CCWC was born in August 2000 following the WOW2000 conference, the first nationwide conference of the ecumenical Welcoming Churches Movement. Held in DeKalb, Illinois,
the conference planning was led by a number of Chicago-area LGBTQ people and their allies who committed to nurturing further local collaboration. Since its founding,
the Coalition has grown from those first few member congregations to a list of over 80 churches and affiliates.
The CCWC Bylaws.
