Rev. Troy Perry to Speak
Founder of the Metropolitan Community Church

Thurs., February 1
11:30 a.m. | Butler Building, Room 201

Email for more information

Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the predominantly-gay Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), is scheduled to speak at Claremont School of Theology this week. The event is organized by the "Alphabet Soup Group," Claremont's GLBTIQQA Student Group, which addresses issues of faith and sexuality.

Rev. Perry has watched the membership of the MCC grow from 12 people in 1968 to over 43,000, and he has guided MCC's growth into one of the world's largest LGBT organizations. The MCC was the first church to recognize the need to minister to the needs of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons throughout the world. It is through that ministry that Perry has become a leading activist for gay and lesbian rights.

Rev. Perry was the first openly gay person to serve on the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. In 1978 he was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter with its Humanitarian Award. He holds honorary doctorates from Episcopal Divinity School (Boston), Samaritan College (Los Angeles), and Sierra University (Santa Monica, California),and was honored by the Gay Press Association with its Humanitarian Award.

Rev. Perry also was invited to the White House in 1977 by the administration of President Jimmy Carter to discuss gay and lesbian civil rights, and was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton as an official delegate to White House Conference on Hate Crimes and the White House Conference on AIDS.

Rev. Perry has been an international leader in the quest for marriage equality for gays and lesbians. In 1969, he performed the first public same-sex wedding in the U.S., and in 1970 he filed the first-ever lawsuit seeking legal recognition for same-gender marriages.

In 2005, Rev. Perry retired as Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches. In his retirement, he maintains an active speaking schedule, lecturing on the history of the gay rights movement, HIV issues, and marriage equality. He also regularly preaches in both MCC congregations and other faith communities.