IN THE NEWS!
featured in sarasota magazine
March 1, 2023
With Arms Wide Open
Sarasota churches offer sanctuary and hope to LGBTQ Christians.
BY HANNAH WALLACE
WHAT DOES QUEER CHRISTIANITY LOOK LIKE IN SARASOTA?
We recently spoke to leaders of five local LGBTQ-affirming churches to learn about their histories, their congregations, and the ways they're maintaining hope amid anti-LGBTQ bigotry and political assaults.
What we found was a wealth of compassionate, socially active congregations from a variety of denominations that go well beyond boilerplate promises of acceptance.
Rev. Lillie Brock Church of the Trinity 7225 Lockwood Ridge Road, Sarasota, (941) 355-0847
Denomination The Metropolitan Community Church was founded in 1968 in Los Angeles by tormented Pentecostal pastor Troy Perry, who had been ousted by his congregation for being gay. "He heard God say to him, 'Troy, get out of that bed and go tell my lesbian and gay children that I do not have stepchildren,"" says Brock. "The very first Sunday, he opened the communion table to anyone."
Services "We are non-doctrinal, says Brock. "We do not have a set of contracts that we ask people to sign onto in order to be part of the church. In the season of Advent, we do very traditional things. I wear my vestments. But we switch that up all the time.
Outreach Multiple programs and partnerships support local teacher wish lists. Black-owned businesses, anti-racism initiatives, and children with AIDS in Africa, in addition to LGBTQ support and legislative efforts.
"Perry said this church is going to be about Christian community and Christian social action," says Brock. "He was a huge activist, so that's been central to us from the very beginning. And Jesus was perhaps the biggest activist. Jesus relates to social justice.
The Trans Memorial Garden Last year, Church of the Trinity dedicated a trans memorial garden on its property. The project was inspired by a similar memorial erected in 2015 at a church in St. Louis "When I moved here, I realized that this is a place where issues surrounding queer people in general, but trans people in particular, can get swept under the carpet very easily," says Brock. "In St. Louis the garden was where we could gather whenever anything happened that was challenging to the queer community. We make sure that trans people who are killed are not forgotten."
38 MARCH I APRIL 2023 SARASOTA MAGAZINE
EMPOWERING VOICES 11/29/2022
Open hearts and safe spaces for LGBTQ people at ALSO Youth, Trinity Church MCC
PROJECT PRIDE VIGIL FOR CLUB Q
IN DOWNTOWN SARASOTA
Project Pride and the Sarasota community came together on Saturday night to send our love to Club Q and the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado…
ABC7 Empowering voices
Rev. Lillie was interviewed for a longer period of time about the "Don't Say Gay" bill (15 minutes) and that interview aired on Saturday (05/21/22) at 10am on ABC, channel 7 if you are interested in watching it, click the link below.
EMPOWERING VOICES: MAY 17, 2022 at 7PM
This last Tuesday night, Rev. Lillie was interviewed on ABC 7 News by Renee Gilmore about the "Don't Say Gay" bill. The interview was 5 minutes long and was broadcast live. The video of the interview is below.
Rev. Lillie was also interviewed for a longer period of time about the "Don't Say Gay" bill (15 minutes) and that interview will air THIS Saturday (05/21) at 10am on ABC, channel 7 if you are interested in watching it!
This broadcast was about white supremacy and anti-Semitism and Renée asked Rev. Lillie to be prepared to speak about how Christian values and Biblical scriptures have often been used to support white supremacy and anti-Semitism.
Click HERE to see Rev. Lillie's interview from Tuesday, June 30 on "Empowering Voices" with Renee Gilmore ABC Action News Channel 7 Sarasota. (Time marker starts at 38:50 & ends at 51:50)
Our Prayer Tie Bonfire and Vigil was a blessed gathering on our beautiful property. Between those who gathered around the fire and those in their cars listening by FM radio, we had an incredible turnout. We were also blessed to have many media outlets with us and you can see their coverage below.
ABC 7 WWSB, Sarasota (Marker 2:45-4:16)
ABC 7 WWSB, Sarasota (Marker 3:40-5:05)
IN THE NEWS!
Read the wonderful write up on our church and World AIDS Day in the latest issue of the Herald-Tribune!