‘PIE Day” is coming Wednesday, March 13 and Comox United Church is hosting a free film screening with homemade pie for those attending.
PIE Day was created by the Affirming Ministry committee of the United Church of Canada by adopting March 14 Pi Day (written as 3/14 in the month/day format, which matches the first three digits of the numerical value of pi 3.14). Pi Day celebrates the mathematical constant Pi.
The United Church adjusted Pi Day to PIE Day. PIE stands for the Public, Intentional, and Explicit inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the life of the faith community. It is a symbol of the church’s commitment to affirming, welcoming and including the LGBTQ++ community into its community and life. Since love is a circle, Pi represents its irrational, inclusive, and infinite nature.
The connection between Pi and PIE is homophonic (they sound the same) and is noted in the popular hymn by Gordon Light and Mark Miller. The refrain is: “Draw the circle wide, draw it wider still. Let this be our song: no one stands alone. Standing side by side, draw the circle, draw the circle wide.”
“Each year around PIE Day, Comox United affirms the place of the rainbow in our world,” explained Affirming Ministry committee member Bruce Curtis, in a press release. “ We invite everyone into the rainbow: to publicly declare our inclusion of all, to be intentional in our inclusion, and to be explicit in our support of one another as we affirm that all belong under the rainbow.”
This year’s PIE Day celebration will be on the evening of Wednesday, March 13 beginning at 7 p.m.
The church will be showing the film Love Free or Die, which is a documentary following Bishop Gene Robinson’s journey to ordination, priestly life, and finally to his election and consecration as the first openly gay bishop within the Anglican World Church, and indeed in world Christianity.
His election caused such a stir that he had to wear a bulletproof vest for his consecration and he was the only bishop in the worldwide Anglican communion to be excluded from the 2012 Lambeth Conference. The gathering, held every 10 years, usually includes all Anglican bishops. The Lambeth Conference has been deeply divided over the issue of same sex marriage and gay ordination for many years. This was the first time the Archbishop of Canterbury, convener of the conference, had withdrawn an invitation to a consecrated bishop.
Love Free or Die premiered on PBS and was featured at the Sundance Film Festival. It won the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Special Jury Prize for An Agent of Change film. It has won over a dozen film festival awards and is screened worldwide.
“It is currently being planned that the director of the film, Macky Alston, will be attending the screening via Zoom and will be available following to answer questions from the audience and provide updates on the impact of the film,” said Curtis. “This is a powerful film, telling a powerful story, about a powerful shift in 21st century consciousness. Be sure to note it in your calendar and know that all are welcome to this event.”
A key feature of the evening is the serving of complimentary pieces of homemade pie created for the event. All attending will be served slices of various delicious pies specially made for the event by an army of volunteers.
So, mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. to attend the film screening and enjoy some fabulous pies.
Comox United Church is located at 250 Beach Dr., Comox.