The Cathedral of Hope (CoH), a member congregation of the United Church of Christ, is an historically and predominantly LGBT congregation located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. The Dallas Cathedral of Hope is said to be the world's largest inclusive "liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons", with a membership of over 4,000 local members.
The postmodern cathedral was designed by Philip Cortelyou Johnson and has not been built yet, even after it was revised five times from the first design by the architect at the request of the Rev. Michael Piazza, then dean of the Cathedral. Donald Bruce Kaufman was consulted for the painting of the exterior. The building is ten stories high and complemented with a 78-foot bell tower commemoration of HIV/AIDS victims. The physical building is symbolic to the liberal Christian faith that hosts and is found in a considerably conservative area. The main building was completed in 2002, at a construction cost of approximately $20 million, and can accommodate up to 2,200 worshippers at once. Piazza was the senior pastor for nearly twenty years between the late 1980s and 1990s. He oversaw the largest growth in the church's history, from 250 members to more than 3,000, while ministering through the AIDS crisis.
Other campuses are located in Mid-Cities (between Dallas and Fort Worth), and Oklahoma City. Its national outreach program reaches a further online audience nationwide. The Cathedral of Hope joined the United Church of Christ in February 2007, having previously been the flagship congregation of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In November 2009, construction was commenced on the Cathedral of Hope's Interfaith Peace Chapel, designed by the prominent architect Philip Johnson (Alan Ritchie Architects). Dedication of the building was on November 7, 2010. The Rev. Dr. Neil Cazares-Thomas has been the cathedral's senior pastor since May 2015.