MCC hosts record breaking 2008 People of African Descent, our Friends and Allies conference
When the first congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church was formed 40 years ago, it became a place of worship and solace for homosexuals who were shunned from other Christian institutions.
Alive and thriving four decades later, MCC has hundreds of congregations around the world. Also still rampant is the homophobia that exists in churches black, white or otherwise.
MCC has chosen St. Louis, a city rich in diversity, to play host to the 2008 People of African Descent, our Friends and Allies conference, April 17 to 19, at the Sheraton Westport Lakeside Chalet. Program topics will include Homophobia and the Black Church, Leading and Building an Inclusive Church and the State of HIV/AIDS in the Black Community, among others.
The Rev. Elder Darlene Garner will attend and moderate some programming, as well as perform the Sunday services at MCC. She has been a member of MCC for more than 30 years, became a clergy member 20 years ago and has served Region 6 (several countries like Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and several U.S. states) for the church since 1993.
Garner said the conference will offer a “moment of encouragement, especially to people of African descent in St. Louis. … One of the major goals is to be a visible witness in the city to the wholeness and the holiness of lesbian and gay people.”
While members of the St. Louis MCC are planning to attend, the conference is also attracting visitors from outside the area — record numbers, in fact, for this, the 6th biennial conference, said Danny Gladden, Jr., who handles communications for MCC in St. Louis.
The theme is “On the Move — Stepping Out on Faith,” and inclusion will be a hot topic throughout the weekend.
“I think one of the really neat speakers is Bishop Carlton Pearson. His message of radical inclusiveness will really speak to our denomination,” said St. Louis MCC Senior Pastor Dr. Carol Trissell. “We welcome all people regardless of sex or race or gender identity or even physical ability. To be ‘radically inclusive’ is a very powerful commitment.”
Pearson, a former Oral Roberts University student, came to national attention after he told his congregation he no longer believed in “Hell” in the traditional sense, resulting in his losing that congregation and being labeled a heretic by his denomination. He has since founded the New Dimensions Worship Center in Tulsa, Okla., an inclusive church that welcomes GLBT members.
Open dialogue will be a major component of the weekend, Garner said, and an opportunity for those not already part of MCC — especially those who are still closeted or stifled in their own house of worship — to experience spirituality without judgment about their sexuality, if only for a weekend.
“It’s vital that people find affective ways to be in a healthy spiritual community,” she added.
There are larger goals than just preaching to the converted. Garner offered a response to the old Christian defense against homosexuality through Bible passages: “Encourage people to read the scripture rather than read into the scripture, and when we read the words, we see they speak of love. (They) speak of all humanity having been created in God’s image.
“God did not create stepsons and stepdaughters. He loves us all equally.”
The widespread homophobia that exists in Christian churches has led to feelings of betrayal for many GLBTs. There’s no easy resolution there, Garner said.
“Because the damage that is done to people in the name of the church is something that can be absolutely devastating,” she said, “what I encourage people to do is find an affirming community where they can come and experience the other side of God … a God whose love is unconditional.”
For more information about the conference, visit www.mccchurch.org/pad2008
