{"id":236672,"date":"2026-07-06T13:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/236672\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T13:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T13:37:11","slug":"local-churches-lgbt-groups-join-forces-to-paint-pride-mural-at-goggleworks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/236672\/","title":{"rendered":"Local churches, LGBT groups join forces to paint Pride mural at GoggleWorks"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a simple message, but it speaks volumes.<\/p>\n

A multicolored sun, each shade representing one fragment of the many identities welcome under the roof that bears it.<\/p>\n

That scene is the centerpiece of a newly painted temporary mural at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in Reading.<\/p>\n

The art piece was conceived in part by Donte Jones, a pastor at Lift United Church of Christ in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a mural that lets LGBT people know there are allies (here),\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt\u2019s just about being together as a community. When LGBT people do well, the whole community does well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said he and other United Church of Christ pastors are working with the denomination\u2019s congregations throughout the region to organize mural projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have murals everywhere from outside of Philly to Erie,\u201d Jones said. \u201cAll the murals follow a similar pattern: a progress flag sun and the words \u2018Come let us join our lights together.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The mural at the GoggleWorks was a collaboration between Jones and congregation members of Calvary United Church of Christ in Reading.<\/p>\n

Also serving as an organizer of the GoggleWorks mural was the Rev. Steve Ohnsman, pastor at Calvary.<\/p>\n

Ohnsman said he initially reached out to numerous locations in Berks looking for a volunteer to allow Calvary UCC and Jones to paint the mural on its doors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost places said no,\u201d Ohnsman said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like it\u2019s a controversial message.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a space that seeks transformation through art, the GoggleWorks was an ideal place for the mural, said Jennifer Stoltzfoos, engagement manager with the arts center.<\/p>\n

\u201c(When we heard) that community members are coming together to work on it, that\u2019s what we want to do and support,\u201d Stolzfoos said. \u201cWe have a lot of programs here, workshops, community engagement activities. We just thought this was a nice way to bring people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of Reading Pride, the LGBT Center of Reading and All Souls Ecumenical Catholic Communion also attended the event to help paint the mural.<\/p>\n

\u201cReading is in a great location and at a great point right now where all of our organizations coming together, even for things that seem small, can show unity and be that guiding light the community needs,\u201d said Kai Miller, vice president at the LGBT Center.<\/p>\n

Ohnsman noted that Calvary UCC had become a designated \u201copen and affirming\u201d congregation in 2013.<\/p>\n

That designation is awarded after meeting certain criteria, including a congregation-wide vote, laid out by the Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC.<\/p>\n

Churches designated \u201copen and affirming\u201d offer an explicit welcome to LGBT+ members, as well as other historically marginalized groups.<\/p>\n

Ohnsman said Calvary was the first UCC congregation in Berks County to adopt the \u201copen and affirming\u201d designation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our church, we have a big rainbow banner out front that kind of lets people know what we believe,\u201d Ohnsman said. \u201cWe don\u2019t focus on (who is straight and who\u2019s not.) We just live life as the church and let everybody come in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FromFrom left, Robert Waffle and Henry Pruski of All Souls Church; and Ashley Myers and her daughter Nina, 12, of Calvary UCC all work on a mural at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington St. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a simple message, but it speaks volumes. A multicolored sun, each shade representing one fragment of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-236672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}