Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church, also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination.
The fellowship has Official Observer status with the World Council of Churches. The MCC was denied membership in the US National Council of Churches in 1992, but many local MCC congregations are members of local ecumenical partnerships around the world and MCC currently belongs to several statewide councils of churches in the United States. The MCC has also been considered to be non-denominational.
According to a census of the association published in 2025, it would have 172 churches in 20 countries.
History
The first congregation was founded in Huntington Park, California, by former Pentecostal pastor Troy Perry on October 6, 1968. This was a time when Christian attitudes toward homosexuality were almost universally unfavorable. The first congregation originally met in Perry's Huntington Park home. The church first gained publicity by ads taken out in The Advocate magazine. Perry declared the church was made up of born again believers.In 1969 the congregation had outgrown Perry's living room and moved to rented space at the . It was at this point in time membership in the church grew to about 200 people. Due to discrimination the church was forced to move, and had a hard time finding a permanent place. During this period during the spring and summer of 1969 the church moved first to the Embassy Auditorium, and then a United Methodist Church for two weeks. The church ended up renting out the Encore Theatre in Hollywood from 1969 through 1971.
Within months of the first worship service, Perry began receiving letters and visits from people who wanted to start Metropolitan Community Churches in other cities. MCC groups from eight US cities were represented at the first General Conference in 1970: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, and Costa Mesa, California; Chicago, Illinois; Phoenix, Arizona; Kaneohe, Hawaii; and Dallas, Texas. An MCC group existed in Miami, Florida, but did not send a delegate.
The church had its final move to a building it purchased at 2201 South Union Avenue in Los Angeles in early 1971. The building was consecrated on March 7, 1971. MCC worshiped there until January 27, 1973, when the building was destroyed by what the Fire Department called a fire "of suspicious origin".
During this early period of expansion, a congregation of the MCC formed in New Orleans. Services were initially held in the UpStairs Lounge, a well-known gay bar. The church was struck by tragedy when the UpStairs Lounge suffered an arson attack in 1973. The Reverend Bill Larson and a number of parishioners were killed in the blaze.
In 1972 Freda Smith became the first female minister in MCC, and was the first woman elected to the Board of Elders in 1973 at the fourth general conference in Atlanta, when the Board of Elders was expanded from four members to seven. Later MCC adopted gender inclusive language in its worship services.
After opening churches in Toronto, Canada, and London, England, in 1973, the association became international in 1974. The largest presence is found in the United States, followed by Canada.
Perry served as moderator of the fellowship until 2005, when Nancy Wilson was elected moderator by the General Conference; she was formally installed in a special service at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on October 29, 2005. She is only the second person, and the first woman, to serve as moderator.
In 2010, the first MCC congregation in Spain would be established in Madrid in October. If successfully established, the MCC would have been the first recognized church in Spain to officially solemnize same-sex marriages. An MCC congregation was not permanently established in Madrid in 2010, it is unclear why however. In 2018, the first religiously affiliated same-sex wedding recorded in Spain was performed by a vicar of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. The Lutheran Church of Sweden and the MCC are in partial communion with each other and the vicar is stationed in Spain on a long term 5-year mission. Despite these facts he cannot legally officiate any wedding wherein either party is a Spanish citizen and can only perform ceremonies in which at least one participant is a Swedish citizen. Later that year an MCC congregation finally opened in Madrid. As of 2020, the MCC website describes their "emerging" congregation in Madrid as thriving and expanding. When or if this congregation has performed any LGBTQ weddings is unclear however.
In 2011 the Good Shepherd Parish of the MCC was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.
According to a census of the association published in 2025, it would have 172 churches in 20 countries.
Beliefs and practices
MCC bases its theology on the historic creeds of the Christian Church, such as Apostles' and Nicene creeds. Every church is required to celebrate the Eucharist at least once a week, and to practice open communion, meaning that recipients need not be a member of the MCC or any other church to receive the Eucharist. Beyond that MCC allows its member churches independence in doctrine, practice, and worship as worship styles vary from church to church. The MCC is considered to be Bible-based and many pastors take a fundamentalist approach to scripture.MCC sees its mission being social as well as spiritual by standing up for the rights of minorities, particularly those of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. MCC has been a leading force in the development of queer theology.
Many local churches are also involved with other national and international campaigns, including Trade Justice and Make Poverty History.
The MCC supports same-sex marriage, and has performed the first church-based weddings for same-sex couples in the United Kingdom. MCC's founder, Troy Perry, performed the first public same-sex marriage in the United States in Huntington Park, California, in 1969. In 1970, he filed the first lawsuit in the US seeking legal recognition for same-sex marriages. Perry lost that lawsuit but launched the debate over marriage equality in the US Today, MCC congregations around the world perform more than 6000 same-sex union/marriage ceremonies annually.
Brent Hawkes and the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto were key players in the legal action that ultimately brought same-sex marriage to Canada.
A notable aspect of MCC's theology is its position on homosexuality and Christianity, where it fully embraces and welcomes LGBT people. Indeed, the majority of members are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, with many clergy being openly LGBT. MCC fully affirms the ministry of both men and women, seeing them as equal, and the past election of Nancy Wilson as Moderator makes MCC one of a small number of communions with female senior leadership. The MCC also believes that abortion should be legal.
In 2016, a new statement of faith was passed, almost unanimously, and was adopted at the 26th General Conference in Victoria, British Columbia. It is now considered one of the core documents of MCC, separate from its bylaws, as it is part of MCC formation and identity, but not part of its governance policies.
Governance and administration
Leadership
MCC is led by a Council of Elders and a Governing Board. The Council of Elders consists of a Moderator and elders appointed by the Moderator, approved by the Governing Board, and affirmed by the General Conference. The COE has responsibility for leading the fellowship on matters of spirituality, mission development, and Christian witness. The Governing Board is made up of the Moderator, four Lay members and four Clergy members elected by General Conference, and is the legal corporate board of the denomination, handling responsibility for financial and fiduciary matters.As of 2016, the Council of Elders includes Rachelle Brown, Nancy Wilson, Ines-Paul Baumann, Pat Bumgardner, Tony Freeman, Darlene Garner, Hector Gutierrez, Dwayne Johnson, Nancy Maxwell, Margarita Sánchez de Léon, Candace Shultis, and Mona West. The Governing Board includes Rachelle Brown, Joe Cobb, Victoria L. Burson, Miak Siew, and Dr. David L. Williams.
The elders serve as official representatives of the fellowship in the areas of public and community relations; provide oversight of and support to congregations; consult with churches on issues related to church development; and fulfill other ecclesial and ceremonial duties.
In July 2019, a new Moderator and Governing Board were elected at the MCC General Conference in Orlando, Florida. The Moderator is Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston. The Governing Board consists of Rev. Marie Alford-Harkey, Rev. Alberto Nájera, Rev. Elder Diane Fisher, and Rev. Paul Whiting, representing Clergy, and Chad Hobbs, Clare Coughlin, James Chavis, and Mark Godette, representing Laity.
Moderators
- Troy Perry
- Nancy Wilson
- Rachelle Brown
- Cecilia Eggleston
General Conference