Title: The Gay Church Author: Ronald M. Enroth and Gerald E. Jamison Published by: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974 ISBN: 0-8028-1543-X [paperback, 144 pages]
The gay church is alive and well - and growing - not only on the West Coast, where it originated, but across the country. That's the conclusion of a just-published study on an unprecedented religious phenomenon: the establishment of churches dedicated to serving the spiritual needs of the homosexual.The movement began in 1968, with a handful of men meeting privately in Los Angeles; now, a few short years later, it has grown to include thousands of followers, dozens of congregations, and a quasi-denominational structure known as the Metropolitan Community Churches, founded by the colorful and controversial Rev. Troy Perry.
Eloquent and charismatic, Perry is unquestionably the cornerstone of gay liberation in the churches. Under his guidance the Metropolitan Community Churches have embarked on programs of barroom evangelism, prison ministry, counseling services, and special outreach programs to the blind, the deaf, and the elderly. Theologically, MCC claims to be evangelical and conservative - except in the area of homosexuality.
But is the gay church primarily church - or primarily gay? Does it honestly offer spiritual guidance to the homophile community - or is it large social in nature? Most importantly, does it have a future?
To answer these and a broad range of related questions, the authors of this informative report talked at length with gay ministers and their parishioners; they examine in detail the publications of gay churches and organizations; they interviewed leaders of the homosexual community both within and outside the church.
What has emerged from their survey is the first thoroughly researched account and analysis of a new dimension in organized religion. And their findings, while presented objectively and dispassionately, may nevertheless prove startling and even disturbing to the established straight church.
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