I identify as a Christian-Jewish-Muslim-Hindu-Taoist- Buddhist- Nudist- Pagan heretic. I believe it all & I believe none of it. But, I am proud to live in a country where a citizen can worship as they please, or not worship at all... at least so far, barring the influence of the American Christian Taliban.
The Metropolitan Community Church has over 900 congregations in 18 countries & was the first church to serve the spiritual needs of GLBT Christians.
Rev. Troy Perry ran away from an abusive home in Florida to live with relatives in Georgia where he found the spirit & the call to preach. He dropped out of school & became a Baptist preacher at age 15. He married a preacher's daughter & had 2 sons. He lost his first church when it came to light that he had sex with men. He moved his family to California & started at another church, & then his wife discovered his secret. Perry's bishop ordered him to renounce himself & resign.
After a suicide attempt following a failed love affair, & witnessing a close friend being arrested by the police at the Black Cat Tavern, a Los Angeles gay bar, Perry felt called to return to his preaching & to offer a place for gay people to worship freely. in 1969 Perry put an ad in The Advocate announcing a worship service designed for gays. 12 people showed up for the first service- "9 were my friends who came to console me & to laugh, & 3 came as a result of the ad." He used many small venues for his new church, eventually moving to a theater that could hold 600. In 1971, their own building was dedicated with 1000+ members in attendance. A 2007 documentary- Call Me Troy is the story of his life & legacy, including the founding of MCC & his struggles as a civil rights leader in the gay community. Troy lives in Los Angeles with his husband- Phillip Ray De Blieck, whom he married at Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto. I hate to bring it down to this level... but, he is yummy Daddy-rific.
"When younger, I was thin as a rail. As I've grown older, I've put on weight. I have continued to love myself in all those roles. Part of my spirituality, I always tell people, is to accept yourself for who you are."
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