The Metropolitan Community Church of Edinburgh, also known as Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community Church, was the Edinburgh congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), [1] an international Christian denomination founded in 1968 to serve the LGBT community, from 1995 to 2009. The church has now ceased worshipping independently and has merged with Augustine United Church.
On 17 June 1995, the first Pride Scotland March and Festival was held in Edinburgh. Reverend Jim McManus, a pastoral team member of MCC Newcastle, Reverend Roy Beaney, European District Coordinator, and other MCC members visited Edinburgh and organised a stall at the festival, followed by a small worship service in the LGBT Centre in Broughton Street.
McManus tried to use contacts made at this event to form an MCC group in Edinburgh. An article appeared in The Scotsman and Michelle Russell was interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland. At a meeting on 15 July 1995 in the LGBT Centre, the dozen or so attendees decided to form a congregation, with a first worship service taking place at the centre the following day. On 2 August 1995, during the MCC General Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, an Interim Development Group was formed, with McManus appointed as Pastor.
The congregation initially worshipped in the LGBT Centre, but from October 1995 moved to larger premises in the University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy, at the invitation of the university chaplain, Reverend Iain Whyte.
Two observers were sent to the MCC's European District Conference in November 1995. The congregation adopted a constitution on 17 November 1995, establishing Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community Church, Edinburgh, as a parish extension of MCC Newcastle, with McManus elected pastor. The first church members were accepted on 16 February 1996.
In 1996, the congregation moved again to the Edinburgh Quaker Meeting House, and began meeting twice a month. In June 1996, the congregation took part in the second Pride Scotia in Glasgow. New leadership was appointed at the second annual congregational in April 1997, with the support of Reverend Doreen Shambrook representing the MCC European District.
After a development weekend in January 1998 at Scottish Churches House, the congregation agreed to hold weekly services in Augustine United Church. It merged with Augustine United Church in January 2010.
The church was active in several social justice campaigns, including the campaign to repeal Section 28, the campaign for same-sex marriage, and Make Poverty History. The Church gave oral evidence and lodged a Petition to the Scottish Parliament when legislation was being considered on civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, and also sought the right to constitute civil partnerships in a religious context, unsuccessfully.
In 2001, at the MCC General Conference in Toronto, Reverend Troy Perry awarded MCC Edinburgh the Founders Award for their work on social justice issues.
The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 259,200 members in 2023. While active membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades, the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. The Church of Scotland's governing system is presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a proper noun, the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland used in the media and by the church itself.
The Scottish Episcopal Church is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland.
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 countries, and the fellowship has a specific outreach to members of the LGBT community.
Troy Deroy Perry Jr. is an American cleric and the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, with a ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968.
Nancy L. Wilson is an American cleric who served as the moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Under Wilson's leadership, the denomination became known as "The Human Rights Church" in many parts of the world for its commitment to same-sex marriage, employment and housing non-discrimination laws.
The Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto is a congregation of the worldwide Metropolitan Community Church movement located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is a welcoming congregation openly affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual, heterosexual and transgender people. MCC Toronto was instrumental in changing the law on same sex marriage in Ontario, when two same-sex marriage ceremonies performed at the church on January 14, 2001 initiated the process leading to the Halpern v Canada (AG) decision of 2003.
The Metropolitan Community Church of New York (MCCNY) is an LGBT Christian church in New York City, located at 446 36th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan.
Metropolitan Community Church London was the first Metropolitan Community Church congregation in Europe and the first one chartered out of the United States. The congregation was founded in 1972 as the Fellowship of Christ Liberator and at least a year later a majority indicated that they wished to affiliate with the MCC. The then minister, the Revd Tony Cross, resigned and Peter Embrey did not wish to continue to host the congregation. The name was changed and they went on to occupy a location on Sistova Road, in the Balham neighbourhood of South London. MCC London no longer exists as a congregation, but was the source of three other congregations: MCC North London, MCC East London, and MCC South London. MCC churches have a "primary ministry in gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, providing a safe-space environment of an accepting congregation where people can find God's salvation, personal support, spiritual growth and guidance toward health and wholeness." The churches have been active in efforts to support marriage for LGBTQ people and specifically reach out to LGBTQ families. They have also supported efforts to educate and combat violence against LGBTQ people.
Chris Glaser has been an activist in the movement for full inclusion of LGBT Christians in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), or PCUSA, for over 30 years. He is currently a minister in the Metropolitan Community Church, or MCC.
Augustine United Church is a United Reformed Church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in a local ecumenical partnership with St Columba's-by-the-Castle and Greyfriars Tolbooth and Highland Kirk.
The Cathedral of Hope (CoH), a member congregation of the United Church of Christ, is an historically and predominantly LGBT congregation located in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. The Dallas Cathedral of Hope is said to be the world's largest inclusive "liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons", with a membership of over 4,000 local members.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Scotland are generally in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, which have evolved extensively over time and are now regarded as some of the most progressive in Europe. In both 2015 and 2016, Scotland was recognised as the "best country in Europe for LGBTI legal equality".
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Scotland since 16 December 2014. As family law is not reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Parliament has legislative competence to make changes to the law on marriage. A same-sex marriage law was approved by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014 and received royal assent on 12 March 2014. It came into effect on 16 December with many civil partners converting their relationships into marriages, while the first same-sex marriage ceremonies occurred on 31 December 2014. Civil partnerships for same-sex couples have been legal in Scotland since 2005.
Many views are held or have been expressed by religious organisation in relation to same-sex marriage. Arguments both in favor of and in opposition to same-sex marriage are often made on religious grounds and/or formulated in terms of religious doctrine. Although many of the world's religions are opposed to same-sex marriage, the number of religious denominations that are conducting same-sex marriages have been increasing since 2010. Religious views on same-sex marriage are closely related to religious views on homosexuality.
Scott Martin Rennie is a Scottish clergyman who is the Minister of Crown Court Church. He was formerly Minister of Brechin Cathedral from 1999 to 2009 and Queen's Cross Church, Aberdeen until 2022.
The ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender (LGBT) clergy who are open about their sexuality or gender identity; are sexually active if lesbian, gay, or bisexual; or are in committed same-sex relationships is a debated practice within some contemporary Christian denominations.
Metropolitan Community Church of New Orleans is an LGBT-affirmative church in New Orleans. It is a member of the Metropolitan Community Church denomination, and has not held a dedicated edifice for the majority of its history.
Church of Our Savior, MCC, is located at 2011 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, Florida. It is affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church, a Protestant denomination with special outreach to the LGBTQ community. Like other MCC churches, it celebrates the Eucharist once a week, and practices open communion, meaning that recipients need not be a member of it or any other church to participate.
The Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C. is a congregation of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), a Protestant Christian denomination catering to LGBT people, located in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1970 as the Community Church of Washington, D.C. (CCDC), the congregation led by Pastor Paul Breton joined the new MCC denomination in 1971 with help from local activist Frank Kameny.
