MPR’s Art Hughes reports on how All God's Children Metropolitan Community Church is looking to broaden acceptance in a conservative community. Leaders of the Minneapolis church, which serves primarily gay and lesbian Christians, is praising the apparant successes of a branch church in Rochester. The extension of church has been meeting and growing in Rochester for more than a year.
[PIANO MUSIC PLAYING] ART HUGHES: The Healing Spirit Church is literally a sanctuary for gay and lesbian residents of Rochester. Same sex couples hold hands and embrace, simple gestures of intimacy they usually don't display in public. Couples also take communion together and receive a blessing from Minister Jane Chelf.
JANE: At least, in this moment and this time, in this sacred place on this holy ground, someone who is an ordained clergy member is providing them with a message that they are indeed loved by God. It's a very profound moment in my ministry to be able to do that.
ART HUGHES: The church's first service was in Chelf's own living room in August of last year.
JANE: The first night that we had the worship service at my house, I was scared. I was scared that right wingers were going to be driving up and down the street and picketing in front of the house, and, oh, God protect me, you know, help me. I'm scared here. None of that has happened, but I think it could.
ART HUGHES: A local church now offers a chapel for the weekly service, but its location isn't readily disclosed to minimize the threat of protests. Chelf is a Presbyterian minister and says she felt called to start the church soon after she arrived in Rochester from Tennessee. During public hearings on whether the city should strengthen protections for gays and lesbians, by adding the words sexual orientation to Rochester's discrimination ordinance, Chelf says she was struck by the absence of clergy.
JANE: I remember going and sitting there and listening to Christian conservative, after Christian conservative, after Christian conservative and having just about all I could take. And I stood up and ended up going to the microphone and saying, look, I love Jesus, too. You know, you can choose to use the Bible as a switchblade, or you can choose to use the Bible as an agent of redemption.
ART HUGHES: There are dozens of mainstream churches in Minnesota that welcome gays and lesbians, but only a handful minister primarily to homosexuals. Most churches in Rochester still struggle with the topic. United Church of Christ's national governing body encourages its churches to adopt a gay-friendly stance. But barely 5% of UCC's 6,100 churches have made it through the prescribed regimen of study, reflection, and prayer required to be called open and affirming.
The UCC Congregational Church of Rochester is not officially open and affirming, but it follows a relatively liberal doctrine. It hosted a wedding ceremony for two gay men earlier this year. Still, associate Pastor David Watson says any progress to resolve divisions regarding homosexuality is slow.
DAVID WATSON: The lack of discussion would be the most obvious manifestation to me. Discussion takes place more among individuals, small groups, but not at this point on a congregational level. We agree to disagree.
ART HUGHES: The congregational church's efforts to accommodate gays and lesbians is not enough for Joe Nix. He and his partner make up the gay couple, recently married at the Congregational Church. Both have since left to worship at the predominantly gay healing spirit. Nix says he didn't feel persecuted at Congregational Church, but he didn't feel embraced either. He says many people, many churchgoers, still can't get past the idea of a gay Christian.
JOE NIX: People sometimes fail to recognize that we are whole people. You know, there's much more to us. And our spiritual needs are much greater than simply focusing on the morality of our private behavior.
[CONGREGATION SINGING]
The gay community in Rochester has not been able to make the gains seen in other cities. Annual celebrations that help define the gay rights movement, such as pride festivals and National Coming Out Day have gotten off the ground in Rochester only in the past few years. There are also no gay bars or other businesses that cater to gay and lesbian clients. These are some of the reasons leaders at the Minneapolis Metropolitan Community Church say Rochester was a good target for their expansion. But the most obvious sign that Healing Spirit Church still faces an uphill battle is that the location of the weekly service is kept secret from the larger population. In Rochester, I'm Art Hughes, Minnesota Public Radio.
[CONGREGATION SINGING]
In 2008, Minnesota's voters passed the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution: to protect drinking water sources; to protect, enhance, and restore wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve arts and cultural heritage; to support parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater.
Efforts to digitize this initial assortment of thousands of historical audio material was made possible through the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. A wide range of Minnesota subject matter is represented within this collection.
Views and opinions expressed in the content do not represent the opinions of APMG. APMG is not responsible for objectionable content and language represented on the site. Please use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report a piece of content. Thank you.
Transcriptions provided are machine generated, and while APMG makes the best effort for accuracy, mistakes will happen. Please excuse these errors and use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report an error. Thank you.