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Barbara
Lungalang
MCC Manchester
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..."Why
would an evangelical, charismatic, fundamentalist, bible-believing
Christian be an attender at a gay church? Furthermore, why would
a straight, middle-aged woman, with all of the background described
above, attend a church 40 miles away from home, whose congregation
is primarily made up of gay people?
Confused?
I was - still am at times.
I
had spent an evening with a gay work colleague, his partner and
a friend. We had enjoyed one of our heated exchanges when as an
almost throw-away remark he said that I couldnt be a Christian
and not be homophobic. I disagreed at once but later began to wonder
if perhaps that was true. His words had almost hurt me as I had
grown to love him as a friend. I hated the thought that my beliefs
had contributed to some of the issues of acceptance some gay people
experience.
He
had given me a copy of the Pink Paper and on one of the pages was
an advertisement for MCC. Some months passed and I felt more and
more compelled to visit the church to see for myself what these
people were like. I doubted I would hear the Christian
gospel or be part of a worshipful congregation but I needed to test
it out for myself"...
Click
on the picture to read more
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Jenny-Anne
Bishop
MCC Manchester
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We
went to the Metropolitan Community Church in Manchester, which I
immediately found to be a truly inclusive and supportive church.
I don't say it's perfect - we're not - but we do welcome any and
every body, unless they're disruptive! I was so amazed to go and
feel the welcoming love and support of the people at this church
after feeling that churches had rejected me for so many years. I
felt it was the most Christian Church I'd ever been to, and felt,
at last, I 'd found a spiritual home to be in.
After
a while of going to the MCC church, I was asked to become a full
member rather than just somebody attending. So Linda and I went
to the classes about the faith of the church, and very broadly it
was quite similar to my faith as a Catholic. Both of us joined the
church as full members and I began the process of forgiving myself
for being transgendered and beginning to believe that maybe God
was quite happy with me going to church as Jenny-Anne and being
the person God had created - although I do sometimes still feel,
'no, no, no, you're just cheating and fooling yourself!' However,
I feel much less like this than I used to, because my faith and
acceptance by others has made me feel much more comfortable with
myself.
At
the AGM the only person who didn't vote for me, was myself! ...
Click
on the picture to read more
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Philip
Jones
MCC Manchester
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...
"After many years in the Anglican Church I grew tired of the
way their official position on my sexuality disowned me. I felt
I was used for what I could give to the church, but not affirmed
in who I really was.
"So,
in 1994 I made my first visit to MCC Manchester and was immediately
struck by their exciting and liberating vision of God's unconditional
love for all people. After further visits I soon realised that I
was being challenged to make a new start, to bring my time, tithe
and talents to this young and developing church, and to let God
grow and develop my own spirituality among this diverse group of
people."...
Click
on the picture to read more
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Rev
Debbie Gaston
Brightwaves MCC, Brighton
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...
"At 30 I believed that God was calling me into ministry but what
sort I did not know. So after an emotional response at Spring Harvest,
and after giving up my teaching job and my flat, I went off to London
Bible College to study God's Word. I went through a phase of desperately
wanting to get married but realising that I just wasn't attracted
to men in a sexual way. Then as if I needed a rug pulled beneath my
feet ever again, I was taught to question the Bible that I had been
taught to obey. LBC were actually teaching me to delve into what the
Bible really meant. My theology was blown apart and so was everything
else I'd ever thought and believed. At the time it was scary but now
I realise that it was the best thing that could have happened to me.
"At
the end of my first year there, I began to get to know Elaine as
a close friend. We shared a lot and prayed a lot encouraging one
another. She was married with two children and I was single with
a great passion for God. We were both in the same church but had
not really spoken very much although whenever we did get together,
we laughed so much always at the same things. Over several months
we fell in love and shared our past experiences of our sexuality.
Elaine had struggled with her sexuality as much as I had but she
had decided to marry to resist the attraction to other women, and
I had gone to Bible college! Her marriage had been falling apart
since the start and she had wanted to move on for many years."...
Click
on the picture to read more
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Rev
Andy Braunston
MCC Manchester
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...
"I started to realise that I was made to love other men and
I realised that it would be difficult, if not impossible to live
out my vocation in either the Catholic or Anglican communions. I
knew I was not called to celibacy and I believe that Jesus did not
see this as a sin, or as something which should be denied. This
led to a long period of depression and questioning. I felt that
I had to give up one thing or the other - and I knew I could not
give up being gay.
"This
struggle got worse when I went to university, and I knew I could
not continue within an evangelical church, so I started attending
Mass again, just sitting at the back and being anonymous. In my
second year at university I came out and started to explore my gay
self. At the same time, and for the first time, I read of gay people
who celebrated their faith, who had come to a full understanding
of the Scriptural passages used to condemn us. I became very angry
that I had never been told there was a debate on these passages
and there was another point of view!"...
Click
on the picture to read more
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