St. John's Metropolitan Community Church

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St. John's Metropolitan Community Church is a LGBT-welcoming church located on South Glenwood Avenue in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, US. St. John's is affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), a liberal mainline denomination that caters to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. St. John's is also affiliated with the North Carolina Council of Churches and the Raleigh Religious Network for Lesbian and Gay Equality (RRNLGE). The current pastor of St. John's is Belva Y. Boone.^[1]^[2]

St. John's was founded by Willie White and his partner Robert Pace in February 1976. In June of that year, members of St. John's voted to affiliate with the MCC denomination. The following year St. John's members began holding church services at the Community United Church of Christ and continued to use the facility for 17 years.^[2] In 1981 White became the faculty advisor for the Gay and Lesbian Christian Alliance (GLCA) at North Carolina State University, now part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Services organization.^[3]^[4]

The second pastor of St. John's was June Norris, the first heterosexual woman to be ordained by the MCC. Norris served the church from 1981 to 1988, participating in NC Pride and testifying before the Raleigh City Council in regards to nondiscrimination clauses. The third pastor, Wayne Lindsey, led St. John's purchase of the current church building on South Glenwood. During this time, the church became active with the RRNLGE and joined the North Carolina chapter of the Council of Churches.^[2] Lindsey, who pastored from 1988 to 2001, was an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights in North Carolina.^[5] In July 2001, Belva Y. Boone became the first African-American pastor of St. John's. The church is involved with local LGBT events, such as NC Pride, Drag Bingo, and AIDS awareness.^[6] ^[1]