"It was the annual Carnivale gala, otherwise known as San Francisco's most glamorous reason to get drunk in a church. I sat for dinner on March 4th among a cohort that felt immediately familiar; Not in the we grew up together way, but in the we survived another year in journalism way. We traded hot takes on uppity columnists, great parties, and how to write about rich people without getting blacklisted."
"Carnivale blessed me with good gossipers and genuine connection for two years running. Here is a community that welcomes you in regardless of spiritual background; also one that never wastes good lighting. And it's why I ended up lingering long after the music stopped with people who felt like old friends."
"I also met Rev. Miguel Bustos, a gay Archdeacon who told me Grace Cathedral held funerals in the AIDS crisis when other churches turned them away. It turns out they held up to 35 funerals a week - a week. This shares a sentiment I anecdotally remember hearing about the Black and LGBTQ+ communities and San Francisco in 1980s and 90s: When few others would help, we found each other."
""Church shouldn't just be a place for solemn religious events - it's a place for community to break bread together," Bustos said."
Grace Cathedral hosted Carnivale on March 4th, a glamorous fundraising gala that mixed formalwear theatrics, photobooth fun, and communal revelry. Journalists and media professionals gathered, sharing candid conversations about columns, parties, and covering the wealthy while maintaining careers. The event fostered recurring connections and a welcoming atmosphere across spiritual backgrounds, encouraging guests to linger after the music ended. Rev. Miguel Bustos recalled the cathedral's role during the AIDS crisis, saying other churches turned people away while Grace Cathedral conducted up to thirty-five funerals per week. The evening emphasized community, inclusion, and the blending of sacred space with celebratory social life.
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