Metropolitan CommunityChurch of Greater SaintLouis

Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis About Us

In 1968, a young man named Troy Perry decided that things needed to be different for LGBT people of faith. Having been turned away by his home church and his family because he is gay, he decided to start a church in Los Angeles where LGBT people could worship freely. Twelve people attended the first worship service, held in his living room. That small gathering in 1968 launched the international movement of Metropolitan Community Churches, which today has grown to 43,000 members and almost 300 congregations in 22 countries.

Only five years later, Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis was born. And, like our predecessor, we started small: ten people attended our first service in October of 1973. But those ten people, full of faith and vision and determination to make a difference, began a church which today has nearly 400 in weekly attendance and has ministered to thousands throughout the Greater St. Louis area since October 1973

Known as the “Human Rights Church”, we come from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, and are as diverse as the city of St. Louis itself. And, by the way, we are not only “gay and lesbian,” but straight, bisexual, transgendered, old, young, you name it! Together, we work actively for social justice. For example, while our community support ministries are working to feed the homeless, our social justice ministry team is working to end homelessness. We provide support for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, and are a safe and pozitive place for people to worship and be in community.

Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis collaborates with other faith communities and community organizations including Metropolitan Congregations United, AIDS Interfaith Network, Pride St. Louis, the Human Rights Campaign, Project ARK, the Diversity Awareness Partnership and PROMO. Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis recently launched The Hope & Help Center, which seeks to provide physical and mental health referrals, spiritual guidance, health information and resources, and HIV/AIDS care service referrals. This ministry is the first step in establishing the One St. Louis Resource Center, which has applied for separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. Both are housed at our newly renovated facility.

We strive for our Christian church community to reflect the diversity of God's creation. We wish for our church congregation to be a microcosm of the larger St. Louis community in its demographic make up of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and culture. Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis provides a safe environment to explore what the Bible says regarding homosexuality and what it does not say. The Bible has been used to condemn homosexuality thereby excluding some of God's beloved children from God's table. Many of us grew up in religious environments that, because of our sexual orientation or gender identity , oppressed and condemned us.

But we believe that every person is created in God's image and likeness. Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Saint Louis seeks to share the liberating and life-giving message of Christ with our larger

St. Louis community. If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning these facets of your identity, we welcome and affirm you. Or, if you simply believe that God loves all people equally regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, you also are welcome to worship with us!