Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Romans 1:24-32
Trinity Episcopal Church in Toledo is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio in the Episcopal Church, what passes for mainline Anglicanism in the United States. Click on these three links, and it won't take long to find evidence that all three organizations are thoroughly apostate. Trinity Episcopal Church has a new rector (or should that be rectum?); as reported by Sarah Readdean of the Toledo Blade, August 14, 2025 (bold, photo in original):
(Photo credit: Philip Kaplan/The Blade)
The Rev. Jon Richardson says he has “crippling stage fright.”
He still does theater — alongside his husband, director Michael Kidney — but prefers to stick to behind-the-scenes work.
And meanwhile, the Episcopal priest of 16 years has gotten comfortable with preaching every week.
“I was terrified for years, but now I’ve kind of come into my own,” Reverend Richardson said. “On one hand, it doesn’t activate my stage fright because it’s kind of like it’s not me because I am embodying priest in that moment. But on the other hand, the most naked and vulnerable you can be is talking about your experience of faith. It's a complicated thing. I’ve just figured out how to do it.”
His sermons have changed in the last few months since he moved from the East Coast to northwest Ohio as the new rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Toledo.
“I’m growing as a preacher here because of the kind of community it is. I’m finding my voice changing a lot because of the kind of community this is,” the 46-year-old said. “I feel like I’m becoming more of myself, like I feel the freedom here to really let loose, just to let myself go.”
Trinity advertises itself as “a progressive, inclusive, and creative community of faith” — making it a perfect fit for the priest who said he had always known a church like this existed.
After seeing the Toledo church was looking for a new priest, Reverend Richardson said, he was “immediately enchanted by the place,” and knew the members of this growing congregation were his people.
“These people are doing something different; they’re being the church in a way that almost nobody else is,” he recalls thinking when he first found Trinity. “I have to remind myself that we’ve only been here four months, because it’s been such a natural, easy fit. I kind of feel like I’ve been here forever.”
Time of transition
Over the course of the last three years, Trinity has had three different priests. Its former rector, the Rev. Lisa Tucker-Gray, left in 2023, and the Rev. Stephen Applegate served as interim rector for 14 months.
“Staff has had a lot of transition, and he has come in [saying], ‘Let’s start really envisioning where we’re at a year from now,’” Heather Meyer, director of operations for the church, said of the new rector. “He’s been really great at that.”
The congregation has been warm and welcoming to their new priest, his husband, and their dog, Tino, since they settled into Ottawa Hills in March. “I’m here for the long haul,” Reverend Richardson said, noting that his priorities right now are building relationships with the parish and city and seeing where God is calling the parish.
Trinity’s 33rd rector was raised in Louisiana and spent the last 20 years in the Northeast, primarily in New Jersey. His father is a United Methodist pastor and the young Richardson said he first felt called to ministry at age 16. He came out as gay two years later at a time when the United Methodist Church was not accepting of queer clergy. (It wasn’t until last year that the denomination voted to lift its ban on that.) He spent some time away from the church but got a taste of the Episcopal Church while working as a paid singer in a church choir during college. There he felt comfortable and drawn to its liturgy. He eventually decided to study church history instead of vocal music performance, and ended up pursuing ordination in the church.
The Episcopal Church has been “theoretically inclusive” since 2003 when Bishop Gene Robinson was ordained as the first openly gay bishop in the church, and it’s been “increasingly inclusive” since then, Reverend Richardson said.
His early years in ministry were spent working on the institutional level to foster relationships and conversations around sexuality between Anglicans worldwide. He also contributed to legislation that would include transgender people in the church's nondiscrimination canons.
Celebrating Pride
Having long been involved in various social service and justice initiatives in Toledo, Trinity is recognizable at 316 Adams St. by its Pride flag and Homeless Jesus sculpture. It also makes its space available to community groups.
The new rector said he’s moved by the action, service, and vision that take place there and that it helps him feel like he's part of something bigger than himself.
The 188-year-old parish has a number of activities lined up for the 16th annual Toledo Pride.
The weekend kicks off Friday with a Pride Family Picnic, including drag performers and a gender-affirming clothing swap, from 5 to 8 p.m. on the church plaza.
Hospitality for the Toledo Pride Parade begins at 10 a.m. at the church, which will open its bathrooms and a cooling station to the public and offer water and snacks. About 20 members will march with the Better Together: Faith Communities United for Pride movement, and Bishop Anne Jolly of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio may be joining from Cleveland, the priest said.
A Big Queer Pride Service will be a 10 a.m. affirming liturgy Sunday in the sanctuary, which has been adorned with 15-foot rainbow banners hanging from the buttresses. “We’re always a little bit queer,” the priest said, but this service will be especially rainbow focused.
“Each year, we try to figure out a way which we can engage just a little bit stronger, more creatively,” Meyer said of Trinity’s involvement in the annual event. The queer-affirming parish is the only church along the downtown parade route, she noted.
The Revs. Megan Allen-Miller and Melanie Forrey organized the Better Together initiative last year, bringing together about 300 people from more than 30 area faith communities across nine denominations. This year, they’re welcoming six groups that hadn’t participated last year, which Pastor Forrey of Zoar Lutheran Church in Perrysburg said brings in new excitement and energy.
“Pride is such an amazing, wonderful opportunity to come together in celebrating joy,” said Reverend Allen-Miller, priest at St. Andrew’s and All Saints Episcopal churches in Toledo.
“From the beginning, our intention was to be an embodied message of inclusion that demonstrates in a big way how we have a lot more in common than we don’t,” Pastor Forrey said. “Part of that is wearing the same shirt. Part of that is walking behind the shared banner. And we speak together for our shared values of inclusion, for not just the LGBTQIA+ community, but humanity in general.”
