HANOVER TWP., LEHIGH CO., Pa. — Metropolitan Community Church of the Lehigh Valley, a sanctuary for the region’s LGBTQ+ community and a hub of queer activism, celebrated its 40th anniversary Sunday.
The congregation began when 12 people met at the Lambda Center in Allentown, the Lehigh Valley’s first LGBTQ+ community center, to worship, led by a local Lutheran pastor.
It was an era of broad hostility.
When MCCLV’s current pastor, the Rev. Goudy, first arrived in 1999, some suggested starting a church directory to help members better connect with each other.
“People didn't want to do it because it felt dangerous,” said Goudy, putting at risk jobs, child custody cases, housing and more. “But my goodness, I mean, things have really changed.”
Sunday’s service, held at the borrowed Lutheran Church Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod building in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, celebrated not only the church’s longevity but the strides in LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance it has seen over its lifetime.
“Thank you for accepting and befriending all the shy, scared people that somehow get up the courage to come out, go to church where they can be themselves.”Church member Amanda Hecker
The congregation’s core mission, along with activism on issues like marriage equality and transgender rights, has always been creating a safe, loving community that can still be hard to find elsewhere.
“Thank you for accepting and befriending all the shy, scared people that somehow get up the courage to come out, go to church where they can be themselves,” said Amanda Hecker, a member of the church and of Lehigh Valley Transgender Renaissance.
The church’s work is far from over, Goudy said, as members fight for LGBTQ+ acceptance worldwide and transgender rights at home.
Sunday’s celebration does as much to reaffirm the congregation’s vitality as to remember its past, they said.
“This is a way of saying we're still here," Goudy said. "There's still a need to gather together in person, and worship in a setting where you can truly be yourself.
"There is never going to be a shortage of oppressive things to push back against.”
