Today is the 40th anniversary of Metropolitan Community Churches, a denomination that ministers primarily in the GLBT community. A set of historical photos is posted at the Jesus in Love Blog in honor of the occasion.
MCC was founded in 1968 in Los Angeles by Troy Perry, a Pentecostal minister who was defrocked for being gay. He was incredibly brave and visionary to create a church where gays and lesbians were welcome back in 1968, when homosexuality was still considered a sin, a sickness and a crime. He put an ad in the local gay newspaper and held the first worship service in his living room on Oct. 6, 1968.
I believe it’s important to preserve our history. In the photo above, MCC members protested for gay rights in the church at a National Council of Churches “Faith and Order” meeting in Berkeley, California, in March 1993. The “Faith and Disorder” protest was led by Kittredge Cherry, third from right, who was MCC’s international ecumenical director at the time. Signs say: “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re going to church,” “Ruth and Naomi, Jonathan and David, me and my girlfriend,” “Thank God I’m gay” and “We’re everywhere.”
For more photos and the stories behind them, visit the Jesus in Love Blog.
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