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| Fr Bill Richardson |
From Walking With Integrity:
On June 22nd, Integrity New Orleans held a memorial service at St. George's Episcopal Church in that city, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of a fire at the UpStairs Lounge,
a gay bar in the French Quarter which also served as the home of the
local Metropolitan Community Church, a protestant denomination founded
specifically to minister to the LGBT community.
Thirty-two people were killed in the fire, three of whom were never identified.
The bar was located on the second floor.
....
Especially remembered at the service, celebrated by the Rev. Richard Easterling, was the Rev. William P. "Bill" Richardson.
Richardson, who was rector of St. George's from 1953-1976, held a
similar service the in the days after the fire, in defiance of his own
bishop (the Right Rev. Iveson Noland) and other clergy who
refused to permit their churches to be used or provide any other
pastoral response.
Another fine article in remembrance of the UpStairs Lounge Fire.
