Join St. John's MCC at the Equality March in Washington DC

March with St. John's MCC and other MCCs in Washington, DC On Sunday, October 11th, there will be a huge National Equality March in Washington DC. Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their supporters will March in Washington DC culminating in rally at the US Capitol steps. We will march together to show that we want to be treated as equal citizens across all areas of American life. The MCC church elders have asked MCCs across the country to come to Washington and march together each carrying the banners from our local churches. It will be a great statement to see banners from hundreds of MCC churches from most of the 50 states all together in one group. My partner Rich and I will be going to DC and bringing the St. John's banner with us and will serve as the coordination point for St. John's MCC. At this time, the exact route of the march and the MCC gathering area has not yet been determined. We do know the March will start October 11th around noon and end with the rally at the US Capitol building around 2:00 PM. I suspect we should be gathering around 11:00 AM. If you plan on being in Washington DC and would like to March in the St. John's MCC contingent, please e-mail me, Stan Kimer, StanK@StJohnsMCC.org, and then I can e-mail you all the details once I know them. In addition, if you need to get in touch with me in DC, my cell phone is 919-215-5761. To check out the web site on the march and all other activities happening that weekend in DC, you can check out the Equality website. With enthusiastic anticipation, Stan Kimer

 

Join Rev. Elder Diane Fisher on 10-11October 2009 at the National Equality March

Metropolitan Community Churches Tearing Down Walls.  Building Up Hope.     YOU are invited to join the MCC Board of Elders on this journey to equality!   Official MCC BOE Event Schedule     Do you want to get involved?    Help spread the word using social networks!    Use the "ready to go" Promotional Tools!    Join Rev. Elder Diane Fisher in Washington, DC on October 10-11, 2009 at the National Equality March     I am so excited to be participating in the upcoming March in Washington.  I am a Canadian living in the United States and married to an American.  My partner Judi and I are lucky to be living in Massachusetts where we were able to be legally married. I so want that freedom for all Americans.  I hope that the march will help the nation's politicians to understand and respond to inequality within the US and ensure that ALL Americans are equally protected under the law and have the same freedoms.   I travel internationally and have been a strong advocate for Human Rights for LGBT people.  Many of the nations I visited have recently legislated protection for their LGBT citizens.   Why is the United States so far behind? Latvia, Bulgaria, and Romania have better legislation for the protection of the LGBT community than most US states.     We need to Tear Down Walls and Build Up Hope in the United States!   Marches have been an incredibly powerful tool to bring attention to issues facing cultures around the world.  They have been a powerful tool in the LGBT community.                They brought us out of our closets when Anita Bryant was campaigning in the seventies.  They brought attention to the reality of AIDS and the need for treatment and research in the eighties.  They built up our movement and became celebrations of our lives in the nineties. And now, we will be standing together again for full protection under the law and the right to marry if we choose.    We will be Tearing Down Walls and Building Up Hope!   I am passionate about justice and justice making.  There is a need for justice making right here.  Jesus stood with the marginalized and oppressed.  We will be standing, not just for ourselves, but for those who are still unable to be open about who they are: for fear of losing their jobs, their children, their homes and their freedom.    I believe that it is incredibly unjust for a nation that prides itself on democracy, and being the greatest nation in the world to allow, only, some of its citizens, full protection under the law.  This must change!     I invite you to join me in Washington to march for justice, to take a stand for freedom and to walk for hope.   We must Tear Down Walls and Build up Hope!     Help us make a difference!  Information available on the organization's website.  Check it out and see you in DC!       Metropolitan Community Churches and Would Jesus Discriminate? present...   "Faith Communities and LGBT Justice Campaigns: Creating and Sustaining Grassroots Justice Initiatives"   Saturday, October 10, 2009 - 2:00-4:00 pm Foundry United Methodist Church, 16th and P Streets, Washington, DC   This interactive workshop will feature a diverse panel of faith leaders including Rev. Nancy Wilson, MCC Moderator, Rev. Dean Snyder, Sr. Pastor of Foundry UMC, Adam Gerhardstein of the Unitarian Universalist "Standing on the Side of Love" Campaign and Pastor Darren Phelps of the Bethel Christian Church, connected with The Fellowship.  Rev. Pat Bumgardner, MCCNY, will moderate the panel conversation.     Churches will gather information on how to create and sustain social justice initiatives in their local communities, including developing social justice partnerships with allies in their communities.   Schedule:   2:00 - Gathering and Welcome 2:15 - Panel Sharing and Conversation 3:00 - Q & A 3:45 - Closing     Organizers for this workshop are Kareem Murphy, MCC DC and Rev. Joe Cobb, MCC of the Blue Ridge.  For more information, contact Rev. Cobb at namastejoe@gmail.com.    MCC Church Informal Gathering and Reception with Rev. Nancy Wilson Saturday, October 10, 2009 - 4:00-5:00 pm Foundry United Methodist Church, 16th and P Streets, Washington, DC   Join us for a time of conversation, connection and community as we celebrate our unique ministries and common hopes!   Would Jesus Discriminate? MCC Churches who are involved in WJD? campaigns are encouraged to carry WJD? banners and signs in the October 11 National Equality Rally.

 

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Join Rev. Elder Ken Martin on 10-11 October 2009 at the National Equality March

 

Metropolitan Community Churches Tearing Down Walls.  Building Up Hope.     YOU are invited to join the MCC Board of Elders on this journey to equality!   Official MCC BOE Event Schedule     Do you want to get involved?    Help spread the word using social networks!    Use the "ready to go" Promotional Tools!    Join Rev. Elder Ken Martin in Washington, DC on October 10-11, 2009 at the National Equality March     I am Reverend Elder Ken Martin. I am going to Washington because although my partner, Tom Cole, and I have been together for 35 years but we still cannot legally marry in our home state of Texas.   I Remember 1987...   I will never forget the feeling of stepping onto Pennsylvania Avenue with hundreds of other MCC'ers from across the United States and other nations at the 1987 March on Washington for LGBT Rights. When we entered that parade we joined hundreds of thousands of other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people and our allies. The energy and commitment that brought us all there was palpable as we marched to the Capitol Mall to insist upon the same civil rights and liberties as all citizens. That event inspired me and countless others to make it through the difficult years we were facing and to keep going in our struggle for justice. Since then we have seen victories we couldn't have believed and setbacks we wouldn't have imagined.   I Will Be There Again In 2009!   I will be in Washington again for this March for Equality because our work is not yet complete, our victory is not yet won, our freedom is not yet secure and our rights are not yet guaranteed. I will be there to help inspire another generation of leaders to remain engaged and committed until there is no reason to go back and march again. I hope you will join me there!     Help us make a difference!  Information available on the organization's website.  Check it out and see you in DC!       Equality To End AIDS   Equality to End AIDS HIV/AIDS Rally and Vigil at National Equality March     Where:   The Ellipse (by the White House) 17th Street NW & Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC   When:  October 10th  5:30pm to 8:30pm Media Contact: Diana Scholl; 917-402-2576/D.Scholl@housingworks.org   Organizer Contact: Christine Campbell; 202-409-9786 Campbell@housingworks.org

 

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MCC Moderator Declares A Season of Gratitude!

 

Metropolitan Community Churches Tearing Down Walls.  Building Up Hope.     A Season of Gratitude     September 28, 2009   As we approach October, and MCC's 41st anniversary, on behalf of the Board of Elders, I am inviting all our churches, all our pastors, members and friends of MCC to take the month of October and allow it to become our "Season of Gratitude." There is nothing like  a spiritual "attitude of gratitude" to turn the tables on everything from the roller coaster news about the economy, protracted struggles for civil rights, or those challenging situations faced by every local church, no matter how large or small! I am taking a cue from MCC Las Vegas, where they entered into a special "Season of Prayer," recently, which energized and revitalized their ministry. Sometimes, it is the simple things, the basic things, like prayer, that call us to our roots, and to our destiny as the people of God. In these times of great challenge, of a National March on Washington in the US; of continued homophobic violence in Jamaica, and in many places; when the HIV infection among young people in the Ukraine and in Washington, DC is reaching unprecedented proportions; and when the question, "Would Jesus Discriminate?" is still very controversial, I am grateful for Metropolitan Community Churches!  If, as the Psalmist says, "God dwells in the praises of the people," then let us draw near to God as we praise the Creator of the Universe for the miracle of MCC.   I want to encourage you, as individuals, and as churches, to focus on, to "stand on" gratitude this October, especially gratitude for the privilege of serving the God of Jesus Christ through the vehicle we call "MCC." Imagine how we will be unified and blessed as we join together in this moment!        Click the image below to view a special video message from the MCC Moderator,  Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson!       Join us in MCC's 2009 Season of Gratitude!    What Are You Grateful For? Click the above icon to let us know and we will share your responses.  I am grateful: -     For the thrill of being able to preach a radically inclusive gospel that I believe in as passionately today as I did 37 years ago when I found MCC. -     For our Founder, Rev. Troy Perry, who continues to preach that gospel and carry the banner of liberation, true to his original vision -     For being able to "tear down walls and build up hope" as the Human Rights Church, in more and more places around the world, where there is such hunger for liberation -     For fellow Elders and leaders in MCC who are bold, devoted and brilliant -     For the wave of a new generation of leaders that are emerging every day, dreaming new dreams, starting new churches and ministries. . . -     For increasing numbers of families with children who are finding a spiritual home in Metropolitan Community Churches -     For our emerging partnership with The Fellowship, and Bishop Yvette Flunder and her partner, Mother Shirley, and a new day of collaboration in this work that is bigger than any one church! -     For my partner of 32 years, Paula Schoenwether, whose support and love for MCC touches me every day -     For pastors and lay leaders who risk so much to serve in our local churches, and on our global staff -     For every new person who will come through the doors of a Metropolitan Community Church this October, 2009! I will lift up these prayers of gratitude daily in October.   Blessings and Happy Anniversary MCC! + Nancy   Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson Moderator Metropolitan Community Churches

 

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