We are an affirming , Radically inclusive, non-converting Christian church community, offering a safe and non-judgmental space where you can celebrate both your spirituality and sexuality.
Free to worship. Free to love. Free to be who you are.
God loves you, and so do we.
Come as you are !
THE MCC CORE VALUES
Inclusion
Love is our greatest moral value and resisting exclusion is a primary focus of our ministry. We want to continue to be the conduits of a faith where everyone is included in the family of God, and where all parts of our being are welcomed at God’s table.
Community
Offering a safe and open community for people to worship, learn and grow in their faith is our deep desire. We are committed to equipping ourselves and each other to do the work that God has called us to do in the world.
Spiritual Transformation
Providing a message of liberation from the oppressive religious environment of our day or to those experiencing God for the first time is what guides our ministry. We believe that when people are invited to experience God through the life and ministry of Christ, lives will be transformed.
Social Action
Working to talk less and do more, we are committed to resisting the structures that oppress people and standing with those who suffer under the weight of oppressive systems, being guided always by our commitment to Global Human Rights.
Church History
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) or otherwise known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) was founded in 1968 by Rev. Troy Perry, a year before the New York Stonewall Riots. Some series of most unlikely events in Southern California resulted in the birth of the world's first church group with a primary, positive ministry to gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Those events - a failed relationship, an attempted suicide, a reconnection with God, an unexpected prophecy, and the birth of a dream - led to MCC's first worship service: a gathering of 12 people in Rev. Troy Perry's living room in Huntington Park, California. That first worship service in a Los Angeles suburb launched the international movement of Metropolitan Community Churches, which today has grown to over 43,000 members and adherents in almost 300 congregations in 22 countries. Over the years, MCC's prophetic witness has forever changed the face of Christianity and helped fuel the international struggle for LGBT rights and equality. The MCC has gained "observer" status in the World Council of Churches (WCC), fostering Ecumenism and Christian unity. It remains to be the biggest LGBT-led church in the world that continues to reach out to all LGBT and straight children of our Almighty Parent God.
Founded in the interest of offering a church home to all who confess and believe in God's immeasurable love. MCC moves in the mainstream of Christianity of Catholic (Universal) and Protestant (Liberal) Christians.
The first four founding members of the MCC in Baguio City, Philippines
(left to right)
Rev. Myke Sotero, William Villacampa, Jude Bag-o and Julie Palaganas
MCC
PHILIPPINES is the first MCC in Asia, established in September 7, 1991. It was
brought to the Philippines by Rev. Fr. Richard Mickley. Together with PROGAY
Philippines, MCC also led the 1st Philippine LGBT Pride March in Quezon City,
that also became the first Pride Parade in Asia on June 1994. The organization
aims to spread the vision of spreading God's love to the rest of our Asian
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters. Like all
other Mcc churches in their ethnic origin, it is an ecumenical and inclusive
fellowship for all Since then, it has become a spiritual and social center for the local
LGBTQ communities through it's special
outreach to homosexuals and sexually oriented minorities.
Photo above: Installation rites of Ptr. Myke Sotero as the 1st MCC Metro Baguio Pastoral Leader on June 26, 2009
THE MCC IN THE CITY OF BAGUIO
In February 22, 2009, through the assistance of MCC Quezon City, the MCC in the Philippines yet made another huge step with the birth of the Northern Sanctuary MCC in Baguio City when it held it's very first public worship service and induction of it's 4 founding members at the Ayuyang Bar in Baguio City. MCCMB continues to spread God's unconditional calling to all the LGBT communities in The city. The group is held strong by MCCMB's first Pastoral Leader Myke Sotero who has long been a steadfast advocate of LGBT rights. Today, MCC in the Philippines has 5 Philippine congregations and continue to expand, spreading the message of hope to all .
(Left) Easter Sunday 2009 worship service at Camp 7. The first independent fellowship without a pastor.
THE MCC STATEMENT OF FAITH
We believe that the Metropolitan Community Church is one chapter
in the story of the Church, the Body of Christ.
We are people on a journey, learning to live in our spirituality,
while affirming our bodies, our gender, our sexualities.
We don’t all believe exactly the same things.
And yet in the midst of our diversity, we build community,
grounded in God’s radically inclusive love for all people.
We are part of an ongoing conversation on matters of belief and faith,
shaped by scripture and historic creeds, building on those who have come before us.
Our chapter begins when God says to us: “Come taste and see.”
Jesus Christ, You invite all people to Your open table.
You make us your people, a beloved community.
You restore the joy of our relationship with God,
even in the midst of loneliness, despair and degradation.
We are each unique and we all belong, a priesthood of all believers.
Baptized and filled with Your Holy Spirit.
You empower us to be Your healing presence in a hurtful world.
We expect to see Your reign on earth as it is in heaven
as we work toward a world where everyone has enough, war cease,
and all creation lives in harmony.
We affirm Your charge to all of humanity to care for the land, sea and air.
Therefore, we will actively resist systems and structures which are destroying Your creation.
With all of creation, we worship You.
Every tribe, every language, every people, every nation.
We know You by many names, Triune God, beyond comprehension,
revealed to us in Jesus Christ, who invites us to feast.
Amen.
OUR STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
Reclaim our Holy Identity
At MCC,we believe that even in our humanness, we are holy. We are liberated from other people’s definitions of who we are. We are made both body and spirit. We believe that our sexuality is a holy gift from God so we no longer distance our bodies from our experience with God. We are a people who proudly participate in the communion of body and spirit.
Advance our call to Social Justice and Action
At MCC, we
believe that Jesus led the way in acts of compassion and acts of justice.
Because we have been a people in the margins of society, we understand fully
the grace that God has extended to us. We seek to distance ourselves from
exclusion and draw ourselves closer to including all those who are marginalized
in any way. We stand boldly with those who resist the structures of
exclusion, as Jesus did, and work to insure freedom for all people. In
the margins, we are blessed.
Tell the story of God’s Transforming Grace
At MCC, we come as we are to Christ and are changed by what we find. We experience a God with open arms, inviting all to take the sacred journey of faith and transformation. We are growing in our faith and claim that our place in society has magnified our place in God’s family. We are one of the many voices of God that, until now, has been lost in the margins!
Nurture the value of Community
At MCC, we believe our ultimate ministry is in the world. We know that in order to prepare ourselves for radical service that changes lives, we must equip ourselves and others in the safety of a supportive community. We strive to live out a message that rejects the idea that any are excluded from the family of God.
Build bridges that Liberate and Unite
At MCC, we have experienced the soul
destruction that comes from hate filled rhetoric. In restoring our souls,
we have come to find that our voices will speak the liberation that comes
through peace, compassion, love, respect and grace. As followers of
Jesus, we believe in everyone’s holy privilege to work out their own
salvation. While we are a Christian church who follows Jesus,
we respect those of other faith traditions and work together with them to free
all those who are oppressed by hate, disregard and violence.
The most beautiful word in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is "Whosoever". All of God's promises are intended for every human being. This includes gay men and lesbians. How tragic it is that the Christian Church has excluded and persecuted people who are homosexuals.
We are all created with powerful needs for personal relationships. Our quality of life depends upon the love we share with others, whether family or friends, partners or peers. Yet LGBT people facing hostility in society are often denied access to healthy relationships. Jesus Christ calls us to find ultimate meaning in life through a personal relationship with our creator. This important spiritual union can bring healing and strength to all of our human relationships.
We firmly believe that God's love for all people is universal and unconditional.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)
Now, more and more Christian churches and denominations are beginning to open their doors to welcome all. Northern Sanctuary MCC embraces everyone who believes that love binds us all to God who loves us the way He created us. Experience spirituality that celebrates your sexuality and holy identity without fear of discrimination and condemnation. Come as you are. Join the community of believers and proclaim to all that God LOVES us the way we are!
BAGUIO AIDS WATCH COUNCIL (AWAC)
DANGAL Pilipinas