Blessed Be: Bishop Tom Shaw celebrates, blesses parade goers

After the high-energy spectacle of the Pride parade about 30 revelers headed to St. Paul's Cathedral for a more subdued but no less heartfelt celebration of Pride. Massachusetts Episcopal Bishop Thomas Shaw, fresh from marching in the parade, led worshippers in song and prayers. During the service worshippers lined up in the center aisle of the cathedral, coming up as individuals and as couples, and Shaw laid his hands on them and blessed them.

After receiving the blessing a young female couple, one of whom wore a rainbow flag fastened to her hair, were in tears as they embraced each other.

"It's a day of tremendous celebration," Shaw told Bay Windows. "Gay and lesbian people and transgender people, society doesn't give them a lot to celebrate, so to have the opportunity to celebrate and bless on the same day seems a good thing to do. ... What the church does best is to bless love, and that's what we're doing, blessing love."

During the service Shaw quipped that as he made his way along the parade route several people mistook him for New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, who made headlines this month by joining with his longtime partner in a civil union.

"I had about ten people come up and say, 'Bishop Robinson, I'm so proud of what you did,'" said Shaw, prompting laughs from the worshippers. He joked that eventually he stopped correcting people and simply accepted their congratulations.

Shaw is perhaps one of the highest-ranking members of the clergy that has actively advocated for marriage equality in Massachusetts. But the bishop told Pride service attendees that his blessing reflected not his personal conviction on LGBT issues but the larger church's support for LGBT people.

"It's not my blessing. It's the blessing of the whole church," said Shaw. "That's all I am, a sign of unity of the whole church."