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REVEREND Greg Smith, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Sydney, was bribed into going to his first MCC service back in the 80s by a friend who was then a deacon at the church. Smith had asked his friend to accompany him to a show, but his friend wanted something in return.

鈥淭he deal was if he did what I wanted then I鈥檇 go to church with him,鈥� Smith recalled.

[showads聽ad=MREC]鈥淚 must be honest, I suppose I fancied him at the time. That helped it. We did end up having a relationship.鈥�

He eventually agreed, and went along with his friend: 鈥淚 walked in that night and it was absolutely no doubt that I was where I needed to be 鈥� it was that immediate.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 Smith鈥檚 first time in a church. He鈥檇 been raised Methodist, but coming out when he did in the 70s, he said the choice was between gay or being Christian. He didn鈥檛 think he could be both.

Smith鈥檚 story was a common one for many who came to the MCC in its early days. An international denomination now in 37 countries around the world, the church was founded in California in 1968 by gay and lesbian Christians excluded from mainstream churches. Both the Brisbane and Sydney congregations began in 1975, about a year after the MCC was established in Melbourne. Internationally, the MCC has since expanded its purpose to include anyone who doesn鈥檛 feel comfortable in an established church.

鈥淓ven though people have been hurt by the church or have left the church, there鈥檚 something in the back of our minds that鈥檚 always there,鈥� Smith said.

鈥淲hether we get bribed into going or for whatever reason you find yourself back in that Christian environment, it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 bound to happen, I think.鈥�

MCC Sydney celebrated its 40th anniversary over a weekend in July, and Smith said the congregation was taking it as an opportunity to reflect on the church鈥檚 past, as well as its future.

鈥淗ow do we become a church of the 21st century?鈥� he asked.

鈥淗ow do we reach out to our new, young gay and lesbian people, in particular, who are searching for that meaning in life?鈥�

MCC Sydney has seen its fair share of change over the years. In 1992 a disagreement within the congregation over the different approaches of two separate pastors led to a split in the church 鈥� half the congregation left, following one of the two pastors to form MCC Good Shepherd in western Sydney. Perhaps less dramatic has been the establishment of two weekly services: a more traditional service with hymns and a liturgy takes place on a Sunday morning, while on a Sunday evening the church holds a contemporary, more informal service.

As one of its longest-attending congregants, Peter Webster鈥檚 own past is entwined with that of MCC Sydney. Like Smith, Webster had been brought up Christian, and when he came out in his late teens he was asked to leave his church. After eight years away from any church, he came to MCC Sydney in 1983. Webster met his partner through the church (at an international conference in Miami) and has rarely missed a service since he started attending.

鈥淓ven though it鈥檚 such a long time since I started going, it鈥檚 my family as well,鈥� he said.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e the people that matter in my life.鈥�

Webster is in a better position than most to reflect on how things have changed, and particularly what is different about the kinds of young people now coming into the church.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e finding now with our younger people, people under 30, a higher proportion of those are what we call 鈥榰nchurched鈥�,鈥� he said.

鈥淭hey鈥檝e never been associated with any church in their lives, they鈥檙e just people who are being invited along to church by people who are currently members. So this is kind of new for us here in Sydney.鈥�

Where people like Webster and Smith came to MCC Sydney as a place to express their faith after being rejected by mainstream churches, Webster wondered why someone who hadn鈥檛 had that experience might end up there.

鈥淚 think they鈥檙e looking for something that gives them an idea of how they should act, what they should be,鈥� he said.

鈥淚鈥檓 58 years old. I grew up in the 70s and the 80s and it was just an amazing time. But these young guys… not really a sense of community. When I was their age I had a gay dentist, I had a gay doctor, I had a gay accountant for my taxes 鈥� everything was gay.

鈥淲ith HIV/AIDS that all fell apart, and so the community today, the gay kids today, don鈥檛 have that type of gay community. I wonder whether organisations like MCC do provide that sense of community.鈥�

Looking from 40 years of history to what comes next, some perhaps feel the future of the church lies with congregants like Edwina James, a 23-year-old, heterosexual costume designer. James grew up in a mainstream Christian church, and as she got older, became disillusioned with her church鈥檚 conservative values.

鈥淚 had a big shift in thinking and was like, maybe we should be focusing more on loving everyone instead of just fear and judgement,鈥� she said.

James found MCC Sydney by rather more modern means: she Googled 鈥減rogressive churches in Sydney鈥�.

鈥淚t was, for me, what church was meant to be all about 鈥� really solid community, where everyone is really authentic and honest with each other and there鈥檚 no bullshit,鈥� she said.

鈥淚t felt like home straight away.鈥�

James knew from the outset MCC had its origins in the gay community, and while she understands the importance of that history, she argued the church鈥檚 defining feature is its inclusiveness, no matter the ways it might continue to change over the next 40 years.

鈥淟ittle things might change… music we鈥檒l sing might be different, or services will look different, the people might change, but it seems like it鈥檚 just built on this really solid heart, this inclusive, accepting, loving soul of the community there,鈥� she said.

鈥淪o as long as that doesn鈥檛 change, everything else is kind of superfluous, I suppose.鈥�

Thinking about the 40th anniversary, some at MCC Sydney mentioned reporters from mainstream media occasionally approaching the church about a story, and the line is often the same, and the same as it is for any number of LGBTI community institutions facing uncertainty and change. They ask: as LGBTI people become more accepted in heterosexual society, why should places like MCC Sydney continue to exist?

鈥淚n MCC Sydney, my partner and I take communion,鈥� Webster said.

鈥淲e go down there together. We hold hands. We give each other the bread and the wine. We kiss. Then we go for prayer with the pastor… then at the end of that we kiss again.

鈥淲e could go to a gay-friendly church, and there鈥檚 a number of them, and we can take communion. We can鈥檛 do it together. We can鈥檛 kiss. We can鈥檛 hold hands. No matter how open and affirming, and that鈥檚 the official term, 鈥榓ffirming鈥�, churches are, there are limits.鈥�

Webster told the story of a woman who came along to an MCC Sydney service after her son had died of an AIDS-defining illness.

鈥淲e were talking one day at a social event and she said, 鈥榳hy is there such an emphasis on gay gay gay? Why can鈥檛 you just be a church?鈥欌�� he recounted.

鈥淚 said, 鈥榶ou can go to any church you want and you鈥檒l be accepted with open arms. We can鈥檛. And we have people who are damaged, that are damaged by other churches. And we need to let those people know, it鈥檚 okay to be gay. God loves you. It doesn鈥檛 matter鈥�.

鈥淪he left not long after that… but she just couldn鈥檛 get a grip on the reality of what it was like to be a gay person, and a gay Christian.鈥�

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**This article was first published in the August聽edition of the Star Observer, which is . To obtain a physical copy, to find out where you can grab one in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.

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