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MCC Seattle supports LGBT community center

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posted Friday, November 18, 2011 - Volume 39 Issue 46

MCC Seattle supports LGBT community center
by Shaun Knittel - SGN Associate Editor

There's been a lot of talk about the idea of an LGBT community or civic center at the SoundTransit Broadway Light Rail Station site. Community leaders such as the Greater Seattle Business Association's Louise Chernin have come forward to advocate for such a place. Now others are saying that they, too, would like to see a community center to fill the void created by the demise of the Seattle LGBT Community Center in 2007.

The Reverend Ray Neal, lead pastor of Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church Seattle, is the latest prominent person to say that he - and his congregation - supports the creation of a new LGBT community center. In addition, Neal says, MCC can help.

'Emerald City MCC Seattle began in 1972 as the first congregation founded by and for the LGBT community in the Pacific Northwest. It was a very contentious time,' Neal told Seattle Gay News. 'Originally we met in a Methodist church on Capitol Hill, sharing their space. Over the years we have shared space with other congregations in Seattle. Just over a year ago we moved from Capitol Hill to the University District where we are sharing space with University Temple United Methodist Church. Perhaps, if an LGBT civic center became a reality, our congregation could relocate to that facility to help share expenses and space.'

As an individual and an LGBT community leader, Neal says has personally begun to work with the leadership that has already come together to discuss the possibility of creating an LGBT civic center.

'In many communities across the states, an MCC church is the only 'community center' for LGBT activities,' he said. 'MCC churches have offered up their own facilities as civic centers for their LGBT community in their own metropolitan region, giving space to house nonprofit offices and direct services to the community.'

For example, Sunshine Cathedral MCC in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, sponsors a Senior Citizen Day Care in their facility and is the home of the Ft. Lauderdale Men's Chorus. MCC's Chicago church, A Church 4 Me, is a tenant of the Chicago LGBT community center in Boystown, sharing meeting and educational space with other groups in the facility in Boystown. The New York MCC houses a homeless youth shelter and social services.

'In many communities the only place LGBT families find activities to do together as a family and demonstrate to their children that there are other families like their own are at MCC churches,' said Neal. 'There are many other examples.'

Neal said his congregation might tap into grants not available to others to help fund services in an LGBT community center with the hopes of becoming a tenant by using the meeting space for services, the educational space for training, and offering ministries and services to the greater community from a central location.

'As partners in such a project, or as tenants in the building, we, along with other non-profit groups, could share in the cost of providing such space to the community,' he said.

As Chernin has pointed out, Seattle remains one of the largest LGBT communities that does not have a center to call its own. 'As the city with the third-largest metropolitan LGBT population in America, I believe it is past time for our community to pull together and support the creation of such a center to meet the needs of our own,' said Neal.

While good intentions exist, Neal said many groups are attempting to create services for the Seattle LGBT community without any kind of coordination between groups - usually without knowledge of each other - and often ending up competing when they could be cooperating and coordinating their efforts.

'A centralized community center might help to provide a place for various groups to get together to discuss their work and find ways to create a team effort to bring much needed services, events, and activities to Seattle's LGBT population,' said Neal. 'I care greatly for all LGBT persons in Seattle regardless of their religious background, or even whether or not they attend a church.'

'The needs presented by persons are not dependent upon religion or politics; they are human needs: to be loved, to find companionship and community, to find a job, to discover places and persons that offer help for medical or psychological needs, to find others to share activities and hobbies with,' he said. 'A community center with a robust program supported by many nonprofit groups in the area could offer those kinds of opportunities. I believe our church should be part of such an effort.'

The mission of the proposed LGBT community center to extend services to senior citizens, youth, families, and individuals is extremely compatible with the mission of MCC, said Neal. 'A congregation like ours might sponsor a preschool or a senior citizen day care, assist with youth services, offer counseling to individuals or couples or families, or we might be able to provide other such services that are not dependent upon the religious beliefs of those being served, but given out of our desire to see the needs of all persons met regardless of their sexuality or gender expression.'

As of late, Neal says, Emerald City MCC Seattle has seen 'a great renewal of spirit in our congregation as new persons have come to worship and have joined our membership.'

'It is exciting to work with such a diverse group and find ways to meet the needs of individuals and couples and families,' he said.

MCC will hold a Transgender Day of Remembrance worship service on November 20 at 11 a.m. 'We will celebrate the unique creation of each person as a child of God who should be proud of him or herself, of their own sexuality and gender, of the way that God made them to be part of God's good creation,' said Neal. 'We will also set aside a part of the service to memorialize those who have died from violence or suicide because of their gender expression. Chris Burns, a recent graduate of Seattle University and an outspoken leader in the Trans community, will give his sermon based on the life of Jesus, who was mocked and dressed up by soldiers, and Joseph. He will reflect on how the violence done to them was not the end of their stories and help us all to draw hope for the future of our own lives.'

'We are working with our host congregation, University Temple UMC, to find ways to build a caring community that speaks out against social injustice, for inclusion and diversity of all persons,' he said. 'I am extremely proud of Rev. Rich Lang, the pastor of University Temple UMC, for his fearlessness in supporting the Occupy Seattle movement and his desire to keep the peace between police and protesters by wearing his cleric robes and walking the space between the two groups. This resulted in his being sprayed with pepper spray this week by police who reacted without much thought. I hope to join Rev. Lang on the frontlines when possible.'

'It is my fervent hope that more leaders and concerned individuals and groups from the greater Seattle LGBT community will join the efforts to help make an LGBTQ civic center a reality. With the opening of the Link light rail in 2012 and the hope that a building housing such a center might be a reality soon thereafter, the time to plan together and begin to work together is now,' he said.

Emerald City MCC Seattle meets at 11 a.m. on Sundays in the Chapel at the north end of University Temple UMC (1415 N.E. 43rd St., at 15th Ave. N.E.). For more information contact Neal at RevRayNeal@gmail.com.

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