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Four decades of faith

MCC-D.C. celebrates 40 years of pro-LGBT gospel ministry

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Metropolitan Community Church of Washington celebrates 40 years this month. (Blade file photo by Callie Marie)

The memories come flooding back for Candace Shultis when asked about her 25-plus years on staff at Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, the Districtā€™s largest mostly gay church.

Sheā€™s been gone a few years now having left to pastor a St. Petersburg, Fla., MCC church. But so much of her ministry was in Washington, on the occasion of the churchā€™s 4othĀ anniversary ā€” the festivities kick off tonight with an event at Human Rights Campaign headquarters ā€” she waxes nostalgic during an hour-plus phone chat from her new parish. Her memories run the gamut of human emotion ā€” from tedium and tragedy to laughter and tears of joy.

She remembers one anniversary weekend where outside festivities were planned at the old M Street location. Members asked her to pray for good weather ā€” ā€œI guess they figured I had a closer connection to God about such things,ā€ she says ā€” only to have it rain the entire weekend. The joke for years was never to have her pray for weather again.

She also remembers feeling ridiculous blessing the current Ridge Street building with former pastor, the late Rev. Larry Uhrig, who died of AIDS in 1993, going around the new building with a plant heā€™d brought from Hawaii throwing water at the building, again in the pouring rain.

It never takes long, though, for talk of MCCā€™s history to come around to the AIDS crisis, which took a staggering toll on its members and which Shultis admits defined much of her ministry there, especially in the 1980s and well into the ā€˜90s.

ā€œI think in many ways my time there, certainly for a good bulk of it even early on in the pastorate, was defined by HIV and AIDS,ā€ Shultis says. ā€œYou just canā€™t say anything but that. It was just real clear, this had a huge impact on the community and we lost a lot of people. Not all from AIDS ā€” some had heart attacks, Bob Johnson, Bob Hager, there were a couple who committed suicide. I even remember our first member who died, James Vincent McCann, Jim McCann. We named a ministry award after him ā€¦ but we lost so many. We became kind of known as the place where you could come and we would do your funeral ā€¦ it was just really hard on the congregation.ā€

MCC-D.C., as itā€™s casually known, is part of the Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a liberal Christian denomination with a vastly, but not completely, LGBT membership. The D.C. churchā€™s roots go back to 1970 when a group of gay believers started meeting as Community Church of Washington. The church was chartered as an MCC church on May 11, 1971.

Rev. Troy Perry, the denominationā€™s founder, remembers vividly the D.C. church joining the Fellowship.

ā€œWe said right away, yes, weā€™d love to have them,ā€ Perry says by phone from Los Angeles where heā€™s lived for 48 years. He resigned as the Fellowshipā€™s moderator in 2005 but is still active among the churchā€™s 250 congregations around the globe.

ā€œIt was one of the briefest dedications we ever did,ā€ he says, a Southern accent still palpable in his voice even after decades in California. ā€œWe got there and it was like 22 degrees. It was so cold I thought my jaws would fall off. So it only lasted about 15 minutes.ā€

MCC-D.C. is one of the largest churches in the Fellowship. Shultis says itā€™s always in the top 10 in terms of weekly attendance and often in the top five.

Perry has visited most of the denominationā€™s churches and says visiting the Washington church is always a highlight and blessing for him.

ā€œThey absolutely believe in wonderful worship services,ā€ he says. ā€œTheyā€™re known widely for their gospel choir and theyā€™ve sung at all our marches on Washington. Iā€™ve preached there many times and I always go pray there the morning of the marches. Weā€™ve had five so far. ā€¦ They do wonderful things there.ā€

But not all has been easy in recent years. After stabilizing its membership and attendance after the advent of anti-retroviral therapy, the church experienced a boom era around 1999 and 2000 in which it wasnā€™t uncommon for 500 faithful to come through the doors on an average Sunday morning. Itā€™s about half that now.

Shultis, who became senior pastor in 1995, remembers that ā€œit was nice not to have as many funeralsā€ for a change, but also remembers there was rarely a dull moment.

One of her most poignant memories started around rather banal circumstances. After settling into the magnificent Ridge Street building, a series of properties around the new church became available and members sensed a rare chance to purchase them and eventually expand the parking area. But the logistics were dicey ā€” purchase had to be approved by the congregation and involved three contracts, the failure of any one of which could sink the whole project. They also had to move fast.

ā€œThis involved taking out, like a $700,00 or $800,000 loan and so we had a very large congregational meeting and I couldnā€™t believe it, the vote to do it was unanimous,ā€ Shultus says. ā€œI had tears in my eyes. I thought, ā€˜Golly gee, weā€™ve worked so long and people really understand what weā€™re trying to do here and support it.ā€™ā€

Rev. Candace Shultis, center, and the late Rev. Larry Uhrig, both former senior pastors at MCC-D.C., at a groundbreaking ceremony for the church's current Ridge Street location in 1990. (Blade file photo by Doug Hinkle)

The D.C. church, as with the Fellowship as a whole, has long sought to be a place of refuge for gay Christians chastised by the churches of their youth. The church offers classes on its interpretation of the scriptures that many Christian churches use to condemn gay sex.

Longtime member John Dewey, the churchā€™s lay delegate who represents the parish at denominational meetings, says an underlying theme woven into nearly every sermon is that ā€œGod loves and accepts you no matter who you are.ā€ He says the scriptures need to be considered in their proper historical context before there was any notion or understanding of sexual orientation.

ā€œWe take a non-judgmental approach to Christianity that welcomes people exactly where they are,ā€ Rev. Dwayne Johnson, the churchā€™s current senior pastor says. ā€œWe welcome peopleā€™s doubts and our core theology is really Godā€™s unconditional love.ā€

Johnson, well respected within the Fellowship for leading a Houston MCC church through a period that saw its attendance double, succeeded Shultis in early 2010 after a lengthy national search. He volunteered at the D.C. church from ā€™89 to ā€™92 and has high praise for both Uhrig (whom he calls ā€œincredibly passionate ā€” prophetic in the best sense of the wordā€) and Shultis (ā€œstrength, integrity and groundingā€ in Johnsonā€™s words).

Despite the adage that Sunday mornings provide the U.S. with its most segregated hour, MCC-D.C. is widely known for its healthy interracial mix and array of ages. Shultis says it wasnā€™t always that way and in its early years was dominated by white gay men, a trend she was eventually concerned about.

Shultis put her neck on the line during a heart-to-heart with Uhrig when she was still assistant pastor and said, ā€œYou have got to pay more attention to women, more attention to people of color, the music had to change, the attitudes had to change ā€¦ it took a lot of time to change the ratios but I think he really listened. Things began to change after that.ā€

Shirli Hughes, the churchā€™s minister of music since 2001, says itā€™s important to honor the churchā€™s past, a reason sheā€™s excited about the bounty of anniversary festivities that are planned throughout the year.

ā€œItā€™s taking all of that rich history of what has been our past and all those saints who have gone on before us and the sacrifices that so many have made to make it possible to be where we are today,ā€ she says. ā€œItā€™s taking that collective wisdom and energy and using it to propel us into a new vision, to really embrace the limitless possibilities of the future.ā€

But now with so many mainline Christian churches opening and welcoming LGBT believers, is MCC-D.C. in danger of becoming an anachronism? Has the decline in attendance been partially due to that trend?

Johnson says no.

ā€œThe difference is weā€™re not just an affirming church, itā€™s hard to find the right language,ā€ he says. ā€œI donā€™t want to bash any other churches by any means, but I think itā€™s because of MCC in a lot of ways that other churches even started opening their doors [to gays]. There were many, many years when it was just us. And many others are still fighting that battle internally. ā€¦ Other churches may welcome and affirm you but we are you.ā€

Sue Elliott, an Upper Marlboro, Md., resident whoā€™s been active in the church since the early ā€˜90s, knows what that feels like first hand. Itā€™s a big reason sheā€™s been in the church choir and on the churchā€™s vestry council for so long.

She says the 40thĀ anniversary comes as no surprise considering how much the church offers.

ā€œI never thought for a minute it wouldnā€™t be here to see 40,ā€ she says. ā€œIā€™m excited. Weā€™re moving forward and have a lot of new things planned. I never doubted for a minute that it would last. I just thought weā€™d grow together in dynamic and exciting ways and we have.ā€

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Miscellaneous

Stephen Miller’s legal group sues Fairfax County schools

Lawsuit challenges policies for transgender, nonbinary students

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(Bigstock photo)

Former Trump administration official Stephen Miller’s legal group on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Fairfax County School District over its policies for transgender and nonbinary students.

America First Legal in a press release notes it filed the lawsuit against the school district on behalf of a female, “practicing Roman Catholic” student “for allowing teenage boys to use the female restrooms and for forcing a radical, government-sponsored gender indoctrination and approved-speech scheme that discriminates against students on the basis of sex and religion and violates their free speech rights under the Virginia Constitution.”

The lawsuit was filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The Virginia Department of Education last July announced new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students for which Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin asked. Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups claim they, among other things, would forcibly out trans and nonbinary students. 

Fairfax County schools are among the school districts that have refused to implement the guidelines. 

ā€œFairfax County Public Schools appears to believe that its policies and regulations can override the Virginia Constitutionā€™s protections for religious beliefs, speech and from government discrimination on the basis of sex and religious beliefs,” said America First legal Senior Advisor Ian Prior in a press release. “It is well past time for FCPS to stop sacrificing the constitutional rights of its students so that it can implement a state-sanctioned ideology that demands compliance in speech, beliefs and conduct.”Ā 

FCPS Pride, a group that represents the Fairfax County School Districtā€™s LGBTQ employees, described the lawsuit as “abhorrent.”

“We are confident that the school board and the superintendent will strongly and firmly oppose this specious suit and continue to support all students, including transgender and gender expansive students,” said the group in a press list.

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Miscellaneous

More than a dozen LGBTQ candidates on the ballot in Va.

Control of the state Senate hangs in the balance

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Virginia state Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) speaks at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch in D.C. on April 23, 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

More than a dozen openly LGBTQ candidates are on the ballot in Virginia on Nov. 7.

State Del. Danica Roem (D-Manassas) is running against Republican Bill Woolf in the newly redistricted Senate District 30 that includes western Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

Roem in 2018 became the first openly transgender person seated in a state legislature in the U.S. after she defeated then-state Del. Bob Marshall, a prominent LGBTQ rights opponent who co-wrote Virginiaā€™s constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Roem would become Virginia’s first out trans state senator if she defeats Woolf.

Woolf supports a bill that would require school personnel to out trans students to their parents. The Republican Party of Virginia has highlighted this position in ads in support of Woolf.

ā€œThank you for reminding me why I won three elections in this district in Prince William County, which is the most diverse county in all of Virginia and the 10th most nationally where we welcome everyone because of who they are, not despite it, no matter what you look like, where you come from, how you worship, if you do, or who you love because you should be able to thrive here because of who you are, never despite it,ā€ said Roem on Sept. 28 in response to a woman who heckled her during a debate with Woolf that took place at Metz Middle School in Manassas.

Gay state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) is running for re-election in Senate District 39. State Del. Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax County), who is also gay, is running for re-election in House District 43.

Former state Del. Joshua Cole, who identifies as bisexual, is running against Republican Lee Peters in House District 65. State Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-Virginia Beach), who came out as bisexual last year at Hampton Roads Pride, will face Republican Mike Karslake and independent Nicholas Olenik.

State Del. Marcia “Cia” Price (D-Newport News), a Black woman who identifies as pansexual, is running for re-election in House District 85. 

Adele McClure, a queer Democrat, is running to represent House District 2 that includes portions of Arlington County. Laura Jane Cohen, a bisexual woman who is a member of the Fairfax County School Board, is a House of Delegates candidate in House District 15.

Rozia Henson, a gay federal contractor who works for the Department of Homeland Security, is running in House District 19. Zach Coltrain, a gay Gen Zer, is running against state Del. Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) in House District 98.Ā 

LPAC has endorsed Jade Harris, a Rockbridge County Democrat who is running to represent Senate District 3. Harris’ website notes trans rights are part of their platform.

“Protecting trans rights, repealing right to work, strengthening unions and supporting our farmers are just a few of my legislative priorities,” reads the website. “I am dedicated to addressing the revitalization of our state’s infrastructure, fostering a favorable environment for job creation, and supporting our public education system.”

Republicans currently control the House by a 51-46 margin, while Democrats have a 21-19 majority in the state Senate.

Senate Democrats have successfully blocked anti-LGBTQ bills that Republicans have introduced since Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office in January 2022. 

The Virginia Department of Education in July released new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students that activists and their supporters have sharply criticized. They fear that Republicans will curtail LGBTQ rights in the state if they regain control of both houses of the General Assembly on Nov. 7.

“Time and time again, anti-equality lawmakers and the Youngkin administration have made it clear that they will continue to disrespect and disregard the lives and lived experience of LGBTQ+ people within Virginia,ā€ said Equality Virginia PAC Executive Director Narissa Rahaman in August when her organization and the Human Rights Campaign endorsed Roem, Ebbin and other “pro-equality champions.”

ā€œWe must elect pro-equality champions who will secure and strengthen our freedoms,” added Rahaman. “We have that chance as the eyes of the nation are on us this November.”

The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund has endorsed Fairfax County School Board Vice Chair Karl Frisch and Fairfax County School Board candidates Robyn Lady and Kyle McDaniel, who identify as lesbian and bisexual respectively. 

Michael Pruitt would become the first openly bisexual man elected to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors if he were to win on Nov. 7. Blacksburg Town Councilman Michael Sutphin and Big Stone Gay Town Councilman Tyler Hughes, who are both gay, are running for re-election.

“Tyler will be a critical voice for equality as the only out LGBTQ+ person on the Big Stone Gap Town Council,” says the Victory Fund on its website.

Cal Benn contributed to this article.

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Miscellaneous

What it means to be an active ally to your LGBTQ+ co-workers TEST

Five easy tips to help you avoid common risks

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Be sure to install baby gates if you have stairs in your home with young children. (Photo by Kasia Bialasiewicz/Bigstock)

Your home is more than just a place to eat and sleep; it’s your safe haven. As much as you might cherish your home, you should probably also recognize the potential hazards within its familiar walls. Accidents can happen in an instant, yet with a little foresight and some simple adjustments, you can transform your house into a safer haven. 

Accidents can happen anywhere, and with a few simple tweaks, you can lower risks in your space. Below youā€™ll find five tips for each room in your home to help prevent injuries, falls, and other mishaps. In short, home safety. 

This article was inspired by a shower in a rental we managed that began leaking through the kitchen ceiling below. If only the landlord had installed grab bars, right!? Below, we’ll guide you through the steps to fortify your bathroom, making it a place of relaxation without the fear of slips and falls. Then, we’ll venture into the room where the magic happens, where proper planning can ensure great nights and peaceful mornings. We’ll show you how to prevent accidents while you experiment becoming the next Gordon Ramsey. And weā€™ll include a few surprising solutions for those other rooms that hold their own unique hazards, offering solutions to safeguard against unexpected mishaps.

Bathroom Safety

Install Grab Bars: Adding grab bars near the shower and toilet can provide essential support for family members of all ages. Not only can they help with getting in and out, but they can help provide stability when washing. Make sure they are securely anchored to the wall.

Non-Slip Mats: Place non-slip mats inside the shower and bathtub to prevent slips. They’re a small investment that can save you from falls and head injuries.

Adjust Water Temperature:  Ensure your hot water is set to a safe temperature to avoid scalding. The hot water heater should be set to around 120Ā°F (49Ā°C)l, the middle setting on many water heater settings. 

Medicine Cabinet Locks: If you have young children, use childproof locks on your medicine cabinet to keep harmful substances out of reach.

Proper Lighting: Ensure there’s adequate lighting in the bathroom to avoid trips and falls during nighttime visits. Nightlights can be a simple and effective solution. 

Bedroom Safety

Clear Pathways: Keep pathways in the bedroom clutter free to prevent tripping. Ensure there’s enough space to move around comfortably, particularly getting around the bed.  Be aware where all furniture is when walking around to avoid stubbed toes, particularly at night.

Secure Rugs: If you have throw rugs, use rug grippers or double-sided tape to keep them from slipping. Loose rugs are a common trip hazard. 

Bed Rails: For anyone at risk of falling out of bed, consider installing bed rails to provide extra support and prevent falls.

Nightstands with Drawers: Opt for nightstands with drawers to keep essential items.  This reduces the need to get out of bed at night, minimizing the risk of falls, as you race to grab what you need and not lose a momentā€™s rest.

Fire Safety: Install battery-operated smoke detectors in the bedrooms if there are none. Make sure to install them 36 inches away from an air vent or the edge of a ceiling fan.  Also six inches away from the joint between the wall and ceiling.  And test smoke detectors regularly.

Kitchen Safety

Non-Slip Flooring: Choose slip-resistant rugs in the kitchen, especially in areas where spills are common. Mats near the sink and stove can also help and you can often buy them fairly cheaply at Costco.

Childproof Cabinets: If you have little ones, use childproof latches on cabinets and drawers to prevent them from accessing potentially hazardous items.

Anti-tip brackets: Install an anti-tip bracket behind the range. These are often used when children are in the home. Although they are less likely to open the oven door and use it as a step stool to get to the stove-top, adults can also benefit from installing these. 

Adequate Lighting: Proper lighting is crucial in the kitchen to avoid accidents. Under-cabinet lighting can illuminate work areas effectively.

Secure Heavy Items: Ensure heavy pots and pans are stored at waist level to prevent straining or dropping them from high shelves.

Sharp Object Storage: Keep knives and other sharp objects in a secure drawer or block. And handle all sharp items with extreme care, even when washing and drying. These steps reduce the risk of accidental cuts.  

Other Safety Tips

Furniture Anchors: Secure heavy furniture, like bookshelves and dressers, to the wall to prevent tip-overs, especially if you have young children.

Adequate Outlets: Check for damaged outlets and replace them promptly. Avoid overloading circuits with too many devices. Install placeholder plugs in outlets to prevent young curious fingers (or tongues?) from going inside an electrical outlet.

Stair Gates: If your home has stairs, install safety gates at the top and bottom to prevent falls, especially if you have toddlers or pets to keep them off of the stairs when you cannot monitor them.

Emergency Escape Plan: Develop and practice an emergency escape plan with your family, including a designated meeting place outside.

Carbon Monoxide Detector:  If your home burns any fossil fuels for heating or appliances, install carbon monoxide detectors in common areas of your home to detect this odorless gas. The D.C. building codes require this if you use a fireplace or if you have an attached garage. In essence, if there is any potential source of carbon monoxide in the home, be sure to install these detectors.

Remember, a safer home not only prevents accidents but also provides peace of mind for you and your family. Implement these simple tips to create a secure environment in every room of your house.

With these practical tips and a few adjustments, you can significantly reduce the risk of injuries and falls in your home. Enjoy peace of mind in your now much safer haven.

Scott Bloom is owner and senior property manager of Columbia Property Management.

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