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On that Sunday in 1968 when Troy Perry borrowed a minister's robe and started a church for gays in his living room, the world was a very different place. His Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) were then a lone spiritual refuge for openly gay Christians in the U.S., an idea so far from the mainstream that the founders were often chased from places where they tried to worship.
Four decades later, times have changed. Today, some of the most historically important religious denominations, which had routinely expelled gays and lesbians, are welcoming them instead.
MCC currently has a presence in dozens of U.S. states as well as overseas, reporting a total membership of more than 240 congregations and ministries. But as acceptance of same-sex relationships grows, the fellowship is at a crossroads. Many members are asking: Is a gay-centered Christian church needed anymore?
"There are many more options than there used to be," said the Rev. Nancy Wilson, moderator, or leader, of the Metropolitan Community Churches. "But there has not been a mass exodus."
When the MCC started, few people had ever heard the argument that the Bible sanctioned same-gender relationships, and no one of any influence in the religious world was saying it. MCC congregations became targets of arson, violence and pickets.
Still, the fellowship expanded relatively quickly from its humble beginnings. Within months of founding the first congregation in Los Angeles, Perry started receiving letters and visits from people hoping to establish MCC churches in other cities. Two years later, new congregations had formed as far away as Florida. Within five years, the church had spread overseas.
But in recent years the church has lost some congregations, including its biggest, to other denominations. The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, with about 4,200 members, split off around 2003 and eventually joined the United Church of Christ. Cathedral and MCC officials say the break was not a rejection of MCC's mission. The Cathedral maintains its focus on reaching out to gays, lesbians and transgender people.
Like many other churches coping with a weak economy, the MCC has cut or restructured staff jobs in the last five years, Wilson said. Some smaller MCC churches have closed. Yet, despite the losses, Wilson and others see a continuing role for Metropolitan Community Churches, given the wide range of responses to gays and lesbians in organized religion. Only time will tell if the MCC can remain relevant in a changing world.
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