301 E 8th St, Austin, TX 78701
512.610.3500

Open and Affirming

The Open Table

St. David's is an open and affirming church. We believe that God loves us all – no exceptions. The Episcopal Church also has a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; and all those who are called may serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of gender, sexual identity, or orientation. We are an open and affirming parish located in downtown Austin, and our parish family stretches throughout the metropolitan area.

The Open Table is an educational program at St. David’s for the LGBTQ+ community which also includes parish-wide fellowship and a quarterly Holy Eucharist.

Join this Ministry

The Open Table Quarterly Eucharist

All services are at 6:30 p.m. in Historic Church

  • Wednesday, April 24, 2024: Quarterly Eucharist
  • Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024: PRIDE Parade Eucharist
  • Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024: Quarterly Eucharist for National Coming Out Day
  • Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024: Transgender Day of Remembrance Service
  • Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025: Quarterly Eucharist
  • Wednesday, May 28, 2025: Quarterly Eucharist
  • Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2025: Quarterly Eucharist
We invite those attending our Wednesday services to join us at 5:30 p.m. in Sumners Hall to have a meal together during our weekly parish dinner.

What Pronoun Stickers Do you Use?

You are invited to select a sticker from the newcomer table in the lobby with the pronoun that best identifies you and put it anywhere on your St. David’s name tag. If more than one pronoun fits, take more than one. Need a new nametag? There is a nametag request form at the front desk.

WHY PRONOUN STICKERS? In the Episcopal Baptismal Covenant, we promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves” and “respect the dignity of every human being.” Here at St. David’s, we believe one way of doing this is to commit to calling people by the pronouns that best express their gender identity. For some, their gender identity is in line with the sex they were assigned at birth, while for others, it is different. We often make assumptions about someone’s gender based on appearance. By giving everyone the opportunity to share the pronoun that best fits the gender that they identify with, we can hopefully avoid causing harm to each other based on assumptions.

LGBTQIA+ Advocacy

The St. David's community participates in regular Advocacy. The picture to the left is of the Trans Visibility March at the Texas Capitol in 2022. The Open Table program meets monthly for dinner, formation, worship, fellowship, and advocacy planning. Click here to join our fellowship group. 

The Queer Bible Commentary

A Conversation with the Author
This conversation was recorded in Holy Grounds between Fr. Chuck and Dr. Mona West, contributing editor for the newly published second edition of The Queer Bible Commentary. They discussed the importance of this type of biblical interpretation for the liberation of LGBTQIA+ people as well as their Allies.