“Catholic church in SF disinvites gay clergy” (Click here to go to source)

This article from the Associated Press, republished on the San Jose Mercury News online, describes how a Catholic church in San Francisco had invited a gay clergy to speak at pre-Christmas services. However, the events were canceled because they were not related to the time of Advent, according to Archdiocese spokesman George Wesolek. The rest of the community reacted negatively because they thought this was an act to exclude the LGBT community from the Catholic Church. Similarly, the speakers (including Reverend Roland Stringfellow from a Metropolitan Community Church) felt that just because they were related to gay churches didn’t mean they couldn’t discuss on any other topic to be appropriate for the service at hand.

This article shows that, even in the recent past (late 2011), the LGBT community is still having trouble being accepted, especially by religious groups. It means all that much more that there are religious communities available, even if they are not mainstream religious communities, to shelter those who need it. The MCC San Jose actually closed because of economic reasons and irreconcilable differences with the Grace Baptist Church where they held their services. Despite this setback, there are still other welcoming churches in the Bay Area and the nearest MCC is located in San Francisco, so in no way are these liberal churches dying out.

“Catholic church in SF disinvites gay clergy.” San Jose Mercury News, 23 Dec. 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2012.