Badpuppy Gay Today

Thursday, 24 April 1997

World-scale success must have often seemed, during the tumultuous years since the church was born in 1968, nearly miraculous to the Reverend Troy Perry, founder of one of the world's fastest growing Christian denominations, The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. The Reverend Perry is a recipient of awards from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Human Rights Campaign, and the Gay Press Association. He has worked without cease to assure that his vision of a gay-friendly Christianity takes root in faraway lands.

The Rev. Perry continues to evolve as a legendary figure whose faith took organized form in the Stonewall era. In 1971, Rosylyn Regalson, the nation's first gay studies instructor at Yale and at New York University, prophecied, after observing Troy Perry in action, that his organization would undoubtedly outlast all other major gay and lesbian civil rights organizations in that day.

Perry is a whirlwind of Americana incarnate, a charismatic, committed Christian leader straight out of deep south environs. He is known for passionate use of oratory and has long steered a sturdy course, so that now, barely three decades after having initial realizations that united his sexuality and his faith, this gay-friendly Christian cause he has ignited has spread with lightening speed. Growing, active congregations he's helped create, represent 19 different nations, making U.F.M.C.C. the largest and the oldest Christian community with a primary ministry to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered. It will host the biggest international gay and lesbian religious conference ever in the Pacific Rim, in Sydney, Australia, July 20-25, 1997.

The more than 300 U.F.M.C.C.. churches, with a combined budget, in excess of $10 million, comprise the largest predominantly gay and lesbian organization in the world. The gathering will be the denomination's General Conference XVIII.

"This is the first of U.F.M.C.C.'s biennial General Conferences to be held outside of North America, and reflects our growing commitment as a truly international community of faith," said Perry. He founded U.F.M.C.C. primarily, he says, to build safe, affirming places of spirituality for the gay community.

According to Perry, there has already been a strong registration response from Sydney-bound pilgrims, the highest in the denomination's history, as of March 1.

General Conference XVIII will feature a public rally at Sydney's historic town hall, including keynote addresses by internationally renowned human rights advocates, an international AIDS luncheon, theological presentations, as well as business and planning sessions. For gay and lesbian Christian tourists the church has compiled an extensive list of social/sightseeing options.

Workshops and seminars will explore gay sexuality, spirituality, activism, gay parenting, outreach to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender communities, addressing the faith concerns of the gay community, AIDS ministry in a new era, and the use of technology on behalf of gay spirituality.

The international theme of U.F.M.C.C.'s General Conference XVIII is taken from the words of Christ, "You are the Light of the World."

Extensive information on this year's conference is available through U.F.M.C.C.'s website at http://www.ufmcc.com.