Whosoever Metropolitan Community Church has undergone many changes in its 45 years — from location to name to leadership — but has always provided a safe space for LGBT Christians.
When it was founded in 1971, the church offered both a place to worship, and also to build community, said Pastor Jeffrey Jordan
“In the founding years, there were very little options for LGBT individuals,” Jordan said. “There were no social and cultural events, no community center, no organizations and clubs. The only option was the bar. A lot of people chose to come to MCC because of their spirituality but, at the same time, a lot of others came for a place of activity, to get involved, to be an activist and to work for the betterment of the LGBT community.”
Church members first began meeting in people’s homes and then moved into the First Unitarian Church at 21st and Chestnut streets. The congregation bought its own building in Fishtown, but it eventually had to move back to the Unitarian church. The congregation next moved to William Way LGBT Community Center and then to University Lutheran Church, where it operates now.
“Even though we’re one of the oldest gay-affirming congregations, we’re still a young organization,” Jordan said. “Part of being young is becoming established, which is what we’ve done over the last 45 years.”
Jordan joined the congregation in 1994 after a serendipitous Pride parade.
“I was outed by the AME Church on the floor of the congregation in West Virginia, and my credentials were taken away for being gay,” he said. “While I was in college I worked in Philadelphia and at this point, and after this I came back to Philadelphia and it was the first time I ever saw a Pride parade. I saw the drag queens and the men in leather but then there was this small group, which was MCC, holding signs that said ‘God loves you.’ Even though they were small and didn’t have all matching clothes or this wonderful presentation, I stood on the sidelines and cried; I had just been outed and told by my church that I was an abomination and then there’s this church saying ‘God loves you.’ Within a year of that parade, I was pastor of the church.”
Whosoever MCC now sees about 40 members at its 11 a.m. Sunday services and hosts regular social and community events.
Upcoming programming includes a Friends and Family Worship Potluck Oct. 2, a Decades Dance Oct. 7 — with music and clothing from the 1970s to the present to celebrate its 45 years — and the Oct. 16 Patrons of Humanity Awards presentation, which it holds every five years.
For more information, visit www.whosoevermccp.com.