Michael S. Piazza is a prolific spiritual author and social justice advocate who currently serves as pastor of Broadway United Church of Christ in New York City. Previously, he was interim pastor of First Presbyterian Church in New Canaan, CT. Before that, he served as senior pastor of Virginia Highland Church, a congregation dually affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists and the United Church of Christ.[1]
Piazza is best known as the former senior pastor and dean of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas,[2][3][4] which, under his leadership, grew from approximately 350 members to more than 3,500.[5]
A native of the U.S. state of Georgia, Piazza has served in ministry for more than three decades as pastor of churches in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Florida.[5] He holds a bachelor's degree in History from Valdosta State University in Georgia and a Master of Divinity from the Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta.[5] His doctoral degree is from Hartford Seminary where he is an adjunct professor of Congregational Renewal. He is the President of Agile Church Consulting and has worked with dozens of churches around the country.
In August 1999, The Advocate magazine named Piazza one of the most influential people in the gay and lesbian rights movement[6] and he was honored by Pacific School of Religion with its "Leading Voice" award for his social justice work on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.[7] His published books include "Liberating the Gospel"; "Liberating Word, A Daily Reflection for Liberals, Volume One: The First Testament"; "Gay by God: How to be Lesbian or Gay and Christian" (formerly "Holy Homosexuals"); "Queeries: Questions Lesbians and Gays have for God"; "The Real antiChrist: How America Sold its Soul"; "Prophetic Renewal: Hope for the Liberal Church," designed to help restore vitality to liberal congregations; and "Liberating Hope: Daring to Renew the Mainline Church" co-written with the Rev. Cameron Trimble; "Vital Vintage Church"; and "Fishing in a Shallow Sea."[7]
Piazza and his partner Bill Eure were together since 1980 and have two daughters.[7] Eure died in July 2016. Piazza and his assistant David Plunkett are dedicated to introducing audiovisual ministry to as many congregations as possible.
References
edit- ^ "Michael Piazza | Profiles | LGBTQ Religious Archives Network". lgbtqreligiousarchives.org. Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
- ^ Caniglia, Julie (December 1999). "Cathedral of Hope". Out. Here Publishing: 46. ISSN 1062-7928. Archived from the original on 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8LJTOAO2.html [dead link]
- ^ "40 years after MLK, gays still settling for any seat on the bus". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
- ^ a b c "Meet our Interim Pastor, Rev. Michael Piazza". First Presbyterian Church. 2018-04-24. Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
- ^ Gideonse, Ted; Johnson, Hans; Jordan, Tony; Meyer, Lisa; Walker, Christian; Barrett, Jon; Gallagher, John (August 17, 1999). "OUR BEST and BRIGHTEST ACTIVISTS: society.(individual contributions to the gay rights movement)". The Advocate.
- ^ a b c "Rev. Michael Piazza | Virginia-Highland Church". Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2019-08-15.
8. www.broadwayucc.org 9. www.agilechurch.com