On this episode of the Samantha Paige Show, I sit down with Judith Dahlen and a few of her friends from MCC of the Gentle Shepherd here in Vancouver for an amazing discussion about the history of the Metropolitan Community Churches. We trace the story from Rev. Troy Perry and 12 people gathered in a Los Angeles living room in 1968, before Stonewall, through some of the earliest same-sex weddings, years of persecution and violence, the devastation of the AIDS crisis, and MCC’s enduring role in LGBTQ+ life and civil rights. Then we bring the story back home to Vancouver, exploring the history of our local MCC congregation and Martha’s Pantry, a ministry born during the AIDS crisis that continues serving our community today. It’s a story about faith, resistance, survival, and what happens when people decide to build a place for themselves when the world tells them they don’t belong.
With love,
Sammi
Producing & Editing Credit: Jason Hassler (Host of KXRW’s own “Hassling the Paranormal”).
MCC of the Gentle Shepherd:
1220 NE 68th Street, Vancouver, WA.
Phone:(360) 695-1480. MCC/UCC
Website:https://info.mccuccv.com/
Marthas Pantry:
1220 NE 68th Street, Vancouver, WA.
Hours: Wednesday: 11:00am – 1:45pm
Phone:(360) 695-1480.
Website:https://marthaspantry.org/
For more about the amazing Reverend Troy Perry and the MCC please check out:
Troy D. Perry with Thomas L. P. Swicegood,Don’t Be Afraid Anymore: The Story of Reverend Troy Perry and the Metropolitan Community Churches, St. Martin’s Press, 1990.
It is 355 pages and specifically covers Perry, the founding and expansion of MCC, the violence directed against MCC congregations, gay activism of the 1970s and ’80s, and the impact of AIDS.
ISBN 978-0-312-04691-0for the 1990 hardcover
ISBN 978-0-312-06954-4for the 1992 paperback
Library of Congress call number:BX9896.Z8 P47 1990