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The Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco was
founded in 1970 by Rev. Howard Wells with prayer meetings held
in the "upper room" at Jackson's Bar & Grill in North Beach. In
1979, the congregation purchased the building on Eureka Street;
it is one of the few properties in San Francisco actually owned
outright by a LGBT community organization. Our congregation is
affiliated with the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches (UFMCC), the largest grassroots organization of LGBT people
in the world. Metropolitan Community Church is the second-oldest
LGBT congregation in the United States.
We are a progressive church, influenced by liberation, inclusive,
and feminist as well as traditional theologies. Our congregation
of more than 550 members is a rich diversity of various Christian
and non-Christian traditions sharing respect and great value for
every individual's spiritual journey. For many, this is a reconciliation
of religion and spirituality whether it be over issues of sexuality
and denominational doctrine or intellectual freedom. It may be
an awakening of spirituality for the first time, or renewal following
year's of spiritual dormancy after coming out.
We primarily serve the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community; however, our services, programs and membership are open
to all. One way we express this commitment is through the use of
inclusive language. Our church hymnal, scripture lessons, and communal
prayers use non-gender-biased language and talk about people and
God to express the diversity of who we are and who God is.
As a commitment to the community we serve, our building is open
as a community center --providing much-needed meeting space within
the Castro District of San Francisco. Nearly 1,000 people use our
facilities each week representing more than 25 organizations and
different groups including meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics
Anonymous, Weight Watchers, and many others.
MCC San Francisco has also been a learning community for generations
of the MCC clergy. In partnership with the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley, and in particular through a close association
with Pacific School of Religion, MCCSF has been home to seminarians
and interns who now serve our denomination as pastors, chaplains
and ministers.
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