PFLAG Plaque Unveiled

On Sunday, June 23, 2013 outside the Church of the Village at the corner of Seventh Avenue and West 13th Street, GVSHP helped to unveil a plaque to commemorate the first meeting of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). The organization, which now has 350 chapters in all 50 states, had its humble beginnings right here in the Village when Jeanne Manford and others met for the first time at this church in March 1973.

As part of Pride Week here in New York, we thought we’d take a look back at some photos from the unveiling. This event, held in partnership with PFLAG, was part of GVSHP’s historic plaque program.

You can read more about this great event in “PFLAG Plaque Unveiling on a Beautiful Day“, and you can read more about Jeanne Manford in “Remembering Jeanne Manford and the Founding of PFLAG“. Additional photos of the plaque unveiling can be found on our Flickr page.

The Church of the Village held an event, “Remembering Injustice Against Gay Clergy” to remember the dedicated ministry and courageous stands of Rev. Dr. Ed Egan and Rev. Paul Abels and restore them to the collective historical memory of the United Methodist Church and the LGBTQIA community.  Paul Abels took a stand against legal restrictions and conducted about one hundred gay marriages within the Church. Ed Egan, against the Bishop’s wishes, invited the predominantly-gay  Metropolitan Community Church to have a permanent worship space within the church every Sunday evening. Both men were openly-gay within a church that clearly then discouraged homosexuality.  Two plaques  within the United Methodist Church of the Village will commemorate the courageous actions of the two men.