Albuquerque churches pave the way for more LGBTQ+ acceptance
It's one story like many others in the LGBTQ+ community.
"I knew I couldn't change being gay and I couldn't be Christian, so I left the church and I stayed away for many years," Paul Anway, spiritual leader at Metropolitan Community Church of Albuquerque, said.
Sign up for our NewslettersMCC was one of the first to provide a Christian-based sanctuary for LGBTQ+ people in the '60s when it was founded.
"A place was needed for LGBTQ+ people to be themselves and to reconcile their spirituality and their sexuality," Anway said. It's known as a place of inclusiveness and acceptance.
"Everyone here is on their own spiritual journey, and we try to journey together and to learn from each and grow with each other, but most of all, to love each other like a family," Anway said.
St. Michael's and All Angels Episcopal Church, founded in the '50s, has created that same space for those who are renewing their faith. "Sadly, one of the primary sources of exclusion the LGBTQ+ people experience is the church, is religion, and it's one of the driving factors of why they become alienated from their family's origin," the Rev. Mike Angel said.
In many religious settings, being gay or trans is frowned upon, but Angel said he officiates at new name ceremonies for trans people at his church. "As we all reflect together that God doesn't make mistakes, that God really does create people across the gender spectrum, and to see someone feel that deep love and affirmation is just a beautiful thing to get to do as a priest," he said.
Even before same-sex marriage was legalized in 2015, he and Anway were blessing and advocating for same-sex marriages on church grounds. "They were called holy unions. They weren't legal, but we married many people at MCC," Anway said.
"This has been a space where the LGBTQ+ community has gathered to work for change, like marriage equality," Angel said.
They said there are still some challenges to overcome in the church, like healing generations of trauma.
"I am so sorry that the church has not been a source of love and affirmation," Angel said, addressing individuals who have been shunned or kicked out of their church or family for their sexuality or gender identity.
"There would be a process of taking those old tapes apart, that old negative way of thinking, and rebuilding their faith in a more open, inclusive, loving way," Anway said.
Other sanctuaries are becoming part of that change, too. Mesa View United Methodist is welcoming everyone with pride and spreading the love of God in its teachings.
"There should never be anyone excluded from the body of Christ," Amy, a pastor, said. "Let us show you another face of God, let us show you something better, and let us give you a better quality of life that we're all searching for."
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