They say everything is bigger in Texas, but the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas makes a Texas-sized claim that few would expect in the conservative Bible Belt state - it says it's the world's biggest gay church. "I think this shows that God has a tremendously great sense of humor," said senior pastor and rector Jo Hudson. On a more serious note, she says the church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, is a spiritual refuge for gay people of faith in a region associated with more conservative brands of Christianity. "Because we are in the Bible Belt we have a lot of people of tremendous faith," she says, “but a lot of them have been alienated and rejected by their faith community, which is fundamentalist, so they hanker for a place where they can encounter God.” Gays and the church are no small matter in America. Many of the country's 60 million evangelicals view homosexuality as a sinful lifestyle choice - a stance that angers gay activists who say their sexual orientation is not a choice. The Episcopalian church - the American wing of the Anglican Communion - is sharply split on the matter of gay clergy, while the Republican Party has used state ballot initiatives banning gay marriage to get its supporters out to the polls. Hudson estimates that over 90% of the Cathedral's 3,500 members are gay, lesbian or transgender. Founded in 1970 by a dozen gays and lesbians who gathered in a home and decided they wanted a safe and tolerant place to worship, it has grown into a large and affluent institution centered on a cavernous church that can seat up to 900. Members of the congregation said that while the church was a place of spiritual comfort for gays, its focus was on ministering to the wider community, especially the poor. "We don't talk much about gay stuff here," said Coy James, who has been attending the church for almost 30 years. "We give over $1 million each year in aid and services to the poorest of the poor and we have adopted elementary schools in low-income areas and helped them with tutoring and other things," he said after the service. Ref: Reuters (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 21st March 2007 - 12:00pm