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MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
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Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
MCC Theologies Team
Quicklinks
History
Statement of Purpose
Guiding Principles
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
Metropolitan Community Churches have always been ecumenical in nature, drawing together people from diverse theological backgrounds. In fact, we believe that our theological diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
In a world increasingly divided by claims of theological orthodoxy and religious fundamentalism, our ability to intentionally engage our differences within a context of unity is one of the God-given gifts we have to offer the world. In a world increasingly bereft of hope due to indifference and secularism, MCC bears witness to the life transforming nature of God’s inclusive love.
Indeed, MCC’s theological mission is to tear down walls and build up hope. This is work we must do both within and between our own congregations, and more broadly in the world.
The MCC Theologies Team seeks to create opportunities and provide resources that will enable “holy conversations” within our denomination about our various beliefs concerning a range of topics (e.g. the integration of sexuality and spirituality, the nature of Jesus, baptism, communion, GLBT people’s unique place on the margins of society, and the priesthood of all believers, among other things).
Our experience in MCC is that theological labels and characterizations can be hurtful and misleading. Our hope is to build bridges across our theological differences and empower all people in MCC to do theology.
Because issues of sexuality and spirituality continue to be debated in religious communities worldwide, and because of the increasing interest in the academic study of sexual identities, it is time to renew our call to articulate the many theologies that are present in our lived experience as God’s GLBTQIA people to the larger religious world, the academy, and our partners in social justice and human rights action. The Theologies Team also seeks to encourage and equip MCC to engage in this larger “holy conversation.”
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/
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I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
MCC Theologies Team
Quicklinks
History
Statement of Purpose
Guiding Principles
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
Metropolitan Community Churches have always been ecumenical in nature, drawing together people from diverse theological backgrounds. In fact, we believe that our theological diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
In a world increasingly divided by claims of theological orthodoxy and religious fundamentalism, our ability to intentionally engage our differences within a context of unity is one of the God-given gifts we have to offer the world. In a world increasingly bereft of hope due to indifference and secularism, MCC bears witness to the life transforming nature of God’s inclusive love.
Indeed, MCC’s theological mission is to tear down walls and build up hope. This is work we must do both within and between our own congregations, and more broadly in the world.
The MCC Theologies Team seeks to create opportunities and provide resources that will enable “holy conversations” within our denomination about our various beliefs concerning a range of topics (e.g. the integration of sexuality and spirituality, the nature of Jesus, baptism, communion, GLBT people’s unique place on the margins of society, and the priesthood of all believers, among other things).
Our experience in MCC is that theological labels and characterizations can be hurtful and misleading. Our hope is to build bridges across our theological differences and empower all people in MCC to do theology.
Because issues of sexuality and spirituality continue to be debated in religious communities worldwide, and because of the increasing interest in the academic study of sexual identities, it is time to renew our call to articulate the many theologies that are present in our lived experience as God’s GLBTQIA people to the larger religious world, the academy, and our partners in social justice and human rights action. The Theologies Team also seeks to encourage and equip MCC to engage in this larger “holy conversation.”
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/
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I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
About the Theologies Team
Quicklinks
MCC Theologies Team Home
Statement of Purpose
Guiding Principles
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
In her Moderator’s Report to the 2007 General Conference, Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson announced the formation of the new MCC Theologies Team.[1]
Rev. Wilson reported, “While this is a team in formation whose specific agenda is still being shaped, I am very excited that we are going to begin formulating a more intentional process of theological reflection in MCC worldwide.” This is a daunting task, but one that is ripe for such a time as this.
In their initial conversations, team members agreed that this is a kairotic[2] moment for MCC and an opportunity to create safe space for theological conversations that explore and nurture the diversity of our global movement. The team hopes to help empower all people – clergy and laity alike – to be reflective as well as practical theologians.
It is also an opportunity for MCC to more fully engage in broader ecumenical conversations about queer and liberation theologies. Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson says, “Who better than MCC to contribute to this discourse, since we have the practical experience of doing queer theology for nearly forty years? We have important perspectives that we need to share with one another and the wider religious world.”
During the 2007 General Conference in Phoenix, three Theological Cafés were held to discuss various perspectives on Jesus, baptism, and theological labels. These discussions, hosted by members of the team, were well attended and demonstrated the vast hunger people have for opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue about matters of faith and justice.
The Theologies Team had its first meeting later that year, in December of 2007. In 2008 and 2009, Team members led a series of workshops entitled, “What’s Theology Got to Do with It?” at Regional Conferences and sub-regional gatherings. Hundreds of people in MCC participated in these sessions, engaging in theological conversation about such things as eucharist, baptism, and the nature of the church.
Participants described these conversations as “liberating” and indicated a strong interest in having similar conversations in their local churches.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Theologies is intentionally rendered in the plural in order to honor the multiplicity of theological perspectives and traditions that exist in MCC. In 2007 as the team was still being formed, several team members gathered with the Board of Elders for a day of discussion about theology with Dr. Mary Hunt. Dr. Hunt noted that this diversity of theological understanding is one of MCC’s greatest resources, and that being able to respectfully engage these without resorting to litmus tests for theological orthodoxy could be our greatest strength.
[2] This term comes from the Greek word kairos, which refers to an opportune or appointed moment in time when the way is made for God’s purposes to unfold. In contrast to the more ordinary word for a quantity of time (chronos), kairos time is qualitative – a moment that represents a great opportunity for God to work.
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/about-the-theologies-team/
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I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
About the Theologies Team
Quicklinks
MCC Theologies Team Home
Statement of Purpose
Guiding Principles
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
In her Moderator’s Report to the 2007 General Conference, Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson announced the formation of the new MCC Theologies Team.[1]
Rev. Wilson reported, “While this is a team in formation whose specific agenda is still being shaped, I am very excited that we are going to begin formulating a more intentional process of theological reflection in MCC worldwide.” This is a daunting task, but one that is ripe for such a time as this.
In their initial conversations, team members agreed that this is a kairotic[2] moment for MCC and an opportunity to create safe space for theological conversations that explore and nurture the diversity of our global movement. The team hopes to help empower all people – clergy and laity alike – to be reflective as well as practical theologians.
It is also an opportunity for MCC to more fully engage in broader ecumenical conversations about queer and liberation theologies. Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson says, “Who better than MCC to contribute to this discourse, since we have the practical experience of doing queer theology for nearly forty years? We have important perspectives that we need to share with one another and the wider religious world.”
During the 2007 General Conference in Phoenix, three Theological Cafés were held to discuss various perspectives on Jesus, baptism, and theological labels. These discussions, hosted by members of the team, were well attended and demonstrated the vast hunger people have for opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue about matters of faith and justice.
The Theologies Team had its first meeting later that year, in December of 2007. In 2008 and 2009, Team members led a series of workshops entitled, “What’s Theology Got to Do with It?” at Regional Conferences and sub-regional gatherings. Hundreds of people in MCC participated in these sessions, engaging in theological conversation about such things as eucharist, baptism, and the nature of the church.
Participants described these conversations as “liberating” and indicated a strong interest in having similar conversations in their local churches.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Theologies is intentionally rendered in the plural in order to honor the multiplicity of theological perspectives and traditions that exist in MCC. In 2007 as the team was still being formed, several team members gathered with the Board of Elders for a day of discussion about theology with Dr. Mary Hunt. Dr. Hunt noted that this diversity of theological understanding is one of MCC’s greatest resources, and that being able to respectfully engage these without resorting to litmus tests for theological orthodoxy could be our greatest strength.
[2] This term comes from the Greek word kairos, which refers to an opportune or appointed moment in time when the way is made for God’s purposes to unfold. In contrast to the more ordinary word for a quantity of time (chronos), kairos time is qualitative – a moment that represents a great opportunity for God to work.
ShareThis
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/about-the-theologies-team/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
Statement of Purpose
Quicklinks
MCC Theologies Team Home
History
Guiding Principles
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
The Six Questions
1. What is Theology? How does it relate to the Christ Story?
2. What is the Theological Task of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC)?
3. How do we define the community to which we are called to minister?
4. How might we focus or bring to bear the Christian Gospel on the needs of the community we have defined?
5. How might we reflect or manifest that focusing task in our worship?
6. What is the unique emphasis of the Christian ministry of the UFMCC?
Put simply, “theology” is “God talk.” Since our beginning, MCC has been talking about God as we have claimed that one can be “gay” and Christian. As MCC enters into its fifth decade, the need for theological discussion, both within and outside of the church, has never been greater. While language can never fully capture the mystery of God, careful thinking and speaking about God can increase our understanding.
Metropolitan Community Churches have always been ecumenical in nature, drawing together people from diverse theological backgrounds. We believe that our theological diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
In a world increasingly divided by claims of theological orthodoxy and religious fundamentalism, our ability to intentionally engage our differences within a context of unity is one of the God-given gifts we have to offer the world. In a world increasingly bereft of hope due to indifference and secularism, MCC bears witness to the life transforming nature of God’s inclusive love. Indeed, MCC’s theological mission is to tear down walls and build up hope.
Our founders began MCC’s theological work in the early days of our movement through the Faith Fellowship and Order Commission, which sought to promote theological conversations within MCC and published “The Six Questions” — core questions that dealt with the mission and ministry of MCC.
There is no time like the present for MCC to be engaged in theological work. Because issues of sexuality and spirituality continue to be debated in religious communities worldwide, and because of the increasing interest in the academic study of sexual identities, it is time to renew our call to articulate the many theologies that are present in our lived experience as God’s GLBTQ people.
Ministry Purpose
The MCC Theologies Team seeks to create opportunities and provide resources that will enable “holy conversations” within our denomination about our various beliefs concerning the integration of sexuality and spirituality, the nature of Jesus, baptism, communion, GLBT people’s unique place on the margins of society, and the priesthood of all believers, among other things.
Our experience in MCC is that theological labels and characterizations can be hurtful and misleading. Our hope is to build bridges across our theological differences and empower all people to do theology.
This team will also strive to articulate the unique theologies of MCC to the larger religious world, the academy, and our partners in social justice and human rights action.
ShareThis
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For Email Marketing you can trust
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/statement-of-purpose/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
Statement of Purpose
Quicklinks
MCC Theologies Team Home
History
Guiding Principles
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
The Six Questions
1. What is Theology? How does it relate to the Christ Story?
2. What is the Theological Task of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC)?
3. How do we define the community to which we are called to minister?
4. How might we focus or bring to bear the Christian Gospel on the needs of the community we have defined?
5. How might we reflect or manifest that focusing task in our worship?
6. What is the unique emphasis of the Christian ministry of the UFMCC?
Put simply, “theology” is “God talk.” Since our beginning, MCC has been talking about God as we have claimed that one can be “gay” and Christian. As MCC enters into its fifth decade, the need for theological discussion, both within and outside of the church, has never been greater. While language can never fully capture the mystery of God, careful thinking and speaking about God can increase our understanding.
Metropolitan Community Churches have always been ecumenical in nature, drawing together people from diverse theological backgrounds. We believe that our theological diversity is one of our greatest strengths.
In a world increasingly divided by claims of theological orthodoxy and religious fundamentalism, our ability to intentionally engage our differences within a context of unity is one of the God-given gifts we have to offer the world. In a world increasingly bereft of hope due to indifference and secularism, MCC bears witness to the life transforming nature of God’s inclusive love. Indeed, MCC’s theological mission is to tear down walls and build up hope.
Our founders began MCC’s theological work in the early days of our movement through the Faith Fellowship and Order Commission, which sought to promote theological conversations within MCC and published “The Six Questions” — core questions that dealt with the mission and ministry of MCC.
There is no time like the present for MCC to be engaged in theological work. Because issues of sexuality and spirituality continue to be debated in religious communities worldwide, and because of the increasing interest in the academic study of sexual identities, it is time to renew our call to articulate the many theologies that are present in our lived experience as God’s GLBTQ people.
Ministry Purpose
The MCC Theologies Team seeks to create opportunities and provide resources that will enable “holy conversations” within our denomination about our various beliefs concerning the integration of sexuality and spirituality, the nature of Jesus, baptism, communion, GLBT people’s unique place on the margins of society, and the priesthood of all believers, among other things.
Our experience in MCC is that theological labels and characterizations can be hurtful and misleading. Our hope is to build bridges across our theological differences and empower all people to do theology.
This team will also strive to articulate the unique theologies of MCC to the larger religious world, the academy, and our partners in social justice and human rights action.
ShareThis
Join MCC's Email Newsletter List!
For Email Marketing you can trust
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/statement-of-purpose/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
Theologies Guiding Principles
Quicklinks
MCC Theologies Team Home
History
Statement of Purpose
Resources
Descriptive Theologies
Meet the Team
Follow Us on Facebook
In addtion to the MCC Core Values (view here), the following guiding principles inform the work of the Theologies Team and the types of Holy Conversations we hope to encourage in local churches:
“Priesthood of All Believers.” We believe that the work of theology belongs to the whole people of God and is not reserved for ordained professional ministers. Both lived experience and theological education are essential resources for this work.
“Sacredness of the Body.” In many parts of Christian tradition, the body has been ignored and denigrated, while other parts of the tradition have been intentional about honoring the sacredness of embodiment. We are committed to re-integrating sexuality and other forms of physical experience with spirituality.
“No Talking About Us without Us.” We aspire to include in our theological conversations the people most directly affected by the work we are doing. For example (and this is by no means a complete list), if we are talking about people of color, people of color will be participants in our conversation. If we are talking about HIV/AIDS, we will actively seek out the personal testimony of people infected/affected with HIV/AIDS. If we are talking about women, we will prioritize the information we hear from women about their lived experiences. If we are talking about transgender issues, we will include transgender persons in our conversation. If we are addressing the concerns of youth or the elderly, we will listen for the voices of children and youth, or older people.
“Global Accountability.” We are a global movement. We will include people from around the world in our theological work. We are aware of the cultural and contextual nature of all theologies.
“In the Margins, We are Blessed.” We learn from the Biblical story of salvation and our own experiences that God is profoundly present in the margins. We commit ourselves to being attentive to where the margins are as they shift according to history and context. We will be aware of the privileges granted to people based on race, sex, gender, and physical ability. We call ourselves to be accountable to the lived experience and needs of society’s most vulnerable and marginalized. The birth of MCC resulted directly from our marginalization as queer people, and our charisms as a movement flow from that experience.
“Personal Ability and Responsibility.” As articulated in MCC’s strategic plan, “We believe in everyone’s holy privilege to work out their own salvation.” We seek to empower every person to engage in intentional theological reflection and discovery that flows from the reality of their own experience of the divine mystery. We will listen to and honor the convictions of one another, believing that we come to know more about God and God’s movement in the world through shared insights than conclusions made in isolation. The willingness to live and worship amidst the tensions of our differing theologies speaks to our desire to encounter the mystery of God and transcends the need to be “right.”
“Respect for Theological Diversity.” MCC’s vision statement proclaims that “While we are a Christian church who follows Jesus, we respect those of other faith traditions and work together with them to free all those who are oppressed by hate, disregard, and violence.” We recognize and affirm that people have many different names for God and many different paths to God that are as true for them as ours are for us. This recognition does not require that we leave behind our own beliefs, identities, or commitments.
“Theological and Practical Integration.” We understand that theology does not exist for its own sake. The fullest measure of our faithfulness lies in how well we put our theologies into practice through our ethical actions and in our relationships with ourselves and one another.
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
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In addtion to the MCC Core Values (view here), the following guiding principles inform the work of the Theologies Team and the types of Holy Conversations we hope to encourage in local churches:
“Priesthood of All Believers.” We believe that the work of theology belongs to the whole people of God and is not reserved for ordained professional ministers. Both lived experience and theological education are essential resources for this work.
“Sacredness of the Body.” In many parts of Christian tradition, the body has been ignored and denigrated, while other parts of the tradition have been intentional about honoring the sacredness of embodiment. We are committed to re-integrating sexuality and other forms of physical experience with spirituality.
“No Talking About Us without Us.” We aspire to include in our theological conversations the people most directly affected by the work we are doing. For example (and this is by no means a complete list), if we are talking about people of color, people of color will be participants in our conversation. If we are talking about HIV/AIDS, we will actively seek out the personal testimony of people infected/affected with HIV/AIDS. If we are talking about women, we will prioritize the information we hear from women about their lived experiences. If we are talking about transgender issues, we will include transgender persons in our conversation. If we are addressing the concerns of youth or the elderly, we will listen for the voices of children and youth, or older people.
“Global Accountability.” We are a global movement. We will include people from around the world in our theological work. We are aware of the cultural and contextual nature of all theologies.
“In the Margins, We are Blessed.” We learn from the Biblical story of salvation and our own experiences that God is profoundly present in the margins. We commit ourselves to being attentive to where the margins are as they shift according to history and context. We will be aware of the privileges granted to people based on race, sex, gender, and physical ability. We call ourselves to be accountable to the lived experience and needs of society’s most vulnerable and marginalized. The birth of MCC resulted directly from our marginalization as queer people, and our charisms as a movement flow from that experience.
“Personal Ability and Responsibility.” As articulated in MCC’s strategic plan, “We believe in everyone’s holy privilege to work out their own salvation.” We seek to empower every person to engage in intentional theological reflection and discovery that flows from the reality of their own experience of the divine mystery. We will listen to and honor the convictions of one another, believing that we come to know more about God and God’s movement in the world through shared insights than conclusions made in isolation. The willingness to live and worship amidst the tensions of our differing theologies speaks to our desire to encounter the mystery of God and transcends the need to be “right.”
“Respect for Theological Diversity.” MCC’s vision statement proclaims that “While we are a Christian church who follows Jesus, we respect those of other faith traditions and work together with them to free all those who are oppressed by hate, disregard, and violence.” We recognize and affirm that people have many different names for God and many different paths to God that are as true for them as ours are for us. This recognition does not require that we leave behind our own beliefs, identities, or commitments.
“Theological and Practical Integration.” We understand that theology does not exist for its own sake. The fullest measure of our faithfulness lies in how well we put our theologies into practice through our ethical actions and in our relationships with ourselves and one another.
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
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Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
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L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
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MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
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Theologies Guiding Principles
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Would Jesus Discriminate?
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En español
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MCC Theologies Team Home
INTRODUCTION (En español)
Summer 2011 marks the launch of a new MCC Theologies Team project designed to gather information both from our churches and as many individuals as possible affiliated with MCC.
PURPOSE
The Descriptive Theologies subcommittee of the MCC Theologies Team seeks to identify and map the variety of theological practices and beliefs within MCC. This work serves three primary purposes:
1) To provide an accurate picture of practices “on the ground” in our churches around the world;
2) To facilitate our understanding of who we are as a denomination; and,
3) To help us identify areas where the MCC Theologies Team may assist our churches.
BACKGROUND
Anyone visiting a number of MCC churches knows something of the incredible diversity found in our practices. We sing hymns and praise songs, choruses and chants. Some of us baptize by immersion and some sprinkle at the baptismal font. Some of us use written liturgies and some are extemporaneous. Some are very active in issues of social justice and some are ecologically conscious. Some regularly practice gifts of the Holy Spirit and some feel called to a ministry of community service or intercessory prayer. Even within a single congregation our people express a wide range of theological beliefs and commitments.
Until now we’ve never undertaken the monumental task of systematically surveying all of our practices and beliefs. But we believe that what we might find is worth the effort…
PROCESS
We will release two surveys per quarter:
One survey for a single response from each congregation, and
One survey for a response from every individual associated with MCC.
We’ve chosen to start with the practice of Baptism, but will be moving through a range of topics like:
MCC’s Sacraments and Rites (Holy Communion, Ordination, Membership, Holy Union/Holy Matrimony, Funerals, Laying on of Hands, and Blessings)
Theological topics (the Holy Spirit, Trinity, Atonement, etc.)
Spiritual practices (prayer, meditation, Bible study, fasting, etc.), and
Involvement in ecumenical or inter-religious activities.
Questionnaires will be made available on the MCC website and an electronic newsletter will announce new topics as they become available for your responses.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What kind of personally identifiable information will you collect?
For church surveys we will ask for the name of the church, an email address, and a short description of the membership in terms of numbers, significant trends in gender, nationality/citizenship, age, and any specialized religious education.
For individuals we will ask for an email address, denominational background, congregational role (pastor, board member, lay delegate, staff clergyperson, other member, or friend of the church), education, etc.
Q. Who will have access to the data?
Results from the surveys will be made available publicly in aggregate form. We will not release any email addresses or personally identifiable information to the public.
Q. Who can fill out the questionnaires?
Absolutely anyone associated with MCC, including clergy, members and friends.
Q. Who will fill out the congregational questionnaires?
Ideally, a senior pastor or other staff member of the church with a reasonably long affiliation with the congregation will fill out the congregational questionnaires. In cases where a pastor is new, we encourage cooperation with individuals affiliated with the congregation long enough to have a thorough understanding of local practices.
Q. Can I participate in the surveys without a computer?
If you do not have regular access to a computer with an Internet connection, please contact us to arrange another method for completing the questionnaires.
Q. What if my answers don’t match my pastor’s? My neighbor’s? Yours?
For the purposes of our surveys there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. We are attempting to get a better picture of the diversity in our churches as well as any interesting trends. The best way to do this is to gather as much honest information as we can.
We are aware of the discomfort that can be aroused as we ask questions that probe areas of ambiguity or diversity in our beliefs. But our goal is to frame our questions and the presentation of what we find in a respectful manner.
Q. Who is on the Descriptive Theologies subcommittee?
Three members of the MCC Theologies Team currently serve on the Descriptive Theologies subcommittee: Kharma Amos, Jim Burns, and Bryce Rich. Their biographies, along with the other members of the MCC Theologies Team can be found at: http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/our-team/.
Q. I don’t see my question. How do I get it answered?
Please contact us at theologies@MCCchurch.net and we’ll respond. If your question seems like something others are also asking, we’ll add it to this list.
ShareThis
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UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/descriptive-theologies/
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ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
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MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
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Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
Descriptive Theologies
Quicklinks
En español
See the surveys
MCC Theologies Team Home
INTRODUCTION (En español)
Summer 2011 marks the launch of a new MCC Theologies Team project designed to gather information both from our churches and as many individuals as possible affiliated with MCC.
PURPOSE
The Descriptive Theologies subcommittee of the MCC Theologies Team seeks to identify and map the variety of theological practices and beliefs within MCC. This work serves three primary purposes:
1) To provide an accurate picture of practices “on the ground” in our churches around the world;
2) To facilitate our understanding of who we are as a denomination; and,
3) To help us identify areas where the MCC Theologies Team may assist our churches.
BACKGROUND
Anyone visiting a number of MCC churches knows something of the incredible diversity found in our practices. We sing hymns and praise songs, choruses and chants. Some of us baptize by immersion and some sprinkle at the baptismal font. Some of us use written liturgies and some are extemporaneous. Some are very active in issues of social justice and some are ecologically conscious. Some regularly practice gifts of the Holy Spirit and some feel called to a ministry of community service or intercessory prayer. Even within a single congregation our people express a wide range of theological beliefs and commitments.
Until now we’ve never undertaken the monumental task of systematically surveying all of our practices and beliefs. But we believe that what we might find is worth the effort…
PROCESS
We will release two surveys per quarter:
One survey for a single response from each congregation, and
One survey for a response from every individual associated with MCC.
We’ve chosen to start with the practice of Baptism, but will be moving through a range of topics like:
MCC’s Sacraments and Rites (Holy Communion, Ordination, Membership, Holy Union/Holy Matrimony, Funerals, Laying on of Hands, and Blessings)
Theological topics (the Holy Spirit, Trinity, Atonement, etc.)
Spiritual practices (prayer, meditation, Bible study, fasting, etc.), and
Involvement in ecumenical or inter-religious activities.
Questionnaires will be made available on the MCC website and an electronic newsletter will announce new topics as they become available for your responses.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What kind of personally identifiable information will you collect?
For church surveys we will ask for the name of the church, an email address, and a short description of the membership in terms of numbers, significant trends in gender, nationality/citizenship, age, and any specialized religious education.
For individuals we will ask for an email address, denominational background, congregational role (pastor, board member, lay delegate, staff clergyperson, other member, or friend of the church), education, etc.
Q. Who will have access to the data?
Results from the surveys will be made available publicly in aggregate form. We will not release any email addresses or personally identifiable information to the public.
Q. Who can fill out the questionnaires?
Absolutely anyone associated with MCC, including clergy, members and friends.
Q. Who will fill out the congregational questionnaires?
Ideally, a senior pastor or other staff member of the church with a reasonably long affiliation with the congregation will fill out the congregational questionnaires. In cases where a pastor is new, we encourage cooperation with individuals affiliated with the congregation long enough to have a thorough understanding of local practices.
Q. Can I participate in the surveys without a computer?
If you do not have regular access to a computer with an Internet connection, please contact us to arrange another method for completing the questionnaires.
Q. What if my answers don’t match my pastor’s? My neighbor’s? Yours?
For the purposes of our surveys there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. We are attempting to get a better picture of the diversity in our churches as well as any interesting trends. The best way to do this is to gather as much honest information as we can.
We are aware of the discomfort that can be aroused as we ask questions that probe areas of ambiguity or diversity in our beliefs. But our goal is to frame our questions and the presentation of what we find in a respectful manner.
Q. Who is on the Descriptive Theologies subcommittee?
Three members of the MCC Theologies Team currently serve on the Descriptive Theologies subcommittee: Kharma Amos, Jim Burns, and Bryce Rich. Their biographies, along with the other members of the MCC Theologies Team can be found at: http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/our-team/.
Q. I don’t see my question. How do I get it answered?
Please contact us at theologies@MCCchurch.net and we’ll respond. If your question seems like something others are also asking, we’ll add it to this list.
ShareThis
Join MCC's Email Newsletter List!
For Email Marketing you can trust
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/ministries/mcc-theologies-team/descriptive-theologies/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
« Bullying Prevention Awareness Month2014 Fellowship Sunday Campaign »Virtual Lecture Series – Queering Theologies
September 5th, 2014 | Author: christoffer
globe Webinar
virtual
lecture
series Lecturers
Dr. Nancy Wilson
“MCC and the Dialectics of Decency and
Indecency”
15 September 2014
8 :00 p.m. EDT
(English)
Dr. Edgard Francisco Danielsen-Morales
“Queering Relationships”
23 September 2014
8:00 p.m. EDT
(Spanish)
Dr. Genilma Boehler
“The Gold Pot: a queer method for theology”
7 October 2014
8:00 p.m. EST
(Spanish)
Dr. Genilma Boehler
“The Queer God”
21 October 2014
8:00 p.m. EST
(Portuguese)
Dr. Theodore Jennings
“Beyond Marriage: A theology and ethic
of promiscuity”
3 November 2014
8:00 p.m. EST
(English and Spanish)
Dr. Kelby Harrison
“God the Lobster? Transcending the Limits of Theological Reason”
17 November 2014
8:00 p.m. EST;
(English)
Dr. Luis N. Rivera Pagán
“Queering God: Freeing God from Androcentric Homophobia”
10 December 2014
8 :00 p.m. EST –Puerto Rico 9 :00 p.m.
(English)
Queering Theologies
The Darlene Garner Institute for Iberoamerican Leadership Formation of the Metropolitan Community Churches and the Theologies Team of the Metropolitan Community Churches have coordinated a series of webinars for 2014 in memory of Argentinian theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid.
The webinars will be virtual encounters with theologians with theological proposals from an intertextual and displacement hermeneutics that allow participants to look at authoritative discourses of Christian traditions from gender perspectives and from the bodies as spaces for theological thinking and pastoral practices.
Prestigious theologians will present seven webinars of queering God’s talk. Participants will be able to access a live conference or watch it at a later time online. Lectures will be offered in Spanish, Portuguese, and English; papers will be accessible online in the same languages.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marcella-Althaus-Reid“I have said elsewhere that theology is a sexual act, and therefore to reflect on the theologian, her vocation, role and risks means to take seriously the changing geographies of Christian Kneelings, and confessionary movements, and how they relate to positions of affection in Christian theology. In this way queering who the theologian is, and what is her role and vocation is a reflection on locations, closely linked to the locale’s events and spaces made of our concrete and sensual actions.”
on The Queer God
Marcella Althaus–Reid
(1952-2009)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RevNancy15 September 2014
The Rev. Elder Dr. Nancy Wilson was elected to the position of Global Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) in 2005, following the retirement of the Founder of MCC, Rev. Elder Troy Perry, and in July 2010, she was re-elected for a term of six years. She is only the second person, and the first woman to serve in that role since the founding of Metropolitan Community Churches.
Rev. Wilson obtained her B.A. from Allegheny College, her M.Div. from St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary and is a D.Min. from Episcopal Divinity School.
Rev. Wilson has been the official delegate of MCC to the World Council of Churches General Assemblies in Canberra, Australia (1991); Harare, Zimbabwe (1998); and Porto Alegre, Brazil (2006). In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Rev. Wilson to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Following President Obama’s re-election in 2013, Rev. Wilson gave a Scripture reading at the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and was the first openly gay clergy member to participate.
Rev. Wilson’s recent published works include Outing the Bible: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Christian Scriptures (LifeJourney Press, 2013); Outing the Church: 40 Years in the Queer Christian Movement (LifeJourney Press, 2013); and Nossa Tribo: Gays, Deus, Jesus e a Bíblia (Metanoia, 2012). Rev. Wilson has been honored with the first “Lazarus Award” from the Presbyterian Church and was invited to preach at the Earl Lectures at Pacific School of Religion in 2002.
In May 2014, Rev. Wilson was one of four honorees to be recognized Intersections International for her humanitarian work in the area of social justice. And in honor of International Women’s Day in 2014, HuffPost selected Rev. Wilson as one of 50 “powerful religious leaders…making change in the world.”
Rev.-Dr.-Edgard-Francisco-Danielsen-Morales23 September 2014
Rev. Dr. Edgard Francisco Danielsen-Morales is Associate Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in the city of New York (MCCNY). His responsibilities at MCCNY cover a diverse range of opportunities for the development of the life of the congregation.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he began his spiritual journey drawing on two traditions: Baptist and Disciples of Christ churches (charismatic). Because of his sexual orientation, the congregation withdrew him from lay ministry. However, his spiritual journey did not stop but continues through the ministerial work in other organizations and communities. He has served in various leadership positions in and outside of MCC.
With vast experience in academia, Rev. Danielsen-Morales has served as a professor and dean at the University of Puerto Rico. He is currently a candidate for a degree in psychoanalysis at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. He offers psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in Theodor Reik Clinical Center, two organizations in the city of New York.
Genilma-Boehler7 & 21 October 2014
Genilma Boehler has a degree in Theology from the Methodist University of São Paulo (1985), MA in Dogmatic Theology with a major in Missiology from the University of Our Lady of Assumption, Paraguay (2001), and MA in Religious Studies at the Methodist University of São Paulo (2003). She also has a PhD in Theology from the Graduate School of Theology (EST) in São Leopoldo, RS (2010).
Dr. Boehler currently teaches at the Latin American Biblical University, San José Costa Rica. She has experience as a university professor in the area of Theology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Humanities, Feminism and Gender focus on the following subjects: Systematic Theology, Latin American Theology, Feminist Theology, Queer Theology, Theology and Literature.
Dr. Boehler has experience with higher education and e-learning, research and university extension. Along with teaching, she has worked in social movements in several areas including rights of original nations, women, human rights, and sexual diversity.
Dr.-Theodore-Jennings3 November 2014
Dr. Theodore Jennings is Professor of Biblical and Philosophical Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary where he also started the program in Queer Studies in 1991. He has also taught at Emory University and at the Seminario Metodista de Mexico.
Dr. Jennings has written 20 books and scores of articles on liturgy, Bbible, theology and continental philosophy. Among those books there are four that deal with the relationship of the Bible to queer perspectives: The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament (2003, also translated into Korean and Spanish); Jacob’s Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel (2005); Plato or Paul: The Origin of Western Homophobia (2009) and most recently, An Ethic of Queer Sex: Principles and Improvisations (2014).
Dr. Jennings has lectured on homosexuality and Christian faith in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan. He has served as theological consultant to LGBT Solidarity in Human Rights in Korea and to Bisdak Pride in the Philippines. His work on Wesleyan theology has been published in Spanish and Portuguese.
In all of his work of teaching, writing, and lecturing, he is committed to the Gospel becoming good news for all who yearn for justice and generosity and joy and to exposing the powers of domination, division and death. In his early 70s he took up competitive running (including half marathons and a sprint triathalon) and enjoys figure drawing. He lives in Chicago with his wife of more than 40 years; they also share a home in Mexico.
Rev. Dr. Kelby Harrison
17 November 2014
Rev. Dr. Kelby Harrison was ordained as a minister with Metropolitan Community Church on 15 December 2013. After having completed her Ph.D. in Ethics, Gender and Sexuality from Northwestern University (2010); she was the post-doctoral fellow in Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, where she taught Christian ethics, philosophy of religion, and LGBT social ethics.
Rev. Harrison trained as a hospital chaplain at UCLA – Santa Monica Medical Center. Furthermore, she is the author of the book Sexual Deceit: The Ethics of Passing with Lexington Press and co-editor of the anthology, Passing/Out: Identity Veiled and Revealed with Ashgate Press.
Rev. Harrison is excited to participate in the theological future of MCC. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and is the proud parent of two toy poodle pups: Anzu and Sakura.
Luis-N.-Rivera-Pagán10 December 2014
Luis N. Rivera Pagán is a retired professor of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and Emeritus Professor of Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. However is difficult to imagine Dr. Pagán as a retired professor as he is continues to present at conferences and write academic papers.
Dr. Rivera-Pagán earned an M.Div. at Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico in 1966, S.T.M. (1967) and M.A. (1968) at Yale University. He earned his PhD in 1970, also at Yale, with the dissertation Unity and Truth: The Unity of God, Man, Jesus Christ, and the Church in Irenaeus, under Jaroslav Pelikan. Dr. Rivera-Pagán pursued post-doctoral studies at University of Tübingen, Germany.
During 1970 and 2003 Rivera-Pagán was Professor of Systematic Theology at the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico and Professor of Humanities at the University of Puerto Rico. Between 1999 and 2000, Rivera-Pagán was the John Alexander Mackay Visiting Professor on World Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. This position, held during his sabbatical year, led to his appointment in 2003 to the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary as the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Ecumenics and Mission. In June 2007 he retired with the status of Professor- emeritus.
Rivera-Pagán is a prolific author who wrote, co-authored, edited, and co-edited dozens of books, journal issues, chapters, articles, and reviews in books and journals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To register for one or more lectures, follow this link:
http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1668&EID=18219
For questions, please contact Rev. Ma
Posted in Theology Comments are closed.
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/virtual-lecture-series-queering-theologies/
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« Bullying Prevention Awareness Month2014 Fellowship Sunday Campaign »Virtual Lecture Series – Queering Theologies
September 5th, 2014 | Author: christoffer
globe Webinar
virtual
lecture
series Lecturers
Dr. Nancy Wilson
“MCC and the Dialectics of Decency and
Indecency”
15 September 2014
8 :00 p.m. EDT
(English)
Dr. Edgard Francisco Danielsen-Morales
“Queering Relationships”
23 September 2014
8:00 p.m. EDT
(Spanish)
Dr. Genilma Boehler
“The Gold Pot: a queer method for theology”
7 October 2014
8:00 p.m. EST
(Spanish)
Dr. Genilma Boehler
“The Queer God”
21 October 2014
8:00 p.m. EST
(Portuguese)
Dr. Theodore Jennings
“Beyond Marriage: A theology and ethic
of promiscuity”
3 November 2014
8:00 p.m. EST
(English and Spanish)
Dr. Kelby Harrison
“God the Lobster? Transcending the Limits of Theological Reason”
17 November 2014
8:00 p.m. EST;
(English)
Dr. Luis N. Rivera Pagán
“Queering God: Freeing God from Androcentric Homophobia”
10 December 2014
8 :00 p.m. EST –Puerto Rico 9 :00 p.m.
(English)
Queering Theologies
The Darlene Garner Institute for Iberoamerican Leadership Formation of the Metropolitan Community Churches and the Theologies Team of the Metropolitan Community Churches have coordinated a series of webinars for 2014 in memory of Argentinian theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid.
The webinars will be virtual encounters with theologians with theological proposals from an intertextual and displacement hermeneutics that allow participants to look at authoritative discourses of Christian traditions from gender perspectives and from the bodies as spaces for theological thinking and pastoral practices.
Prestigious theologians will present seven webinars of queering God’s talk. Participants will be able to access a live conference or watch it at a later time online. Lectures will be offered in Spanish, Portuguese, and English; papers will be accessible online in the same languages.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marcella-Althaus-Reid“I have said elsewhere that theology is a sexual act, and therefore to reflect on the theologian, her vocation, role and risks means to take seriously the changing geographies of Christian Kneelings, and confessionary movements, and how they relate to positions of affection in Christian theology. In this way queering who the theologian is, and what is her role and vocation is a reflection on locations, closely linked to the locale’s events and spaces made of our concrete and sensual actions.”
on The Queer God
Marcella Althaus–Reid
(1952-2009)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RevNancy15 September 2014
The Rev. Elder Dr. Nancy Wilson was elected to the position of Global Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) in 2005, following the retirement of the Founder of MCC, Rev. Elder Troy Perry, and in July 2010, she was re-elected for a term of six years. She is only the second person, and the first woman to serve in that role since the founding of Metropolitan Community Churches.
Rev. Wilson obtained her B.A. from Allegheny College, her M.Div. from St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary and is a D.Min. from Episcopal Divinity School.
Rev. Wilson has been the official delegate of MCC to the World Council of Churches General Assemblies in Canberra, Australia (1991); Harare, Zimbabwe (1998); and Porto Alegre, Brazil (2006). In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Rev. Wilson to the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Following President Obama’s re-election in 2013, Rev. Wilson gave a Scripture reading at the Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and was the first openly gay clergy member to participate.
Rev. Wilson’s recent published works include Outing the Bible: Queer Folks, God, Jesus, and the Christian Scriptures (LifeJourney Press, 2013); Outing the Church: 40 Years in the Queer Christian Movement (LifeJourney Press, 2013); and Nossa Tribo: Gays, Deus, Jesus e a Bíblia (Metanoia, 2012). Rev. Wilson has been honored with the first “Lazarus Award” from the Presbyterian Church and was invited to preach at the Earl Lectures at Pacific School of Religion in 2002.
In May 2014, Rev. Wilson was one of four honorees to be recognized Intersections International for her humanitarian work in the area of social justice. And in honor of International Women’s Day in 2014, HuffPost selected Rev. Wilson as one of 50 “powerful religious leaders…making change in the world.”
Rev.-Dr.-Edgard-Francisco-Danielsen-Morales23 September 2014
Rev. Dr. Edgard Francisco Danielsen-Morales is Associate Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in the city of New York (MCCNY). His responsibilities at MCCNY cover a diverse range of opportunities for the development of the life of the congregation.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he began his spiritual journey drawing on two traditions: Baptist and Disciples of Christ churches (charismatic). Because of his sexual orientation, the congregation withdrew him from lay ministry. However, his spiritual journey did not stop but continues through the ministerial work in other organizations and communities. He has served in various leadership positions in and outside of MCC.
With vast experience in academia, Rev. Danielsen-Morales has served as a professor and dean at the University of Puerto Rico. He is currently a candidate for a degree in psychoanalysis at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis. He offers psychotherapy and psychoanalysis in Theodor Reik Clinical Center, two organizations in the city of New York.
Genilma-Boehler7 & 21 October 2014
Genilma Boehler has a degree in Theology from the Methodist University of São Paulo (1985), MA in Dogmatic Theology with a major in Missiology from the University of Our Lady of Assumption, Paraguay (2001), and MA in Religious Studies at the Methodist University of São Paulo (2003). She also has a PhD in Theology from the Graduate School of Theology (EST) in São Leopoldo, RS (2010).
Dr. Boehler currently teaches at the Latin American Biblical University, San José Costa Rica. She has experience as a university professor in the area of Theology, Philosophy, Anthropology, Humanities, Feminism and Gender focus on the following subjects: Systematic Theology, Latin American Theology, Feminist Theology, Queer Theology, Theology and Literature.
Dr. Boehler has experience with higher education and e-learning, research and university extension. Along with teaching, she has worked in social movements in several areas including rights of original nations, women, human rights, and sexual diversity.
Dr.-Theodore-Jennings3 November 2014
Dr. Theodore Jennings is Professor of Biblical and Philosophical Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary where he also started the program in Queer Studies in 1991. He has also taught at Emory University and at the Seminario Metodista de Mexico.
Dr. Jennings has written 20 books and scores of articles on liturgy, Bbible, theology and continental philosophy. Among those books there are four that deal with the relationship of the Bible to queer perspectives: The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament (2003, also translated into Korean and Spanish); Jacob’s Wound: Homoerotic Narrative in the Literature of Ancient Israel (2005); Plato or Paul: The Origin of Western Homophobia (2009) and most recently, An Ethic of Queer Sex: Principles and Improvisations (2014).
Dr. Jennings has lectured on homosexuality and Christian faith in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan. He has served as theological consultant to LGBT Solidarity in Human Rights in Korea and to Bisdak Pride in the Philippines. His work on Wesleyan theology has been published in Spanish and Portuguese.
In all of his work of teaching, writing, and lecturing, he is committed to the Gospel becoming good news for all who yearn for justice and generosity and joy and to exposing the powers of domination, division and death. In his early 70s he took up competitive running (including half marathons and a sprint triathalon) and enjoys figure drawing. He lives in Chicago with his wife of more than 40 years; they also share a home in Mexico.
Rev. Dr. Kelby Harrison
17 November 2014
Rev. Dr. Kelby Harrison was ordained as a minister with Metropolitan Community Church on 15 December 2013. After having completed her Ph.D. in Ethics, Gender and Sexuality from Northwestern University (2010); she was the post-doctoral fellow in Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, where she taught Christian ethics, philosophy of religion, and LGBT social ethics.
Rev. Harrison trained as a hospital chaplain at UCLA – Santa Monica Medical Center. Furthermore, she is the author of the book Sexual Deceit: The Ethics of Passing with Lexington Press and co-editor of the anthology, Passing/Out: Identity Veiled and Revealed with Ashgate Press.
Rev. Harrison is excited to participate in the theological future of MCC. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and is the proud parent of two toy poodle pups: Anzu and Sakura.
Luis-N.-Rivera-Pagán10 December 2014
Luis N. Rivera Pagán is a retired professor of the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras, and Emeritus Professor of Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, New Jersey. However is difficult to imagine Dr. Pagán as a retired professor as he is continues to present at conferences and write academic papers.
Dr. Rivera-Pagán earned an M.Div. at Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico in 1966, S.T.M. (1967) and M.A. (1968) at Yale University. He earned his PhD in 1970, also at Yale, with the dissertation Unity and Truth: The Unity of God, Man, Jesus Christ, and the Church in Irenaeus, under Jaroslav Pelikan. Dr. Rivera-Pagán pursued post-doctoral studies at University of Tübingen, Germany.
During 1970 and 2003 Rivera-Pagán was Professor of Systematic Theology at the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico and Professor of Humanities at the University of Puerto Rico. Between 1999 and 2000, Rivera-Pagán was the John Alexander Mackay Visiting Professor on World Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. This position, held during his sabbatical year, led to his appointment in 2003 to the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary as the Henry Winters Luce Professor of Ecumenics and Mission. In June 2007 he retired with the status of Professor- emeritus.
Rivera-Pagán is a prolific author who wrote, co-authored, edited, and co-edited dozens of books, journal issues, chapters, articles, and reviews in books and journals.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To register for one or more lectures, follow this link:
http://www.gifttool.com/registrar/ShowEventDetails?ID=1668&EID=18219
For questions, please contact Rev. Ma
Posted in Theology Comments are closed.
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/virtual-lecture-series-queering-theologies/
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I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
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ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
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Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
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Descriptive Theologies
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2014 Atlanta
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Would Jesus Discriminate?
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History of MCC
(Read MCC’s Marriage History Timeline – click here)
(Watch “Call Me Troy” Video – click here)
This 4-part document was released in Fall, 2004. Compiled of interviews and writings of Rev. Elder Troy Perry,
Founder and Moderator of MCC, this series tells the story of MCC’s beginnings from his perspective.
Introduction
In 1968, a year before New York’s Stonewall Riots, a series of most unlikely events in Southern California resulted in the birth of the world’s first church group with a primary, positive ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Those events, a failed relationship, an attempted suicide, a reconnection with God, an unexpected prophecy, and the birth of a dream led to MCC’s first worship service: a gathering of 12 people in Rev. Troy Perry’s living room in Huntington Park, California on October 6, 1968.
That first worship service in a Los Angeles suburb in 1968 launched the international movement of Metropolitan Community Churches, which today has grown to 43,000 members and adherents in almost 300 congregations in 22 countries. During the past 36 years, MCC’s prophetic witness has forever changed the face of Christianity and helped to fuel the international struggle for LGBT rights and equality
These edited excerpts are from “The Lord Is My Shepherd, And He Knows I’m Gay” authored by MCC Founder and Moderator, Rev. Troy D. Perry.
Prelude
In the early 1960s, Rev. Perry was defrocked as a clergyperson by a Pentecostal denomination because of his homosexuality. He spent the next several years struggling to reconcile his sexuality and his Christian spirituality.
In Part I, Rev. Perry describes the events that preceded the first worship MCC service:
A failed romance.
An attempted suicide.
A reconnection with God.
An unexpected prophecy.
And the birth of a dream…
Return to Top
Part One
Troy Perry had fallen deeply in love with as young man named Benny. Perry was stunned when Benny came home one day and announced the relationship was over.
I looked at him and I asked, “Benny, is it really over?” He looked at me, and smiled, and said, “Yes, It is.” And it sounded so final. My world just came tumbling down. I felt so completely lost.
I felt like a total failure at everything. I felt that there was no one I could talk to. I felt shut off from everyone. Nothing seemed worth anything anymore. Nothing had any value. There seemed to be no future. Only darkness.
But I wanted to pull myself together. I went into the bathroom and shaved. And then I started crying. I just couldn’t stop. I sat down and sobbed. I felt naked, and there was absolutely no one around me. I felt deserted by everyone and everything that I had ever known. It was hopeless—useless to even try to go on. I couldn’t even remember God. I felt as though God did not exist, so why even try to pray? I had lost something — someone — I had loved more than anything else in the world.
That was the problem, of course. Benny had taken God’s place. I had equated him with God. I had allowed him to take the place of God in my life. I had made the mistake of placing a human being before God.
In my despair, I felt that I had no choices open to me. There was no tomorrow. There was not even the present. I got up and tried to pull myself together. I opened the medicine cabinet. The first thing I saw was the razor blade. I took it in my hands. I stared at it. This was the instrument of the Angel of Death. I staggered. I managed to get into the tub; I felt totally numb. Somehow I managed to slowly and deliberately press the blade through the skin and into the flesh of my wrists. The veins popped and yielded up their dark fluid. It was thicker than I expected, and darker. I had physical sensations of numbness growing upon me. I drifted off to sleep, even though I was not at all aware of it.
The dream drifted on; I had a sense of being alive, but of being asleep, of drifting, of fading, and of being heavier and heavier. The dream became a troubled nightmare. Somewhere out there I could hear screaming. Scream after scream filtered through to me, but I couldn’t respond.
Later, I learned that Benny, the person with whom I had broken up, had come into the bathroom and discovered me in the grisly mess I had made. He screamed and ran next door to the neighbors. Well, my neighbor Marianne and a couple of her sons charged in there and took over. They tied my wrists up with cloths and rushed me off to the emergency hospital. I ended up at the Los Angeles County General Hospital.
By the time I got there, I had regained consciousness and I had really gone all to pieces. I didn’t know whether I would live or die. And I was scared. If ever I went through a nervous breakdown, that must have been it. I cried for at least three hours while waiting for some kind of medical attention. The emergency cases were really lined up.
Well, I was sitting there, crying uncontrollably, when someone walked in front of me and stood there for a minute. I was aware of this person, like a shadow before me. This person reached down and stuck a religious magazine into my hands and said, “Here. Some of us care about you!”
I looked up dumbly, and stared at this black woman. Her words hit me like a slap in the face. It snapped me out of my depression, just to hear that someone cared.
Then the woman turned and left. I never knew her name, but when I was aware that she had gone, I remembered God. My mind started working, just like someone had thrown a switch inside it. I finally recalled that I had forgotten all about God. There was still God. It had been so long since I really knew absolutely that God did exist.
I stopped crying, I looked at my soggily bandaged wrists and said, “All right, Lord, I’ve made some terrible mistakes. You just help me with them.” I felt a weight go out of my life. My whole attitude toward God and death and life had shifted. I knew that God cared about me and that God was with me, all the way – wherever that would lead me.
During those days, I grew to rely heavily on my friend and roommate, Willie Smith, who took a keen interest in me. He’d been working the night I had tried to commit suicide. He didn’t know anything about it until noon the next day. It shook him. But he stood by me.
And my next-door neighbors were of great help. Marianne and her sons were so eager to help me. They kept a close watch on me. One of Marianne’s great friends was a black woman who was a minister and of whom she often spoke. Well, I finally met her minister friend. She was small and direct, and her name was Vera Hockset. And she was truly amazing. She had remarkable, God-given insight into people’s lives.
So one Sunday afternoon, I finally met Vera. She asked how everything was going with me.
And I said, “Oh I’m just fine.”
She looked at me directly and said, “Well, not really.”
Well, that shook me up a little.
I talked with Vera and her sincerity moved me and touched my heart somehow. Vera went on,
“Do you have some relative that was a minister? A deceased relative?
I told her, “Yes, I had a great-uncle who is deceased, and he was a Pentecostal minister.”
Vera went on to say, “You’re a minister. You always have been, and it won’t be long before you will be pastoring a church.”
I just laughed. I said, “No, I’ll never pastor a church.”
She looked sternly at me and said, “Oh, yes you will. God has a ministry for you.”
That stunned me. All my life I’d always been told that by people who really knew me. And here was a total stranger telling me the same thing. My Auntie Bea used to say the same thing over and over. I remembered that Auntie Bea had one time said, “The Lord has a ministry for you. A great ministry, but it won’t be the church you’re currently in.”
I smiled at Vera and said, “No, that’ll never happen.”
But she topped my smile with one of her own that came from her own basic understanding and warmth. She started to tell me many things about myself — she told me more than anyone could possibly have known about me. It really rocked me, and I knew that his was no ordinary woman.
She had powers of insight that must have come from God.
During this time I prayed a great deal. And the Lord began to deal with me. Things became easier. My attitudes shifted. Finally with God’s help and understanding, I became convinced that He was moving me to a mission, that a vision of that mission would be revealed to me. And I knew that when it came, I must never look back; I would never have to. My journey would be forward. My course would be clear. I would know my work. It would be hard, but I would spend my life at it.
Return to Top
Part Two
In 1968, Troy Perry was stunned when his lover Benny announced that their relationship was over. In his desperation and depression Perry attempted suicide. Following the failed suicide attempt, Perry experienced a renewed sense of spirituality. He began to pray again. And he was perplexed by the words of a stranger who prophesied, “God has a ministry for you. You are going to pastor a church.” At that time, that was far from Troy Perry’s mind. He picks up the story by sharing events that took place after the attempted suicide.
I prayed and I could feel God’s presence. God was the source of power, authority, warmth and understanding. God was the force of good, of energy, of creative positive happenings. After my suicide attempt, I would hit the gay spots once in a while. Usually I went with my friend and roommate, Willie Smith, on his nights off.
I developed a friendship with a young man by the name of Carlos. We used to talk about our basic beliefs, but Carlos would never even let me make any mention of religious beliefs. He had mentioned that he had belonged to a church, but, he agreed with Willie Smith, for him it was not the answer.
Then Carlos got arrested by the police.
For what? …Well, just for buying beer in a gay bar. He had done absolutely nothing else. It was the way the police used to harass the gay community. He was there with me, and with a couple of friends of ours. It was so unjust.
Here’s what happened:
Carlos bought a couple of beers and came back to our table, and started to sit down. A police officer in plain clothes walked up to him, flashed a badge, and said, “Come outside with me!”
They took Carlos outside, along with another friend of ours, Bill. Both men were charged with lewd conduct, handcuffed, frisked, and hauled off to jail.
We moved fast.
Some of us went right down to the jail. Now this was eleven o’clock at night. I knew Carlos had done nothing wrong. He hadn’t broken any law, and I am convinced of that to this day. But it took me until 5:30 AM to get Carlos released. It was all due to delaying tactics by the police. The booking procedure, the mug shots, the fingerprinting, just took hours. It was part of the harassment that took place far too often against the gay community in those days.
When I finally saw Carlos, I could tell he was more shaken up that I was. And I was really upset.
I took Carlos home with me. I wanted him to get cleaned up, pulled together, and have something to eat. Then we’d plan what we were going to do.
Carlos said, “You know something? I’ve never been arrested before for anything in my life. Never! And I’m 26 years old now. The police kept telling me they are going to call my employer and tell him I’m gay. I’ll probably lose my job. You know, Troy, I’ve learned one thing from this experience: People don’t really care. Nobody likes a queer.”
I tried to be helpful. “Well, Carlos, even if people don’t, I’m still convinced that God cares about you.”
Carlos just laughed bitterly. “Come on, Troy. God doesn’t care about me.”
With that, he turned and left. And when he left, I felt the weight of his disaster upon me.
I had made my way back to God enough to know that I could talk to God. So I knelt down and said, “All right God, if it’s Your will; if You want me to see a church started as an outreach into our community, You just let me know when.” And I heard a still small voice within me say,
“Now!”
My course was set! I had to fight to keep it from occupying all of my thoughts while I was at work. I knew that the mission was coming into focus. God wanted me to start a new church that would reach into the gay community, but that would include anyone and everyone who believed in the true spirit of God’s love, peace, and forgiveness.
My learning experience sped up. The Lord was really getting me ready. I knew that the word “church” would be in the title. In my free time, I used to think and pray about what kind of church God wanted me to found. I would sit in that little office in back of the yardage department at Sears and pray and think and dream. I knew God wanted a church where God could move. I think that’s why “church” was always in the title. Then I would ask the Lord if it was to be really an outreach into the gay community. So the word “community” got into the title. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Community meant a feeling of comradeship, a small area, a place where you knew everybody. So, it would be a community church. We would also serve a large community; we would serve all of the Los Angeles area. Los Angeles is a large urban area, so the word “metropolitan” finally came to mind, and it stuck.
Then I had to worry about how I was going to reach the gay community.
There’s always the grapevine, but church services and religion aren’t usually part of that.
During this time of planning and preparing, I was such a happy individual. Willie Smith saw me walking around the house humming, smiling, and full of energy. He nailed me about it one day.
He said, “What’s eating on you?
So, I leveled with him. I said, “Well, Willie I’m sure that God wants me to start a new church.”
Willie just collapsed and said, “Oh, my God, I thought you were over all that silliness.”
I said, “Wait a minute, Willie. This is a church for us, it will serve the homosexuals, the gay community.”
Well, Willie thought that was crazy. He said, “You mean you really are serious about this religious stuff?”
I assured him that I was. I said, “I know, Willie, that it’s the thing to do. I’ve got to try and see if I can’t bring a message, God’s message, to all the gay people.”
What Willie wanted to know was this: “How are you going to organize a bunch of queens, and get them to follow any religion, or any person, or do anything together? You know how bitchy we are. We always act individually. Nobody has ever organized the gay community into anything and accomplished anything. It’s ridiculous.”
I told Willie I would go ahead anyway. “And,” I added, “we’ll do it right here.”
Willie was horrified.
He said, “You’ve got to be kidding. I’m already too much for Huntington Park. And you’re going to have all those faggots from Hollywood down here running in and out of our house to attend church services? The neighborhood just can’t take the strain!”
He just looked at me again, and said, “Okay. If you’re going to do it, go ahead. But don’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t happen. Helping queens get religion isn’t anybody’s bag.”
Then he added, “But if it does work…count me in.”
So I asked Lee Glaze, owner of The Patch gay bar, about it. Lee thought it would be just great. I asked him what he thought was the best way to reach the gay community. He thought it over.
While he was thinking, I said, “I’m going to advertise it in The Advocate, I guess. What do you think about it?”
He said, “That’s a great idea. As a matter of fact, it happens that the editor of The Advocate and his lover are here in The Patch tonight. Would you like to meet them?”
I was eager to, so I went into Lee’s side office near the bar. He brought in Dick and Bill, and made the introductions. We started talking and I explained my plans. They were skeptical about what I was trying to do. Was this some kind of business venture? Just what was I up to? They weren’t sure that they wanted to sell me any advertising at all. So I really gave them my pitch. And when we finished, they not only took the ad, they gave me a good rate on it. They also told me that they might, just might, even attend a service at Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), if it ever got started.
Now at that time, The Advocate was published only once a month. I decided I would advertise in the October issue which would hit the street the last week of September. So, I set the date for my first service. It was October 6, 1968. I had about two weeks between the publication of the first ad and the first worship service.
Just about ten days before the first service, my mother came down to see me. She and her husband were separating, and she was going to go back home to Florida for a vacation. She knew of my suicide attempt, of course, and she kept much closer contact with me. I visited her as frequently as I could.
Again, I’m going to have her tell, in her own words; something of the way she saw it.
“One day, I visited with Troy at his home in Huntington Park. He seemed kind of distracted and I was afraid that he was losing interest in his faith, in any kind of church or religion. And we were talking. I said to him, ‘Troy, have you ever thought about starting a church?’ Well, that stunned him. I guess I must have really read his mind. But we were talking, and he told me that a friend of his had been arrested — busted as they call it — on some kind of homosexual charge or other.
And he told how much that boy needed help. And I said to Troy, ‘Well, haven’t you ever thought about starting a church for homosexuals?’ Well, a change came over him, and he looked at me and that was it. He said that that was just what he had been praying about and that was what he was going to do. He looked so fierce and intent. He said that it had been uppermost in his mind for several weeks.”
So I began to share my dream for the church with the gays and lesbians. They almost all had the same reaction that Willie Smith had had. Some told me to forget it. We had gone through generations, even centuries, of that awful conviction that if you were a homosexual you could not be a child of God; you could not be a Christian.
I knew I was really shoveling sand against the tide to get started.
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Part Three
In 1968, Troy Perry was stunned when his lover Benny announced that their relationship was over. In his desperation and depression Perry attempted suicide. Following the failed suicide attempt, Perry experienced a renewed sense of spirituality. He began to pray again. And he was perplexed by the words of a stranger who prophesied, “God has a ministry for you. You are going to pastor a church.” At that time, that was the far from Troy Perry’s mind. Around the same time, a gay friend of Perry’s was harassed and arrested by the police. In his desperation, the young man said to Troy. “God doesn’t care. God doesn’t care about gay people.” That spurred Perry to hold the very first MCC worship service.
That first Sunday church service finally arrived — October 6, 1968.
I stood nervously watching the door, worried to death. I had cleaned out the living room, set up some chairs, used the coffee table for an alter. I had borrowed a robe from the Congregationalist minister that I had helped out previously. He insisted that I had to preach in a robe for that first service. I had borrowed some trays from some very close friends, Steve and his lover, Lynn. These were for communion. I set up everything, and stood in the kitchen.
Our house was one of those “shotgun” houses: From the front door, you could see all the way back. You could see right through to the back room. I could stand in the kitchen and look all the way down the hall way to the front door. I paced nervously around in my borrowed robe and clutched the Bible and thumbed through it and riffled the pages. Then, people began to gather.
My roommate and dear friend Willie Smith let them in. He greeted them, and saw that they sat down. One friend of ours brought his straight brother and the brother’s girlfriend. Other people showed. Most had heard about it, but finally, three people showed up who had read the ad in The Advocate.
There were 12 people in the living room, and I walked out, and asked everyone to stand up, and I said, “We’ll go before the Lord in prayer.” We joined hands and prayed. Then I said, “We’ll sing some hymns.” I invited everyone to turn to a page in the book. We’d borrowed the hymnals from the Congregationalist church where I had been a guest preacher the previous Easter. No one knew what to expect. Everyone was as scared as I was. They all waited around for me to lead the singing and sing out. So I did. My mother always used to say, “My boys don’t sing too well, but they sure sing loud.” And that was never more true.
As we sang, I recalled my neighbor Marianne Johnston’s reaction to the church. She thought it was a lovely idea, but she said, “You’ll be raided during your first service.”
I laughed and said, “Well, I wish the police would come in. It wouldn’t bother me at all.”
We sang several hymns. We sounded a little thin and tinny, but the spirit was what counted. We didn’t have a piano or any kind of accompaniment. Willie Smith was there, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a part of it. He still didn’t know just what to think.
I recall I had assured Willie, just before we started, that God was in this. I said, “I know now that I’m going to be in God’s perfect will. Not God’s permissive will as I as in my past life.”
Well, we prayed again and then I relaxed.
I introduced myself.
I told about where I was born, my age, my name, my marriage, my sons, my religious background, where I went to high school and college. I talked about the churches I had pastored in Florida, Illinois and California. I said that one in Santa Ana had been the last I pastored in 1963, and here we were now, after my army hitch. I told them that I was a division manager with one of the largest retailers in Los Angeles, and that I would continue as such until the church was large enough to support a full-time minister. Even then, I was sure that that time would come.
Then I introduced the church.
I said the church was organized to serve the religious, spiritual and social needs of the homosexual community of greater Los Angeles, but I expected to grow to reach homosexuals wherever they might be. I made it clear that we were not a gay church — we were a Christian church, and I said that in my first sermon. I also told them that we would be a general Protestant church to be all-inclusive. Then I prayed again.
And then I went into my Biblical message.
My sermon was entitled, “Be True to You.” It was actually inspired by Polonius’ advice to his son, Laertes, when the young man was about to leave. It’s early in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, and it’s from those lines that go:
“This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
I then moved from Shakespeare to the story of Job, to the Book of Job, chapter 19, verses 1-26, and I read them aloud.
“Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”
Job had learned to be true to himself. He never wavered once he made up his mind, and knew that he was called of God. His friends came and told him that he must have sinned for some reason or he wouldn’t be visited by all these things that plagued him. He lost his family.
Everything terrible happened to him. But Job’s remark to them was, “Though God slay me, yet I’ll trust in God. I’ll come forth as pure as gold.” Even going through the refiner’s fire, he knew that he would make it. And I knew that we at Metropolitan Community Church could do that too.
I also preached about David and Goliath. David said that the same God that protected him when he had to do battle once with a bear, and once with a lion would protect him again. Even when things look awfully bad to us in the gay community, God can help. And we can win, even though it looks like everything is stacked against us. So, I said, “Be true to you. Believe in yourself, and believe in God. You have to believe in yourself as a human being first, and then God is able to help you. You are not just an individual in circumstances, but you always are the created being of God.”
I pointed out that we must be humble, spiritual human beings first, homosexuals second. We must love and build, free ourselves, and free others from their feelings against us. I closed my sermon with a quote from the Epistle of St. Paul, the Apostle to the Philippians, fourth chapter, thirteenth verse, which says,
“I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me!”
After I finished preaching, I closed my Bible, and I knew that God was in the place.
I prayed again, and then I looked up and said, “We’re going to have open communion,” there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. A hush fell over the place and everybody in that small living room was weeping silently. We all felt that we were a part of something great. God was preparing to move. We were to see God’s handiwork, and that would be unbelievable.
I offered communion. Only three came forward to take the bread and wine, but they were weeping. And then I served communion to myself.
We dismissed with a prayer of benediction. Then I invited everyone to stay for coffee and cake.
We gathered and we just couldn’t quit crying. We all sat around and said we had felt the spirit of the Lord. One young man came up to me, and said, “Oh, Troy, God was here this morning! I haven’t been in a church in eight years. And even when I left the church, the one I’d been in, I never felt anything like I felt here this morning, in this living room.”
When that service was finally over, Willie Smith said that he had really been moved by it. He insisted that he didn’t know yet about whether the church would actually take a hold and grow.
I said, “Willie, only God knows the answer to that.”
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Part Four
The first MCC service took place on October 6, 1968. Rev. Troy Perry’s friend and roommate, Willie Smith, was skeptical of Perry’s plans for a church that would minister to the GLBT communities. But after the very first service, Smith’s thinking began to change:
After that first service, Willie’s heart began to change. He said, “This MCC church just might work out, and I want you to know I’m with you all the way, 100%. And I’ll do anything I can to make it work.”
And he did. He started right then.
For the next Sunday, he scrounged up a phonograph and records of some religious music so that we could all sing to it. Aside from being an ace projectionist, Willie was also a singer, and music director. He made that his job with the new church.
The next Sunday, we were 14 instead of 12. I got up and looked around and said, “If you love the Lord this morning would you say ‘amen!'” They all shouted “amen” back to me. It’s been that way, too, since then. I also praised the Lord because we were growing.
The next Sunday we had 16 and I got up and said, “Well look at this. Thank you Jesus, we’re on the move!”
But, the fourth Sunday we had only nine, and I almost died. But here again, God had prepared me. He gave me a sermon entitled, “Despise Not the Day of Small Things.” And God gave me that sermon for Troy Perry, not for anyone there.
Lee, a friend from my army days, and now one of the regulars, said, “That morning, when you looked out in the group, and saw that it had shrunk, I could tell that you were upset. You got up and you preached, and you preached as though you meant it. I could tell you really meant it.”
I said, “Well, that was a sermon God gave especially for me.” The next Sunday we had 22 in attendance.
We’d jumped back up in attendance, and we’ve never dropped since.
As we started to grow and attract people from all kinds of different backgrounds, I knew that we would have to begin settling problems of organization, administration, doctrine and the church services. They had to be settled soon, so that everyone would be able to know and rely on the church, to really be a part of its body, of its identity.
I knew that I was not starting another Pentecostal church. I was starting a church that would be truly ecumenical. I had asked the religious backgrounds of those first twelve. They were Catholic, Episcopal, and of various Protestant sects. I fervently sought to serve a really broad spectrum of our population. It would have to be a church that most could understand and easily identify with, and accept it as not being unusual or odd. It seemed to me that it should be traditional, almost like those they attended in childhood, or not too different from that.
It had to be completely honest. I knew that I couldn’t play games.
My sermons would have to do as they had always done, relate to the Scriptures and to God. This, I knew, would be the hard part. I am not an intellectual. I have never claimed to be the type of speaker that required the listeners to bring a dictionary to each session. I always regarded myself as a preacher, not as a teacher. Now, I knew that I must be both, especially for those who came to church either for the first time or after years of having no contact with God or established religion. But I also had to reestablish old links with God, but do it in a new way, that would be meaningful in our community.
Although I became the pastor and founder, I don’t really feel like a pastor, at least not in the sense I’m used to thinking of pastoring. A pastor has all the time in the world to devote to his congregation and knows all of them on a first-name basis. I used to be that way, but it wasn’t long before we’d grown so much that it was impossible. I am an exhorter, a preacher from the pulpit, an evangelist.
We kept our ad running in The Advocate. And we also got some great news coverage from that paper. We were news in the gay community. Most regular papers, especially the religious columns, ignored us. They felt that if they just ignored us, we weren’t there. People kept coming, and we kept growing. We were still holding services in my home and my house was bursting at the seams. We were looking for another place to hold services. We needed help on all fronts. I needed other theological minds to help me really finalize the way it was all developing.
And God brought them to us. One day, a fellow called and asked to meet with me. I met at a nearby coffee shop. We sat down and ordered. We were alone over in a corner, as he had suggested. The coffee came, and I said, “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m a minister, also,” he replied. “I teach at a Christian college in this area, where I am a dean. But it struck me that what you’re doing is a needed step in a new direction. And I am interested in participating.”
We had a long conversation, and that’s how my first ministerial recruit came in. There have been so many others, but the Reverend Richard Ploen was the first. One reason I was so glad to have him along was because of his education, and because of his work as a missionary. I knew that he would be invaluable in helping to set up an educational program.
We needed a really intensive ongoing program in Christian education, and Richard Ploen dug right in. His background intrigued a good many. He had been a missionary in Sudan, Africa. Among his many skills is the ability to use the sign language of the deaf mute. He taught that in MCC, and set up a section where other deaf mutes convey the sermon in sign language. Now others do that work, and teach those courses. Richard has a Master of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a Master of Christian Education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. He is a tireless scholar, and certainly a solid pillar of Christianity.
We had little trouble with doctrine. It was a church of doing: do love your God, do stand tall, do walk proud, do love your neighbor as yourself. These were the kinds of things that we wanted to state positively. And because of the large number of Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran people in our congregation, we relied rather heavily on those rituals.
Then we began to organize.
We decided upon such standard procedures as the one for communion. It would always be an open communion. We would always state that it was. We would extend an invitation for all to come to the Lord’s table. We would prepare ourselves by an open act of confession. We would ask for absolution, and it would be granted. We would then participate in the act of supping at the Lord’s table, by taking bread dipped in wine.
We utilized the books of worship from the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches as well as those that members of the congregation wanted considered. We experimented and we accommodated. It may sound like a hodgepodge, but what emerged was a straight line of well-organized ritual that allows for improvisation or change should any occasion within the church warrant it.
But it is not the mechanics of worship that we were concerned with. It was the substance of the act of worship that was the core of our service. We did have diversity. We needed that.
Ours was a working church, an active, growing church. We knew that the worship of God comes from the heart. So we were always free to move and grow. That’s the way it has always been. We felt that the diversity and the freedom and the real sincerity of worship would bring us together in unity. It has. We started a magazine called “In Unity.” Later that became “Keeping In Touch.” And with the advent of the Internet, it became a digital, e-mail newsletter which is today called “LeaderLink.” When we finally obtained our charter, it was as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In that organization we establish missions and new congregations, and our whole program of social, economic and political action.
We were about ten weeks old when we really had to move to accommodate the crowds. We had three dozen every Sunday. We were in our infancy, but we were thriving. Nothing could stop us. We all felt the thrill of discovery, and the occasional clumsiness of growing pains. We knew that we stood on the threshold of great things. God was leading us, and God was moving. We had to do God’s bidding.
People came out of the shadows, out of the closets, out of the half-world. They were drawn to the Metropolitan Community Church. For what?
Some were curious.
Some were incredulous.
We were new.
We were a novelty.
We were an item in the gay world.
We were ignored in the straight world.
But not everyone in the straight world pretended we were not there. Sociologists, professional people, teachers, professors, psychologists and the enlightened came. They made a great and lasting contribution.
Our church provided a feeling of freedom to worship, to walk with God. We knew that we were on God’s side because God loved us, too. We excluded no one. We welcomed everyone. We still do. Heterosexuals came to our first services. They do today. At least 20% of our congregation is heterosexual. Their involvement is as great as anyone’s.
And we’ve never stopped growing, not since that first service. God has blessed. Today there are almost 300 MCC congregations in 22 countries around the world. More than 43,000 people consider themselves members or adherents of Metropolitan Community churches — and MCC has touched he lives of hundreds of thousands of people over the past 36 years.
I am convinced that so long as we stay faithful to God’s calling and to God’s word, God will continue to bless Metropolitan Community Churches. There’s an old saying that goes,
“The future is as bright as the promises of God.”
And I believe that with all my heart. I really believe that.
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History of MCC
(Read MCC’s Marriage History Timeline – click here)
(Watch “Call Me Troy” Video – click here)
This 4-part document was released in Fall, 2004. Compiled of interviews and writings of Rev. Elder Troy Perry,
Founder and Moderator of MCC, this series tells the story of MCC’s beginnings from his perspective.
Introduction
In 1968, a year before New York’s Stonewall Riots, a series of most unlikely events in Southern California resulted in the birth of the world’s first church group with a primary, positive ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Those events, a failed relationship, an attempted suicide, a reconnection with God, an unexpected prophecy, and the birth of a dream led to MCC’s first worship service: a gathering of 12 people in Rev. Troy Perry’s living room in Huntington Park, California on October 6, 1968.
That first worship service in a Los Angeles suburb in 1968 launched the international movement of Metropolitan Community Churches, which today has grown to 43,000 members and adherents in almost 300 congregations in 22 countries. During the past 36 years, MCC’s prophetic witness has forever changed the face of Christianity and helped to fuel the international struggle for LGBT rights and equality
These edited excerpts are from “The Lord Is My Shepherd, And He Knows I’m Gay” authored by MCC Founder and Moderator, Rev. Troy D. Perry.
Prelude
In the early 1960s, Rev. Perry was defrocked as a clergyperson by a Pentecostal denomination because of his homosexuality. He spent the next several years struggling to reconcile his sexuality and his Christian spirituality.
In Part I, Rev. Perry describes the events that preceded the first worship MCC service:
A failed romance.
An attempted suicide.
A reconnection with God.
An unexpected prophecy.
And the birth of a dream…
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Part One
Troy Perry had fallen deeply in love with as young man named Benny. Perry was stunned when Benny came home one day and announced the relationship was over.
I looked at him and I asked, “Benny, is it really over?” He looked at me, and smiled, and said, “Yes, It is.” And it sounded so final. My world just came tumbling down. I felt so completely lost.
I felt like a total failure at everything. I felt that there was no one I could talk to. I felt shut off from everyone. Nothing seemed worth anything anymore. Nothing had any value. There seemed to be no future. Only darkness.
But I wanted to pull myself together. I went into the bathroom and shaved. And then I started crying. I just couldn’t stop. I sat down and sobbed. I felt naked, and there was absolutely no one around me. I felt deserted by everyone and everything that I had ever known. It was hopeless—useless to even try to go on. I couldn’t even remember God. I felt as though God did not exist, so why even try to pray? I had lost something — someone — I had loved more than anything else in the world.
That was the problem, of course. Benny had taken God’s place. I had equated him with God. I had allowed him to take the place of God in my life. I had made the mistake of placing a human being before God.
In my despair, I felt that I had no choices open to me. There was no tomorrow. There was not even the present. I got up and tried to pull myself together. I opened the medicine cabinet. The first thing I saw was the razor blade. I took it in my hands. I stared at it. This was the instrument of the Angel of Death. I staggered. I managed to get into the tub; I felt totally numb. Somehow I managed to slowly and deliberately press the blade through the skin and into the flesh of my wrists. The veins popped and yielded up their dark fluid. It was thicker than I expected, and darker. I had physical sensations of numbness growing upon me. I drifted off to sleep, even though I was not at all aware of it.
The dream drifted on; I had a sense of being alive, but of being asleep, of drifting, of fading, and of being heavier and heavier. The dream became a troubled nightmare. Somewhere out there I could hear screaming. Scream after scream filtered through to me, but I couldn’t respond.
Later, I learned that Benny, the person with whom I had broken up, had come into the bathroom and discovered me in the grisly mess I had made. He screamed and ran next door to the neighbors. Well, my neighbor Marianne and a couple of her sons charged in there and took over. They tied my wrists up with cloths and rushed me off to the emergency hospital. I ended up at the Los Angeles County General Hospital.
By the time I got there, I had regained consciousness and I had really gone all to pieces. I didn’t know whether I would live or die. And I was scared. If ever I went through a nervous breakdown, that must have been it. I cried for at least three hours while waiting for some kind of medical attention. The emergency cases were really lined up.
Well, I was sitting there, crying uncontrollably, when someone walked in front of me and stood there for a minute. I was aware of this person, like a shadow before me. This person reached down and stuck a religious magazine into my hands and said, “Here. Some of us care about you!”
I looked up dumbly, and stared at this black woman. Her words hit me like a slap in the face. It snapped me out of my depression, just to hear that someone cared.
Then the woman turned and left. I never knew her name, but when I was aware that she had gone, I remembered God. My mind started working, just like someone had thrown a switch inside it. I finally recalled that I had forgotten all about God. There was still God. It had been so long since I really knew absolutely that God did exist.
I stopped crying, I looked at my soggily bandaged wrists and said, “All right, Lord, I’ve made some terrible mistakes. You just help me with them.” I felt a weight go out of my life. My whole attitude toward God and death and life had shifted. I knew that God cared about me and that God was with me, all the way – wherever that would lead me.
During those days, I grew to rely heavily on my friend and roommate, Willie Smith, who took a keen interest in me. He’d been working the night I had tried to commit suicide. He didn’t know anything about it until noon the next day. It shook him. But he stood by me.
And my next-door neighbors were of great help. Marianne and her sons were so eager to help me. They kept a close watch on me. One of Marianne’s great friends was a black woman who was a minister and of whom she often spoke. Well, I finally met her minister friend. She was small and direct, and her name was Vera Hockset. And she was truly amazing. She had remarkable, God-given insight into people’s lives.
So one Sunday afternoon, I finally met Vera. She asked how everything was going with me.
And I said, “Oh I’m just fine.”
She looked at me directly and said, “Well, not really.”
Well, that shook me up a little.
I talked with Vera and her sincerity moved me and touched my heart somehow. Vera went on,
“Do you have some relative that was a minister? A deceased relative?
I told her, “Yes, I had a great-uncle who is deceased, and he was a Pentecostal minister.”
Vera went on to say, “You’re a minister. You always have been, and it won’t be long before you will be pastoring a church.”
I just laughed. I said, “No, I’ll never pastor a church.”
She looked sternly at me and said, “Oh, yes you will. God has a ministry for you.”
That stunned me. All my life I’d always been told that by people who really knew me. And here was a total stranger telling me the same thing. My Auntie Bea used to say the same thing over and over. I remembered that Auntie Bea had one time said, “The Lord has a ministry for you. A great ministry, but it won’t be the church you’re currently in.”
I smiled at Vera and said, “No, that’ll never happen.”
But she topped my smile with one of her own that came from her own basic understanding and warmth. She started to tell me many things about myself — she told me more than anyone could possibly have known about me. It really rocked me, and I knew that his was no ordinary woman.
She had powers of insight that must have come from God.
During this time I prayed a great deal. And the Lord began to deal with me. Things became easier. My attitudes shifted. Finally with God’s help and understanding, I became convinced that He was moving me to a mission, that a vision of that mission would be revealed to me. And I knew that when it came, I must never look back; I would never have to. My journey would be forward. My course would be clear. I would know my work. It would be hard, but I would spend my life at it.
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Part Two
In 1968, Troy Perry was stunned when his lover Benny announced that their relationship was over. In his desperation and depression Perry attempted suicide. Following the failed suicide attempt, Perry experienced a renewed sense of spirituality. He began to pray again. And he was perplexed by the words of a stranger who prophesied, “God has a ministry for you. You are going to pastor a church.” At that time, that was far from Troy Perry’s mind. He picks up the story by sharing events that took place after the attempted suicide.
I prayed and I could feel God’s presence. God was the source of power, authority, warmth and understanding. God was the force of good, of energy, of creative positive happenings. After my suicide attempt, I would hit the gay spots once in a while. Usually I went with my friend and roommate, Willie Smith, on his nights off.
I developed a friendship with a young man by the name of Carlos. We used to talk about our basic beliefs, but Carlos would never even let me make any mention of religious beliefs. He had mentioned that he had belonged to a church, but, he agreed with Willie Smith, for him it was not the answer.
Then Carlos got arrested by the police.
For what? …Well, just for buying beer in a gay bar. He had done absolutely nothing else. It was the way the police used to harass the gay community. He was there with me, and with a couple of friends of ours. It was so unjust.
Here’s what happened:
Carlos bought a couple of beers and came back to our table, and started to sit down. A police officer in plain clothes walked up to him, flashed a badge, and said, “Come outside with me!”
They took Carlos outside, along with another friend of ours, Bill. Both men were charged with lewd conduct, handcuffed, frisked, and hauled off to jail.
We moved fast.
Some of us went right down to the jail. Now this was eleven o’clock at night. I knew Carlos had done nothing wrong. He hadn’t broken any law, and I am convinced of that to this day. But it took me until 5:30 AM to get Carlos released. It was all due to delaying tactics by the police. The booking procedure, the mug shots, the fingerprinting, just took hours. It was part of the harassment that took place far too often against the gay community in those days.
When I finally saw Carlos, I could tell he was more shaken up that I was. And I was really upset.
I took Carlos home with me. I wanted him to get cleaned up, pulled together, and have something to eat. Then we’d plan what we were going to do.
Carlos said, “You know something? I’ve never been arrested before for anything in my life. Never! And I’m 26 years old now. The police kept telling me they are going to call my employer and tell him I’m gay. I’ll probably lose my job. You know, Troy, I’ve learned one thing from this experience: People don’t really care. Nobody likes a queer.”
I tried to be helpful. “Well, Carlos, even if people don’t, I’m still convinced that God cares about you.”
Carlos just laughed bitterly. “Come on, Troy. God doesn’t care about me.”
With that, he turned and left. And when he left, I felt the weight of his disaster upon me.
I had made my way back to God enough to know that I could talk to God. So I knelt down and said, “All right God, if it’s Your will; if You want me to see a church started as an outreach into our community, You just let me know when.” And I heard a still small voice within me say,
“Now!”
My course was set! I had to fight to keep it from occupying all of my thoughts while I was at work. I knew that the mission was coming into focus. God wanted me to start a new church that would reach into the gay community, but that would include anyone and everyone who believed in the true spirit of God’s love, peace, and forgiveness.
My learning experience sped up. The Lord was really getting me ready. I knew that the word “church” would be in the title. In my free time, I used to think and pray about what kind of church God wanted me to found. I would sit in that little office in back of the yardage department at Sears and pray and think and dream. I knew God wanted a church where God could move. I think that’s why “church” was always in the title. Then I would ask the Lord if it was to be really an outreach into the gay community. So the word “community” got into the title. The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Community meant a feeling of comradeship, a small area, a place where you knew everybody. So, it would be a community church. We would also serve a large community; we would serve all of the Los Angeles area. Los Angeles is a large urban area, so the word “metropolitan” finally came to mind, and it stuck.
Then I had to worry about how I was going to reach the gay community.
There’s always the grapevine, but church services and religion aren’t usually part of that.
During this time of planning and preparing, I was such a happy individual. Willie Smith saw me walking around the house humming, smiling, and full of energy. He nailed me about it one day.
He said, “What’s eating on you?
So, I leveled with him. I said, “Well, Willie I’m sure that God wants me to start a new church.”
Willie just collapsed and said, “Oh, my God, I thought you were over all that silliness.”
I said, “Wait a minute, Willie. This is a church for us, it will serve the homosexuals, the gay community.”
Well, Willie thought that was crazy. He said, “You mean you really are serious about this religious stuff?”
I assured him that I was. I said, “I know, Willie, that it’s the thing to do. I’ve got to try and see if I can’t bring a message, God’s message, to all the gay people.”
What Willie wanted to know was this: “How are you going to organize a bunch of queens, and get them to follow any religion, or any person, or do anything together? You know how bitchy we are. We always act individually. Nobody has ever organized the gay community into anything and accomplished anything. It’s ridiculous.”
I told Willie I would go ahead anyway. “And,” I added, “we’ll do it right here.”
Willie was horrified.
He said, “You’ve got to be kidding. I’m already too much for Huntington Park. And you’re going to have all those faggots from Hollywood down here running in and out of our house to attend church services? The neighborhood just can’t take the strain!”
He just looked at me again, and said, “Okay. If you’re going to do it, go ahead. But don’t be too disappointed if it doesn’t happen. Helping queens get religion isn’t anybody’s bag.”
Then he added, “But if it does work…count me in.”
So I asked Lee Glaze, owner of The Patch gay bar, about it. Lee thought it would be just great. I asked him what he thought was the best way to reach the gay community. He thought it over.
While he was thinking, I said, “I’m going to advertise it in The Advocate, I guess. What do you think about it?”
He said, “That’s a great idea. As a matter of fact, it happens that the editor of The Advocate and his lover are here in The Patch tonight. Would you like to meet them?”
I was eager to, so I went into Lee’s side office near the bar. He brought in Dick and Bill, and made the introductions. We started talking and I explained my plans. They were skeptical about what I was trying to do. Was this some kind of business venture? Just what was I up to? They weren’t sure that they wanted to sell me any advertising at all. So I really gave them my pitch. And when we finished, they not only took the ad, they gave me a good rate on it. They also told me that they might, just might, even attend a service at Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), if it ever got started.
Now at that time, The Advocate was published only once a month. I decided I would advertise in the October issue which would hit the street the last week of September. So, I set the date for my first service. It was October 6, 1968. I had about two weeks between the publication of the first ad and the first worship service.
Just about ten days before the first service, my mother came down to see me. She and her husband were separating, and she was going to go back home to Florida for a vacation. She knew of my suicide attempt, of course, and she kept much closer contact with me. I visited her as frequently as I could.
Again, I’m going to have her tell, in her own words; something of the way she saw it.
“One day, I visited with Troy at his home in Huntington Park. He seemed kind of distracted and I was afraid that he was losing interest in his faith, in any kind of church or religion. And we were talking. I said to him, ‘Troy, have you ever thought about starting a church?’ Well, that stunned him. I guess I must have really read his mind. But we were talking, and he told me that a friend of his had been arrested — busted as they call it — on some kind of homosexual charge or other.
And he told how much that boy needed help. And I said to Troy, ‘Well, haven’t you ever thought about starting a church for homosexuals?’ Well, a change came over him, and he looked at me and that was it. He said that that was just what he had been praying about and that was what he was going to do. He looked so fierce and intent. He said that it had been uppermost in his mind for several weeks.”
So I began to share my dream for the church with the gays and lesbians. They almost all had the same reaction that Willie Smith had had. Some told me to forget it. We had gone through generations, even centuries, of that awful conviction that if you were a homosexual you could not be a child of God; you could not be a Christian.
I knew I was really shoveling sand against the tide to get started.
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Part Three
In 1968, Troy Perry was stunned when his lover Benny announced that their relationship was over. In his desperation and depression Perry attempted suicide. Following the failed suicide attempt, Perry experienced a renewed sense of spirituality. He began to pray again. And he was perplexed by the words of a stranger who prophesied, “God has a ministry for you. You are going to pastor a church.” At that time, that was the far from Troy Perry’s mind. Around the same time, a gay friend of Perry’s was harassed and arrested by the police. In his desperation, the young man said to Troy. “God doesn’t care. God doesn’t care about gay people.” That spurred Perry to hold the very first MCC worship service.
That first Sunday church service finally arrived — October 6, 1968.
I stood nervously watching the door, worried to death. I had cleaned out the living room, set up some chairs, used the coffee table for an alter. I had borrowed a robe from the Congregationalist minister that I had helped out previously. He insisted that I had to preach in a robe for that first service. I had borrowed some trays from some very close friends, Steve and his lover, Lynn. These were for communion. I set up everything, and stood in the kitchen.
Our house was one of those “shotgun” houses: From the front door, you could see all the way back. You could see right through to the back room. I could stand in the kitchen and look all the way down the hall way to the front door. I paced nervously around in my borrowed robe and clutched the Bible and thumbed through it and riffled the pages. Then, people began to gather.
My roommate and dear friend Willie Smith let them in. He greeted them, and saw that they sat down. One friend of ours brought his straight brother and the brother’s girlfriend. Other people showed. Most had heard about it, but finally, three people showed up who had read the ad in The Advocate.
There were 12 people in the living room, and I walked out, and asked everyone to stand up, and I said, “We’ll go before the Lord in prayer.” We joined hands and prayed. Then I said, “We’ll sing some hymns.” I invited everyone to turn to a page in the book. We’d borrowed the hymnals from the Congregationalist church where I had been a guest preacher the previous Easter. No one knew what to expect. Everyone was as scared as I was. They all waited around for me to lead the singing and sing out. So I did. My mother always used to say, “My boys don’t sing too well, but they sure sing loud.” And that was never more true.
As we sang, I recalled my neighbor Marianne Johnston’s reaction to the church. She thought it was a lovely idea, but she said, “You’ll be raided during your first service.”
I laughed and said, “Well, I wish the police would come in. It wouldn’t bother me at all.”
We sang several hymns. We sounded a little thin and tinny, but the spirit was what counted. We didn’t have a piano or any kind of accompaniment. Willie Smith was there, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to be a part of it. He still didn’t know just what to think.
I recall I had assured Willie, just before we started, that God was in this. I said, “I know now that I’m going to be in God’s perfect will. Not God’s permissive will as I as in my past life.”
Well, we prayed again and then I relaxed.
I introduced myself.
I told about where I was born, my age, my name, my marriage, my sons, my religious background, where I went to high school and college. I talked about the churches I had pastored in Florida, Illinois and California. I said that one in Santa Ana had been the last I pastored in 1963, and here we were now, after my army hitch. I told them that I was a division manager with one of the largest retailers in Los Angeles, and that I would continue as such until the church was large enough to support a full-time minister. Even then, I was sure that that time would come.
Then I introduced the church.
I said the church was organized to serve the religious, spiritual and social needs of the homosexual community of greater Los Angeles, but I expected to grow to reach homosexuals wherever they might be. I made it clear that we were not a gay church — we were a Christian church, and I said that in my first sermon. I also told them that we would be a general Protestant church to be all-inclusive. Then I prayed again.
And then I went into my Biblical message.
My sermon was entitled, “Be True to You.” It was actually inspired by Polonius’ advice to his son, Laertes, when the young man was about to leave. It’s early in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, and it’s from those lines that go:
“This above all: To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
I then moved from Shakespeare to the story of Job, to the Book of Job, chapter 19, verses 1-26, and I read them aloud.
“Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”
Job had learned to be true to himself. He never wavered once he made up his mind, and knew that he was called of God. His friends came and told him that he must have sinned for some reason or he wouldn’t be visited by all these things that plagued him. He lost his family.
Everything terrible happened to him. But Job’s remark to them was, “Though God slay me, yet I’ll trust in God. I’ll come forth as pure as gold.” Even going through the refiner’s fire, he knew that he would make it. And I knew that we at Metropolitan Community Church could do that too.
I also preached about David and Goliath. David said that the same God that protected him when he had to do battle once with a bear, and once with a lion would protect him again. Even when things look awfully bad to us in the gay community, God can help. And we can win, even though it looks like everything is stacked against us. So, I said, “Be true to you. Believe in yourself, and believe in God. You have to believe in yourself as a human being first, and then God is able to help you. You are not just an individual in circumstances, but you always are the created being of God.”
I pointed out that we must be humble, spiritual human beings first, homosexuals second. We must love and build, free ourselves, and free others from their feelings against us. I closed my sermon with a quote from the Epistle of St. Paul, the Apostle to the Philippians, fourth chapter, thirteenth verse, which says,
“I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me!”
After I finished preaching, I closed my Bible, and I knew that God was in the place.
I prayed again, and then I looked up and said, “We’re going to have open communion,” there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. A hush fell over the place and everybody in that small living room was weeping silently. We all felt that we were a part of something great. God was preparing to move. We were to see God’s handiwork, and that would be unbelievable.
I offered communion. Only three came forward to take the bread and wine, but they were weeping. And then I served communion to myself.
We dismissed with a prayer of benediction. Then I invited everyone to stay for coffee and cake.
We gathered and we just couldn’t quit crying. We all sat around and said we had felt the spirit of the Lord. One young man came up to me, and said, “Oh, Troy, God was here this morning! I haven’t been in a church in eight years. And even when I left the church, the one I’d been in, I never felt anything like I felt here this morning, in this living room.”
When that service was finally over, Willie Smith said that he had really been moved by it. He insisted that he didn’t know yet about whether the church would actually take a hold and grow.
I said, “Willie, only God knows the answer to that.”
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Part Four
The first MCC service took place on October 6, 1968. Rev. Troy Perry’s friend and roommate, Willie Smith, was skeptical of Perry’s plans for a church that would minister to the GLBT communities. But after the very first service, Smith’s thinking began to change:
After that first service, Willie’s heart began to change. He said, “This MCC church just might work out, and I want you to know I’m with you all the way, 100%. And I’ll do anything I can to make it work.”
And he did. He started right then.
For the next Sunday, he scrounged up a phonograph and records of some religious music so that we could all sing to it. Aside from being an ace projectionist, Willie was also a singer, and music director. He made that his job with the new church.
The next Sunday, we were 14 instead of 12. I got up and looked around and said, “If you love the Lord this morning would you say ‘amen!'” They all shouted “amen” back to me. It’s been that way, too, since then. I also praised the Lord because we were growing.
The next Sunday we had 16 and I got up and said, “Well look at this. Thank you Jesus, we’re on the move!”
But, the fourth Sunday we had only nine, and I almost died. But here again, God had prepared me. He gave me a sermon entitled, “Despise Not the Day of Small Things.” And God gave me that sermon for Troy Perry, not for anyone there.
Lee, a friend from my army days, and now one of the regulars, said, “That morning, when you looked out in the group, and saw that it had shrunk, I could tell that you were upset. You got up and you preached, and you preached as though you meant it. I could tell you really meant it.”
I said, “Well, that was a sermon God gave especially for me.” The next Sunday we had 22 in attendance.
We’d jumped back up in attendance, and we’ve never dropped since.
As we started to grow and attract people from all kinds of different backgrounds, I knew that we would have to begin settling problems of organization, administration, doctrine and the church services. They had to be settled soon, so that everyone would be able to know and rely on the church, to really be a part of its body, of its identity.
I knew that I was not starting another Pentecostal church. I was starting a church that would be truly ecumenical. I had asked the religious backgrounds of those first twelve. They were Catholic, Episcopal, and of various Protestant sects. I fervently sought to serve a really broad spectrum of our population. It would have to be a church that most could understand and easily identify with, and accept it as not being unusual or odd. It seemed to me that it should be traditional, almost like those they attended in childhood, or not too different from that.
It had to be completely honest. I knew that I couldn’t play games.
My sermons would have to do as they had always done, relate to the Scriptures and to God. This, I knew, would be the hard part. I am not an intellectual. I have never claimed to be the type of speaker that required the listeners to bring a dictionary to each session. I always regarded myself as a preacher, not as a teacher. Now, I knew that I must be both, especially for those who came to church either for the first time or after years of having no contact with God or established religion. But I also had to reestablish old links with God, but do it in a new way, that would be meaningful in our community.
Although I became the pastor and founder, I don’t really feel like a pastor, at least not in the sense I’m used to thinking of pastoring. A pastor has all the time in the world to devote to his congregation and knows all of them on a first-name basis. I used to be that way, but it wasn’t long before we’d grown so much that it was impossible. I am an exhorter, a preacher from the pulpit, an evangelist.
We kept our ad running in The Advocate. And we also got some great news coverage from that paper. We were news in the gay community. Most regular papers, especially the religious columns, ignored us. They felt that if they just ignored us, we weren’t there. People kept coming, and we kept growing. We were still holding services in my home and my house was bursting at the seams. We were looking for another place to hold services. We needed help on all fronts. I needed other theological minds to help me really finalize the way it was all developing.
And God brought them to us. One day, a fellow called and asked to meet with me. I met at a nearby coffee shop. We sat down and ordered. We were alone over in a corner, as he had suggested. The coffee came, and I said, “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m a minister, also,” he replied. “I teach at a Christian college in this area, where I am a dean. But it struck me that what you’re doing is a needed step in a new direction. And I am interested in participating.”
We had a long conversation, and that’s how my first ministerial recruit came in. There have been so many others, but the Reverend Richard Ploen was the first. One reason I was so glad to have him along was because of his education, and because of his work as a missionary. I knew that he would be invaluable in helping to set up an educational program.
We needed a really intensive ongoing program in Christian education, and Richard Ploen dug right in. His background intrigued a good many. He had been a missionary in Sudan, Africa. Among his many skills is the ability to use the sign language of the deaf mute. He taught that in MCC, and set up a section where other deaf mutes convey the sermon in sign language. Now others do that work, and teach those courses. Richard has a Master of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a Master of Christian Education from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education. He is a tireless scholar, and certainly a solid pillar of Christianity.
We had little trouble with doctrine. It was a church of doing: do love your God, do stand tall, do walk proud, do love your neighbor as yourself. These were the kinds of things that we wanted to state positively. And because of the large number of Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran people in our congregation, we relied rather heavily on those rituals.
Then we began to organize.
We decided upon such standard procedures as the one for communion. It would always be an open communion. We would always state that it was. We would extend an invitation for all to come to the Lord’s table. We would prepare ourselves by an open act of confession. We would ask for absolution, and it would be granted. We would then participate in the act of supping at the Lord’s table, by taking bread dipped in wine.
We utilized the books of worship from the Episcopal, Presbyterian and Lutheran churches as well as those that members of the congregation wanted considered. We experimented and we accommodated. It may sound like a hodgepodge, but what emerged was a straight line of well-organized ritual that allows for improvisation or change should any occasion within the church warrant it.
But it is not the mechanics of worship that we were concerned with. It was the substance of the act of worship that was the core of our service. We did have diversity. We needed that.
Ours was a working church, an active, growing church. We knew that the worship of God comes from the heart. So we were always free to move and grow. That’s the way it has always been. We felt that the diversity and the freedom and the real sincerity of worship would bring us together in unity. It has. We started a magazine called “In Unity.” Later that became “Keeping In Touch.” And with the advent of the Internet, it became a digital, e-mail newsletter which is today called “LeaderLink.” When we finally obtained our charter, it was as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In that organization we establish missions and new congregations, and our whole program of social, economic and political action.
We were about ten weeks old when we really had to move to accommodate the crowds. We had three dozen every Sunday. We were in our infancy, but we were thriving. Nothing could stop us. We all felt the thrill of discovery, and the occasional clumsiness of growing pains. We knew that we stood on the threshold of great things. God was leading us, and God was moving. We had to do God’s bidding.
People came out of the shadows, out of the closets, out of the half-world. They were drawn to the Metropolitan Community Church. For what?
Some were curious.
Some were incredulous.
We were new.
We were a novelty.
We were an item in the gay world.
We were ignored in the straight world.
But not everyone in the straight world pretended we were not there. Sociologists, professional people, teachers, professors, psychologists and the enlightened came. They made a great and lasting contribution.
Our church provided a feeling of freedom to worship, to walk with God. We knew that we were on God’s side because God loved us, too. We excluded no one. We welcomed everyone. We still do. Heterosexuals came to our first services. They do today. At least 20% of our congregation is heterosexual. Their involvement is as great as anyone’s.
And we’ve never stopped growing, not since that first service. God has blessed. Today there are almost 300 MCC congregations in 22 countries around the world. More than 43,000 people consider themselves members or adherents of Metropolitan Community churches — and MCC has touched he lives of hundreds of thousands of people over the past 36 years.
I am convinced that so long as we stay faithful to God’s calling and to God’s word, God will continue to bless Metropolitan Community Churches. There’s an old saying that goes,
“The future is as bright as the promises of God.”
And I believe that with all my heart. I really believe that.
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Who We Are
Since its founding in 1968, MCC has been at the vanguard of civil and human rights movements by addressing important issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, and other forms of oppression. MCC has been on the forefront in the struggle towards marriage equality in the US and other countries worldwide and continues to be a powerful voice in the LGBT equality movement.
Where We Are
MCC’s ministry is provided primarily through 222 local congregations located in 40 countries worldwide, including:
Africa
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa
Asia
Malaysia
The Philippines
South Korea
Australasia
Australia
New Zealand
Caribbean
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
Puerto Rico
Central & South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
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Europe
Denmark
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France
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Complete report of MCC’s Global Presence
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MCC GLOBAL PRESENCE as of June 23 2012
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The Facts About MCC
Click on the link below to view and download MCC’s Fact Sheet for an accounting of MCC’s history, growth and progress.
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MCC FACT SHEET February 2013.pdf
Date Updated: 12 February 2013
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 12 February 2013
__
MCC Vision Statement
Metropolitan Community Church is compelled
by an unfinished calling and a prophetic
destiny. We are a global movement of
spiritually and sexually diverse people who are
fully awake to God’s enduring love. Following
the example of Jesus and empowered by the
Spirit, we seek to build leading-edge church
communities that demand, proclaim, and do
justice in the world.
MCC Denomination Mission Statement
Be MCC: Transforming ourselves as we transform the world.
Metropolitan Community Church proclaims and practices a
spirituality that is anchored in the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ
and confronts the issues of our volatile, uncertain, and complex world.
We are called to develop and equip leaders, congregations, and
ministries that foster spiritual growth, do the work of justice, act with
compassion, and integrate sexuality and spirituality.
We will do this through offering high-value training, local church
support and resourcing, cutting edge theological exploration, and
expanding partnerships.
MCC Denomination Core Values
Inclusion
Love is our greatest moral value and resisting exclusion is a primary focus of our ministry. We want to continue to be conduits of faith where everyone is included in the family of God and where all parts of our being are welcomed at God’s table.
Community
Offering a safe and open community for people to worship, learn, and grow in their faith is our deep desire. We are committed to equipping ourselves and each other to do the work that God has called us to do in the world.
Spiritual Transformation
Providing a message of liberation from the oppressive religious environment of our day or to those experiencing God for the first time is what guides our ministry. We believe that when people are invited to experience God through the life and ministry of Christ, lives will be transformed.
Justice
Working to talk less and do more, we are committed to resisting the structures that oppress people and standing with those who suffer under the weight of oppressive systems, being guided always by our commitment to Global Human Rights.
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MCC FACT SHEET February 2013.pdf
Date Updated: 12 February 2013
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 12 February 2013
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The Human Rights Church « Rainbow Unbroken:
7 May 2012 at 4:23 pm
[…] may consider MCC as the “gay church;” however, we are so much more than this. As a Human Rights Church, our leaders and members are not limited to fighting for LGBTQ equality. Whether locally, […]
Rainbow Unbroken Week in Review (May 6-12, 2012) « Rainbow Unbroken:
11 May 2012 at 9:47 pm
[…] may consider MCC as the “gay church;” however, we are so much more than this. As a Human Rights Church, our leaders and members are not limited to fighting for LGBTQ equality. Whether locally, […]
The Human Rights Church - Rainbow Unbroken:
29 August 2012 at 6:13 pm
[…] may consider MCC as the “gay church;” however, we are so much more than this. As a Human Rights Church, our leaders and members are not limited to fighting for LGBTQ equality. Whether locally, […]
Statement: World AIDS Day:
21 November 2014 at 1:20 pm
[…] Who We Are […]
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/overview/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
Who We Are
Since its founding in 1968, MCC has been at the vanguard of civil and human rights movements by addressing important issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, and other forms of oppression. MCC has been on the forefront in the struggle towards marriage equality in the US and other countries worldwide and continues to be a powerful voice in the LGBT equality movement.
Where We Are
MCC’s ministry is provided primarily through 222 local congregations located in 40 countries worldwide, including:
Africa
Kenya
Nigeria
South Africa
Asia
Malaysia
The Philippines
South Korea
Australasia
Australia
New Zealand
Caribbean
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Jamaica
Puerto Rico
Central & South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Uruguay
Venezuela
Europe
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Ireland
Romania
Russia
Scotland
Spain
Ukraine
Wales
North America
Canada
United States
Complete report of MCC’s Global Presence
(click link to view and download)
MCC GLOBAL PRESENCE as of June 23 2012
Download “MCC Today”
2014 MCC Today (A4)2014 MCC Today (A4)
2014 MCC Today (A4).pdf
Date Updated: 8 July 2014
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 8 July 2014
2014 MCC Today (8.5x11)2014 MCC Today (8.5x11)
2014 MCC Today (8.5x11).pdf
Date Updated: 8 July 2014
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 8 July 2014
The Facts About MCC
Click on the link below to view and download MCC’s Fact Sheet for an accounting of MCC’s history, growth and progress.
MCC FACT SHEETMCC FACT SHEET
MCC FACT SHEET February 2013.pdf
Date Updated: 12 February 2013
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 12 February 2013
__
MCC Vision Statement
Metropolitan Community Church is compelled
by an unfinished calling and a prophetic
destiny. We are a global movement of
spiritually and sexually diverse people who are
fully awake to God’s enduring love. Following
the example of Jesus and empowered by the
Spirit, we seek to build leading-edge church
communities that demand, proclaim, and do
justice in the world.
MCC Denomination Mission Statement
Be MCC: Transforming ourselves as we transform the world.
Metropolitan Community Church proclaims and practices a
spirituality that is anchored in the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ
and confronts the issues of our volatile, uncertain, and complex world.
We are called to develop and equip leaders, congregations, and
ministries that foster spiritual growth, do the work of justice, act with
compassion, and integrate sexuality and spirituality.
We will do this through offering high-value training, local church
support and resourcing, cutting edge theological exploration, and
expanding partnerships.
MCC Denomination Core Values
Inclusion
Love is our greatest moral value and resisting exclusion is a primary focus of our ministry. We want to continue to be conduits of faith where everyone is included in the family of God and where all parts of our being are welcomed at God’s table.
Community
Offering a safe and open community for people to worship, learn, and grow in their faith is our deep desire. We are committed to equipping ourselves and each other to do the work that God has called us to do in the world.
Spiritual Transformation
Providing a message of liberation from the oppressive religious environment of our day or to those experiencing God for the first time is what guides our ministry. We believe that when people are invited to experience God through the life and ministry of Christ, lives will be transformed.
Justice
Working to talk less and do more, we are committed to resisting the structures that oppress people and standing with those who suffer under the weight of oppressive systems, being guided always by our commitment to Global Human Rights.
top
MCC GLOBAL PRESENCE As Of June 23 2012MCC GLOBAL PRESENCE As Of June 23 2012
MCC GLOBAL PRESENCE as of June 23 2012.pdf
Date Updated: 9 July 2012
Date: 9 July 2012
MCC FACT SHEETMCC FACT SHEET
MCC FACT SHEET February 2013.pdf
Date Updated: 12 February 2013
Category: Miscellaneous
Date: 12 February 2013
ShareThis
Join MCC's Email Newsletter List!
For Email Marketing you can trust 4 Responses to “Who We Are”
The Human Rights Church « Rainbow Unbroken:
7 May 2012 at 4:23 pm
[…] may consider MCC as the “gay church;” however, we are so much more than this. As a Human Rights Church, our leaders and members are not limited to fighting for LGBTQ equality. Whether locally, […]
Rainbow Unbroken Week in Review (May 6-12, 2012) « Rainbow Unbroken:
11 May 2012 at 9:47 pm
[…] may consider MCC as the “gay church;” however, we are so much more than this. As a Human Rights Church, our leaders and members are not limited to fighting for LGBTQ equality. Whether locally, […]
The Human Rights Church - Rainbow Unbroken:
29 August 2012 at 6:13 pm
[…] may consider MCC as the “gay church;” however, we are so much more than this. As a Human Rights Church, our leaders and members are not limited to fighting for LGBTQ equality. Whether locally, […]
Statement: World AIDS Day:
21 November 2014 at 1:20 pm
[…] Who We Are […]
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/overview/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
I’m New to MCC
Some Important Links
There are a few places you may want to visit during your first experience on our website…just click the links below.
Connect with a local church.
Connect with MCCers on Facebook.
Follow MCC in Twitter.
Learn about Homosexuality and the Bible.
New to MCC?
Welcome to MCC! MCC is a global Christian church of loving, affirming and welcoming communities of faith. We are “Tearing Down Walls” of oppression and injustice in your community and around the world. Because we are a people of the Good News, we are working with our Divine Creator to “Build Up Hope” among our siblings worldwide.
We are a people of hope. We are a people of faith.
We welcome you on this lifelong journey and mission!
What are Local MCC’s Like?
Meet an MCCer: Marina Laws
Me and MCC – I am…
Staff Member for the International Task Force, | Staff Member working in the Development Office | Cultural Liaison with Western Europe and the UK | An English woman moving to live in the USA | Soon to be member of Imago Dei MCC, Glen Mills, PA
On a personal note – I am…
British | Woman | Lesbian | Spouse to an MCC Ordained Minister |to Sing |Write Poetry | Fun Loving | Spiritual | Friend
Commentary:
Welcome to MCC! I’m glad you found your way here today.
My journey with MCC began in 2001 when I worked as a Lesbian and Gay Liaison Officer (LAGLO) for Dorset Police in the UK; that led me to MCC Bournemouth and then subsequently onto MCC North London, MCC Portsmouth, Living Springs MCC, MCC South London and ultimately to Imago Dei MCC.
MCC has enabled me to meet my life partner and to renew my relationship with God. Thanks to MCC, I have had the opportunity to realise how much I am loved by God; I have been able to use my gift of administration to work in an environment of love, friendship and openness.
Through MCC, I have had many opportunities to travel, meet wonderful new friends all around the world, work with my partner in Africa; work alongside like minded people; broaden my knowledge of difference and enable others to understand that difference is nothing to be afraid off, but something to be embraced.
God has brought you to this place today, why don’t you open the door and join us; you will be welcomed here and there is no place like home.Our churches are located in over 40 countries on 6 continents and are made up of congregants from many different walks of life. Because of this, we have a fellowship of churches that celebrate diversity both within their local congregations and among our global community.
Every church is influenced by the congregation members involved. The people sitting near you during worship services may come from a different religious tradition than you do. Still, we all worship together and celebrate the diversity God creates in us.
As a global church, we share the foundational calling (mission) for a specific and intentional outreach to/with homosexual, bisexual, and transgender people. Our churches actively minister in their communities to and with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people.
We are a church that believes in the priesthood of all believers. That means, in a nutshell, that when you walk into the church and become an MCC member, you become a messenger the God loves all of God’s children and celebrates our created sexualities, our diversities and our individual uniqueness.
All persons have value and worth, and are uniquely gifted to share the Good News with others. It takes the whole body, clergy and laity, to live out the Good News!
Will I be welcome?
Yes, absolutely. No matter your religious background (or lack thereof), your race, gender identity, sexual orientation, family makeup, disability…anything – you are welcome in MCC.
What about my family? Is there a place for my children?
Yes. You and your family (biological and of choice) are welcome!
Ministry to children and young adults is available in most MCC churches. If you are feeling uncertain about resources available to you at the church you plan to visit, please contact the pastor or pastoral contact before you go. Find contact information in our Church Directory.
Q & A: About MCC for Newcomers
Is MCC a gay church? MCC was founded as a Christian church called to be in ministry to/with homosexual people. As time passed, we built on the original vision given to our founder (Rev. Troy Perry). MCC has become an all-inclusive fellowship of churches – churches that welcome everyone.
How old is MCC? We were founded in October, 1968 and celebrated our 40th anniversary in 2008.
How did MCC begin? MCC was founded out of the vision and calling of the Rev. Troy Perry. For more information on the establishment of MCC and our earliest experiences as a church, click here. (link to MCC History)
Does MCC perform gay marriage? MCC believe that marriage should be freely available to all people, everywhere. Where legal marriage is allowed for homosexual couples, MCC offers marriage ceremonies. In locations in which gay marriage is not legal, MCC offers Holy Unions – religious ceremonies that recognize the union of a homosexual couple in the house of God. NOTE: MCC clergy are able to provide marriage or union ceremonies to any couple, heterosexual and homosexual.
Have a question that’s not answered here? Ask it!
ShareThis
Join MCC's Email Newsletter List!
For Email Marketing you can trust 7 Responses to “I’m New to MCC”
jon ferris:
4 July 2010 at 2:31 pm
im new to key west and im looking for a church to go to and praise the lord in worship. do you have a location in key west and if so what are the service times?
CN:
10 July 2010 at 8:49 pm
Hey Jon there is a church in Key West. Try http://www.mcckeywest.com
TS:
20 July 2010 at 8:42 pm
I would liek to go to my first service this sunday what can i expect? im nervous to go i do not know anyone and im not real “out” any words of advice?
admin:
26 July 2010 at 8:13 pm
Hi TS…
Our churches are welcoming to all walks of life and “outness”. If you’re nervous about a first visit, use our Find a Church directory to find the phone number and/or email address of the church you want to visit. Give the pastor or lay leader a call to introduce yourself. Sometimes, the nerves are made a little easier if you have a connection already made and someone to greet you when you arrive.
Our churches are also diverse in terms of worship styles and religious tradition. If you have a background in another church, you may find some things about our local church in your area that you easily recognize.
In terms of what to expect – our churches are all welcoming and inclusive. We come from all walks of life, share coming out experiences, and endeavor to worship and serve God. At the very least, you should be able to expect entry into a spiritual family with open arms.
Blessings on your first visit!
-Mel
Melanie “Mel” Martinez
Director, MCC Online Ministries
Erni:
20 August 2010 at 7:39 pm
I want meet somebody from Church from Serbia or Hungary!?
If you know somebody please connection me…
thank you and God blessing your work
Erni
Rain:
6 September 2010 at 5:26 am
I would really love to attend a worship service at the Minneapolis Metropolitan Community Church. I’m not sure if it’s crazy though to drive an hour for a service. Am I crazy?
I’ve been searching for a long time for a GLBT friendly Christian church so maybe the hour drive is worth it.
Plus I’ve never been to church so I’m slightly nervous. Gah!
greg:
23 September 2010 at 3:24 am
Not that I’m against anyone but aren’t christian churches not allowed to support gay marriages?
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/im-new-to-mcc/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
I’m New to MCC
Some Important Links
There are a few places you may want to visit during your first experience on our website…just click the links below.
Connect with a local church.
Connect with MCCers on Facebook.
Follow MCC in Twitter.
Learn about Homosexuality and the Bible.
New to MCC?
Welcome to MCC! MCC is a global Christian church of loving, affirming and welcoming communities of faith. We are “Tearing Down Walls” of oppression and injustice in your community and around the world. Because we are a people of the Good News, we are working with our Divine Creator to “Build Up Hope” among our siblings worldwide.
We are a people of hope. We are a people of faith.
We welcome you on this lifelong journey and mission!
What are Local MCC’s Like?
Meet an MCCer: Marina Laws
Me and MCC – I am…
Staff Member for the International Task Force, | Staff Member working in the Development Office | Cultural Liaison with Western Europe and the UK | An English woman moving to live in the USA | Soon to be member of Imago Dei MCC, Glen Mills, PA
On a personal note – I am…
British | Woman | Lesbian | Spouse to an MCC Ordained Minister |to Sing |Write Poetry | Fun Loving | Spiritual | Friend
Commentary:
Welcome to MCC! I’m glad you found your way here today.
My journey with MCC began in 2001 when I worked as a Lesbian and Gay Liaison Officer (LAGLO) for Dorset Police in the UK; that led me to MCC Bournemouth and then subsequently onto MCC North London, MCC Portsmouth, Living Springs MCC, MCC South London and ultimately to Imago Dei MCC.
MCC has enabled me to meet my life partner and to renew my relationship with God. Thanks to MCC, I have had the opportunity to realise how much I am loved by God; I have been able to use my gift of administration to work in an environment of love, friendship and openness.
Through MCC, I have had many opportunities to travel, meet wonderful new friends all around the world, work with my partner in Africa; work alongside like minded people; broaden my knowledge of difference and enable others to understand that difference is nothing to be afraid off, but something to be embraced.
God has brought you to this place today, why don’t you open the door and join us; you will be welcomed here and there is no place like home.Our churches are located in over 40 countries on 6 continents and are made up of congregants from many different walks of life. Because of this, we have a fellowship of churches that celebrate diversity both within their local congregations and among our global community.
Every church is influenced by the congregation members involved. The people sitting near you during worship services may come from a different religious tradition than you do. Still, we all worship together and celebrate the diversity God creates in us.
As a global church, we share the foundational calling (mission) for a specific and intentional outreach to/with homosexual, bisexual, and transgender people. Our churches actively minister in their communities to and with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people.
We are a church that believes in the priesthood of all believers. That means, in a nutshell, that when you walk into the church and become an MCC member, you become a messenger the God loves all of God’s children and celebrates our created sexualities, our diversities and our individual uniqueness.
All persons have value and worth, and are uniquely gifted to share the Good News with others. It takes the whole body, clergy and laity, to live out the Good News!
Will I be welcome?
Yes, absolutely. No matter your religious background (or lack thereof), your race, gender identity, sexual orientation, family makeup, disability…anything – you are welcome in MCC.
What about my family? Is there a place for my children?
Yes. You and your family (biological and of choice) are welcome!
Ministry to children and young adults is available in most MCC churches. If you are feeling uncertain about resources available to you at the church you plan to visit, please contact the pastor or pastoral contact before you go. Find contact information in our Church Directory.
Q & A: About MCC for Newcomers
Is MCC a gay church? MCC was founded as a Christian church called to be in ministry to/with homosexual people. As time passed, we built on the original vision given to our founder (Rev. Troy Perry). MCC has become an all-inclusive fellowship of churches – churches that welcome everyone.
How old is MCC? We were founded in October, 1968 and celebrated our 40th anniversary in 2008.
How did MCC begin? MCC was founded out of the vision and calling of the Rev. Troy Perry. For more information on the establishment of MCC and our earliest experiences as a church, click here. (link to MCC History)
Does MCC perform gay marriage? MCC believe that marriage should be freely available to all people, everywhere. Where legal marriage is allowed for homosexual couples, MCC offers marriage ceremonies. In locations in which gay marriage is not legal, MCC offers Holy Unions – religious ceremonies that recognize the union of a homosexual couple in the house of God. NOTE: MCC clergy are able to provide marriage or union ceremonies to any couple, heterosexual and homosexual.
Have a question that’s not answered here? Ask it!
ShareThis
Join MCC's Email Newsletter List!
For Email Marketing you can trust 7 Responses to “I’m New to MCC”
jon ferris:
4 July 2010 at 2:31 pm
im new to key west and im looking for a church to go to and praise the lord in worship. do you have a location in key west and if so what are the service times?
CN:
10 July 2010 at 8:49 pm
Hey Jon there is a church in Key West. Try http://www.mcckeywest.com
TS:
20 July 2010 at 8:42 pm
I would liek to go to my first service this sunday what can i expect? im nervous to go i do not know anyone and im not real “out” any words of advice?
admin:
26 July 2010 at 8:13 pm
Hi TS…
Our churches are welcoming to all walks of life and “outness”. If you’re nervous about a first visit, use our Find a Church directory to find the phone number and/or email address of the church you want to visit. Give the pastor or lay leader a call to introduce yourself. Sometimes, the nerves are made a little easier if you have a connection already made and someone to greet you when you arrive.
Our churches are also diverse in terms of worship styles and religious tradition. If you have a background in another church, you may find some things about our local church in your area that you easily recognize.
In terms of what to expect – our churches are all welcoming and inclusive. We come from all walks of life, share coming out experiences, and endeavor to worship and serve God. At the very least, you should be able to expect entry into a spiritual family with open arms.
Blessings on your first visit!
-Mel
Melanie “Mel” Martinez
Director, MCC Online Ministries
Erni:
20 August 2010 at 7:39 pm
I want meet somebody from Church from Serbia or Hungary!?
If you know somebody please connection me…
thank you and God blessing your work
Erni
Rain:
6 September 2010 at 5:26 am
I would really love to attend a worship service at the Minneapolis Metropolitan Community Church. I’m not sure if it’s crazy though to drive an hour for a service. Am I crazy?
I’ve been searching for a long time for a GLBT friendly Christian church so maybe the hour drive is worth it.
Plus I’ve never been to church so I’m slightly nervous. Gah!
greg:
23 September 2010 at 3:24 am
Not that I’m against anyone but aren’t christian churches not allowed to support gay marriages?
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/im-new-to-mcc/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
Give to MCC Easter Campaign 2014
Moderator’s Circle Testimonials
Moderator’s Circle Sign Up
Generous in Faith
Be A Gem
Planned Giving
Disaster Relief
How to Give to MCC
MCC Travel Partners
Judy Dale Scholarship Fund
Connect Now! Be Brilliant
Job Listings
Staff Directory
Subscribe to Newsletter
Networks
<>
Native-American-History-Month VirtualLectureSeries_QueeringTheology MNCPages
GJIheaderMetropolitan Community Churches are on a bold mission to transform hearts, lives, and history…Just as Jesus did, we are called to: Do justice, show kindness, and live humbly with God. (Micah 6:8) – From MCC’s Statement of VisionMCC recognizes a state of need around the world in the areas of human rights and justice. As people of faith, we have a responsibility to act on behalf of those who cannot effect change on their own. We endeavor to build bridges that liberate and unite voices of sacred defiance.We lead from the margins. We transform.Click here to find out more about MCC’s Global Justice Ministry
Global Justice Ministry News
Statement in response to immigration reform actions by U.S. President Barack Obama
National Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath
Continue The Momentum For Environmental Justice
JOIN WORLD DAY OF ACTION AGAINST JAMAICA’S ANTI-BUGGERY LAW
MCC Moderator to Witness Signing of Presidential Executive Orders with NO Exemptions
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
Content and Maintenance by MCC Online Ministries | Site design by Donald B. Harris
http://mccchurch.org/
YouTubeTwitterFacebookTwitter
I'm NEW to MCC... Tell Me More! | Find a Local Church | Give To MCC | Contact Us
Home Who We Are History of MCC Human Rights Protocol
MCC and Marriage Equality
ARCHIVED: Board of Administration
Video Archive
MCC News Moderator Address June 2012
Moderator’s Corner
Our Churches
Press
How We Work Boards & Teams
Finances
Governance Judiciary Process
Governing Board
Council of Elders
Resources Emerging Churches in MCC
Diversity & Inclusion Inclusivity Film Series
Worship Resources
Racial Reconciliation
Transgender TRANSformative Church Ministry Program
Trans* Day Of Remembrance
Stop Trans Pathologization
Creating a Life that Matters
Church Summits Church Summit Resources
L.E.A.D. Program Plan
Local Church Resources
Church Treasurer’s Manual
Theological Resources
Annual Reporting
Ministries Leadership Development
Global Justice Ministry Center GJ Vision and Mission
MCC Theologies Team Teologías Descriptivas
About the Theologies Team
Meet the Theologies Team
Theologies Guiding Principles
Statement of Purpose
Descriptive Theologies
Team Resources
PAD Conference MCC PAD Clergy
2014 Atlanta
Progressive Christian Reflections
Transgender Ministries
Would Jesus Discriminate?
Youth Ministries
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GJIheaderMetropolitan Community Churches are on a bold mission to transform hearts, lives, and history…Just as Jesus did, we are called to: Do justice, show kindness, and live humbly with God. (Micah 6:8) – From MCC’s Statement of VisionMCC recognizes a state of need around the world in the areas of human rights and justice. As people of faith, we have a responsibility to act on behalf of those who cannot effect change on their own. We endeavor to build bridges that liberate and unite voices of sacred defiance.We lead from the margins. We transform.Click here to find out more about MCC’s Global Justice Ministry
Global Justice Ministry News
Statement in response to immigration reform actions by U.S. President Barack Obama
National Gun Violence Prevention Sabbath
Continue The Momentum For Environmental Justice
JOIN WORLD DAY OF ACTION AGAINST JAMAICA’S ANTI-BUGGERY LAW
MCC Moderator to Witness Signing of Presidential Executive Orders with NO Exemptions
UFMCC is a 501(c)3 Religious Organization. Contributions or gifts to Metropolitan Community Churches are tax deductible as charitable contributions. ©2013 Metropolitan Community Churches, All Rights Reserved | PO Box 50488 | Sarasota, FL 34232 USA | MCCchurches@gmail.com Phone: (310) 360-8640 | Fax: (310) 388-1252
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