15.2000
news
WANTED!
C hurch and S tates
Portland congregation plays host to district conference
by Jon ath an Kipp
BRO TH ER
eaverton’s Greenwood
Inn will serve as a sort
of “spiritual
hub”
when delegates from
eight Western states
converge on the hotel for “Lift
Every Voice: A Pentecost for the
New Millennium.” Metropolitan
Community Church of Portland
members will serve as hosts for the
Northwest District Conference
2000 from Oct. 7 to 9.
The biannual event is expect­
ed to attract almost 200 visitors
from the region and special guests
from around North America. The
three-day meeting also will
include events in Portland-area
churches.
Metropolitan
Community
Church is the largest church serving
the gay and lesbian community in
the world. Founded in Los Angeles
by the Rev. Elder Troy Perry in
1968, the church has more than
44,000 members in 300 congrega­
tions in 16 countries.
M etropolitan
Community
Church o f Portland membership Christian
has climbed rapidly during the
past six years— from 55 in 1994 to almost 300
parishioners. Many consider the Rev. Roy
Cole, who arrived in 1994, to be the catalyst
behind the growth.
Dave Dishman, onsite coordinator of the
event, says sponsoring a district conference is
a lot of fun and a kind of perk for the commu­
nity. “Everyone comes to town, and you get to
show off,” he says about the payoff for all of
the hard work.
After a failed 1996 application, Portland
successfully bid two years ago to play host to
the conference, Dishman says.
Critically acclaimed best-selling author
Christian de la Huerta will be a featured speak­
er at the conference. He founded Q-Spirit, an
international network of gays and lesbians inter­
ested in personal growth and spirituality, and
went on to write Coming Out Spiritually: The
Next Step.
The book provides an outlook of gay spiri­
tuality and provides recommendations on
how gay readers can assert their spirituality.
Publisher’s Weekly, an international news­
magazine on book publishing and book sell­
ing, chose de la Huerta’s work as one of the 10
best in 1999.
The Rev. Arlene Ackerman, a former
assistant pastor at Metropolitan Community
Church of Portland, will be a special guest
and speaker at the conference. The Rev. Elder
Don Eastman and the Rev. Brent Hawks also
will address the delegates.
Portland’s Chuck Harvey has planned most
of the district conferences since 1990. He
coordinates the Northwest district of the Uni­
versal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches.
Harvey says the Northwest district member­
ship has increased in recent years, now exceed­
ing 3,000 active members. He says the growth
rate— averaging 4 percent to 6 percent a year
internationally— mirrors that of the Mormon
Church.
Although district conferences are held pri­
marily to conduct church business— holding
2
B R O TH ER
AFRICAN AMERICAN
HEALTH COALITION, INC.
W ANTED!
A FR IC A N A M ER ICA N
C A Y A N D BISEX U A L
MEN!
For more information or to register for the
N orthwest D istrict C onference 2000,
visit the Internet site wuw.mccportland.com or
send e-mail to chucknwdl@aol.com. For addi­
tional information about the Universal Fellow­
ship of Metropolitan Community Churches, visit
the Internet site www.ufmcc.com.
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Sponsored by the African American
Health Coalition, Inc.
de la Huerta
elections, approving budgets and making
changes to bylaws— the gathering can serve as
a method to attract new members as well.
“Invariably, it depends on the caliber of guest
speakers,” Harvey explains.
De la Huerta is well-known in church and
spiritual circles, so organizers are hopeful he will
attract newcomers. He can be heard on
gaybc.com, where he is the host of Spiritwave, a
weekly Internet radio program.
The church has a lot to offer gay and les­
bian people, Harvey says. “People feel like they
are home.”
The church preaches a message of uncondi­
tional love, and parishioners are allowed to
map out their own spiritual journey with God,
Harvey says. “There are no hard-core theolo­
gies,” he adds.
Harvey says that the church believes in the
sacraments of Christianity but that it allows
parishioners to make peace with God in their
own way.
Dishman says the conference’s title— “Lift
Every Voice,” named after a Christian
hymn— has special meaning. "In my mind, it
means: ‘Let’s hear from everyone. Everyone is
welcome.’ ”
The conference requires attendees to reg­
ister, but some events will be open to the gen­
eral public.
“Voices of Justice: Justice of Faith" is open
to the community 7:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at First
Congregational Church, 1126 S.W. Park
Ave. in downtown Portland. Musical guests
will include the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus,
and a reception will follow. j n
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