05/27/2014
SPIRIT Blog
MCC is Such A Drag!
When I first decided to follow my calling to ordination as an out gay man, I took the first year of seminary to decide where I wanted to do my ministry. Did I want to stay with the Episcopal Church that I was presently working with as a worship leader and continue to fight for inclusion, knowing that my application for ordination would likely be rejected at that time – or was my calling to find a place where I could freely practice a professional calling to life affirming ministry with other people passionate about the inclusive vision of the
gospel? After much soul-searching and discernment, I decided on the latter.
This was absolutely the right choice for me. In MCC, I have found a worldwide movement with a vision that offers me as much space as I need to be a pastor with integrity, growing personally as love calls me deeper
and deeper into the journey of diverse lives and the struggle for a truly equitable world.
And there is a constant factor most anywhere that I have pastored, and that is the generosity of drag performance artists to our faith communities. Time and again, the drag performance community rises to the challenge of helping us raise much needed funds to support our local churches and charitable ventures. In the New Testament, we get several glimpses of a group of formidable women who funded the ministry of Jesus and Gang with their talents and resources. They seem to be a fierce group of Earth-Angels without whom this movement would not have been possible to sustain. Likewise, I believe the drag performers throughout the world who give support to our communities are our very own Earth-Angels, albeit pretty fabulous
and fun angels.
God bless our Drag Angels, and I want to invite each one of you to buy tickets and bring friends to our
upcoming 8th Annual Drag Show to benefit MCC Tampa: “Viva La Divas!” – a Tiffani Middlesexx Production on June 14th. We will have the opportunity then to enjoy the very best of the best in drag performance while supporting the life-giving calling of our community which remains vital and unfinished in our city and world.
Perfectly MCC!
Glad you’re there,
Rev. Pressley
SPIRIT Blog
MCC is Such A Drag!
When I first decided to follow my calling to ordination as an out gay man, I took the first year of seminary to decide where I wanted to do my ministry. Did I want to stay with the Episcopal Church that I was presently working with as a worship leader and continue to fight for inclusion, knowing that my application for ordination would likely be rejected at that time – or was my calling to find a place where I could freely practice a professional calling to life affirming ministry with other people passionate about the inclusive vision of the
gospel? After much soul-searching and discernment, I decided on the latter.
This was absolutely the right choice for me. In MCC, I have found a worldwide movement with a vision that offers me as much space as I need to be a pastor with integrity, growing personally as love calls me deeper
and deeper into the journey of diverse lives and the struggle for a truly equitable world.
And there is a constant factor most anywhere that I have pastored, and that is the generosity of drag performance artists to our faith communities. Time and again, the drag performance community rises to the challenge of helping us raise much needed funds to support our local churches and charitable ventures. In the New Testament, we get several glimpses of a group of formidable women who funded the ministry of Jesus and Gang with their talents and resources. They seem to be a fierce group of Earth-Angels without whom this movement would not have been possible to sustain. Likewise, I believe the drag performers throughout the world who give support to our communities are our very own Earth-Angels, albeit pretty fabulous
and fun angels.
God bless our Drag Angels, and I want to invite each one of you to buy tickets and bring friends to our
upcoming 8th Annual Drag Show to benefit MCC Tampa: “Viva La Divas!” – a Tiffani Middlesexx Production on June 14th. We will have the opportunity then to enjoy the very best of the best in drag performance while supporting the life-giving calling of our community which remains vital and unfinished in our city and world.
Perfectly MCC!
Glad you’re there,
Rev. Pressley