Dignity Baltimore

Baltimore’s LGBTQI affirming faith communities, now have a new member to add to the family. DignityUSA, the largest and oldest community of LGBTQI Catholics, has commissioned a new chapter in Baltimore. This is the first time there will be a chapter of DignityUSA in Charm City since the 1980s.

Dignity Baltimore has been initiated under the leadership of Father Al Risdorfer. He and his husband Tony have been longtime members of Dignity in its Philadelphia, Central Pennsylvania and Washington chapters. Al is also a priest with the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America, CACINA, as it is known. CACINA is one of the largest and oldest Catholic denominations not affiliated with the Roman Church.

The missions of CACINA and Dignity are very much aligned. Both seek to reach out to disinvited, disaffected, and disenchanted Catholics, and advocate for full sacramental equality for LGBTQI Catholics and their families, and promote and support women seeking an equal voice in the church including ministerial roles. CACINA also welcomes divorced Catholics seeking the sacraments, former clergy who want to minister again and all those craving a deep loving relationship with God.

Dignity/Baltimore will be a ministry within the CACINA parish, of Our Lady Undoer of Knots located on Reisterstown Rd in Pikesville. To learn more, see their website:

https://www.our-lady-undoer-of-knots.org

Over the course of the next four months, Baltimore OutLoud columnist, Jared Dixon, will be featuring the work that Dignity/Baltimore and Our Lady Undoer of Knots Parish is doing in the community to reach out to the LGBTQI community and their families. As Father Al said, “As the newest of the 18 parishes within CACINA. Our Lady Undoer of Knots parish takes to heart Christ’s mandate to build the church. We do this by providing a welcoming, affirming, loving, non-judgmental, active, and yet very Catholic community for everyone seeking to build a deep loving relationship with God and neighbor. .. and among the most cherished of these are we LGBTQI folks!”

For those looking for a place to worship, Our Lady Undoer of Knots has mass every Sunday at 6:00pm in the sanctuary of St. Mark’s On The Hill Episcopal Church, 1620 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville, MD 21208. We look forward to worshipping with you.