Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer + Tour 2 Stop 8

Stop 8: Park and Amity Street, St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church

The church located on Park Street at the corner of Amity Street was once a hub for the Gay and Lesbian community in Hartford. The church was built in 1900 for a working-class congregation. In 1975 the church congregation merged with the First United Methodist Church in 1975 and in 1979 the building was sold to the Templo Sion Pentecostal Church.

Around the corner on Amity Street.

Corba Lilly and Her Renegade Nuns

Saturday, Dec 1st, the Women ‘s Liberation center of Greater Hartford celebrated its first birthday. It has been a very successful year with much accomplished for the cause of Woman’s Liberation. The center has been a gathering place and rallying point for political action, legal counseling, self-defense classes, consciousness raising groups, lesbian rap sessions and other activities.

Some of the women at the Center saw a need for a place women could go to dance, talk, and drink without being hassled by straight men, and out of the atmosphere of the bars. We have had experiences in bars where men come in and eight see, make dirty remarks, and generally get obnoxious and oppressive. Since they are paying customers , the establishment is hesitant about throwing them out unless they do something very overt like physical contact. The music in most bars is so loud that you can’t hear yourself think, let alone talk with someone else. When I go out on the weekend I like to relax, be able to have a soft drink and talk to people, and dance. I don ‘ t like to be prodded to drink liquor and get blasted out of my mind, so that I’ll spend more money. A group of women sharing this feeling got together and created the “Cobra Lilly and Renegade Nuns Lounge” (this has been shortened to the Cobra Lilly Lounge) . Right now, it is open every Saturday night. If there is a need it will be open more often. The first night was also in celebration with the first anniversary of the Women’s Center. We had a spaghetti dinner with wine and a champagne raffle, followed by music and dancing. The turnout was very good, and many women expressed their approval and support for continuing the lounge on a regular basis. They showed their support by coming again and again. Cobra Lilly is al feminist lounge. It is open to women only, and all women, straight or gay, are welcome. The policy is to bring your own liquor, and set ups are sold for those who need them. Any type of folding chairs or tables, and decorations are needed and will be much appreciated. We are trying to offer an alternative for women, we believe to be badly needed in the Hartford area. If you feel it’s time for a change , then come on over: to the Women’s Center any Saturday night, We need your support in order to make the center a permanent place for women to come to. The Women’s Center is located at 11 Amity St ., Hartford, Ct.

The Primary message of MCC is to tell LGBT people that God loves them.

Metropolitan Community Church MCC

In the early 1970’s a group of men and women in Hartford wrote a letter to Reverend Larry Bernier, pastor of MCC Boston to inquire about starting a Metropolitan Community Church in Hartford and asking if someone from the Boston Church would come to Hartford to speak to the men and women of the Kalos Society, Hartford’s gay liberation group. Rev. Bernier came to Hartford and brought with him Jay Deacon who had recently completed  Gordon-Cromwell Seminary in Massachusetts. In August Jay Deacon returned to Hartford to begin building MCC Hartford. MCC was considerably different from other churches because of the diversity of its members generally LGBT people who had been alienated from their childhood churches. The primary message of MCC is to tell LGBT people that God indeed does love them. In 1973 the first service was held with several people met for worship at the Unitarian Meeting House.

In 1974 MCC moved into the former classrooms of St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church where for the first time it would have its own facility for the next three years on a full-time basis. The facility was used for worship services, rap groups, dances and dinners as the community continued to grow. In the spring of that year MCC was accepted into the membership of the Greater Hartford Council of Churches and the Gay Switchboard began to operate as a source of information and referral. Hundreds of calls were handled by volunteers every week.

In 1975 MCC hosted its first District Conference with delegates coming from Washington DC, Pittsburg, New York, and Boston and in the same year MCC received its charter as a church within UFMCC. That same year  Bob Marche begins Somewhere Coffee House at MCC. Somewhere was an alternative to the bar scene and a non-threatening first contact for Gay people just coming out. The coffee house featured discussions, board games, poetry readings, an array of goodies, herbal teas, coffee and Gay folk singers.

Rev. Jay Deacon was no stranger to fighting for social justice. He and others from MCC held a sit in outside city hall to protest the lack of housing for homeless people. In the fall  Jay Deacon appeared in a half hour television program where he helped educate Central Connecticut about MCC and homosexuality. A second TV show hosted by Brad Davis highlighted an MC service and a Holy Union.

1977: F. Jay Deacon, the pastor at Metropolitan Community Church car is torched in Hartford the day after the vote in Dade County Florida. F. Jay Deacon responds with a message blaming the vote and saying, “I am not surprised, for Save Our Children has now given license to the ugliest possibilities of the human heart.” He also called for the Lesbian and Gay community to come out, be ourselves and that we need each other. “We do not need these institutions and churches that cannot and will not affirm our rights and our humanity. We must build communities and institutions of our own.” He goes on to tell Mrs. Jimmy Carter who was on a world-wide Human Rights speaking tour to come home, “for your nation is unqualified to speak to the world of human rights and I am insulted that it should try.”

Rev. Jay Deacon remined at MCC until 1978 when he left the Hartford area to become pastor of Good Shepherd MCC in Chicago. July 14, 1978, Mayor Athanson proclaimed Jay Deacon Day in the city in honor of the word Rev. Deacon had done in the city.

On April 1,1979 Stephen Pieters was elected as MCC Hartford’s second pastor. He was selected to represent the gay community as a member of the Mayors Advisory Council and under his leadership MCC became a member of Hartford Center City Churches. Pieters became one of the spokespersons for Hartford’s gay community and was featured several times in the Harford Courant, The Hartford Advocate and on radio and TV. Pieters served as pastor until 1982. In 1983 MCC Hartford elected Rev. J.T. Atkinson. Other pastors serving the congregation were, Pat Leffler, Dave Jarvis, George Chein and his husband Julio Flores and today, Aaron Miller. All pastors have over the years been on the forefront of social justice issues involving not only the LGBTQI+ communities but other communities as well.

In 1983 MCC hosted Center City Churches at their regular meeting. Members attending were Christ Church Cathedral, St. Peters RC Church, Central Baptist Church, Iglesia Bautista Hispana, Church of the Good Shepherd, South Park Methodist, and Emanuel Lutheran Church.

10^th anniversary of MCC

MCC Hartford Prepares for 10th Anniversary By John Crowley The week of November 7 will be a busy one for the members and friends of the Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford, as they take part in the activities surrounding the meeting of the National Conference of Churches Governing Board which will be meeting in Hartford to decide whether or not the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches will be admitted into Its membership. But the week won’t be all work. At Café on Broad Street in Hartford. The show will begin at midnight. Nick’s will set up, so that food will be available. Sunday afternoon will feature Carol and the Burgandies, singing, comedy routine at 2 p.m. at the Warehouse II Cafe. In addition to the Burgandies, another top surprise comedy act will be featured. At 7:30-on Sunday evening, Rev. Jay Deacon. founder and pastor of MCC Hartford for seven years, will preach at the regular worship service. A special “review” of MCC Hartford’s history will be part of that service. It will be held at 118 Main Street, Hartford, in St Elizabeth’s Chapel. MCC will have a buffet table. Several entertainers have agreed to take part in the 10th Anniversary Celebration which coincides with the conference activities. The fun begins on Friday night. November 1, as Jim and Shelley perform at MCC’s “Somewhere Coffeehouse” at the Hill Center, 350 Farmington Avenue in Hartford Although the popular cabaret act will take place in the basement. where the coffeehouse regularly meets, the church will be using the entire building for its celebration. Wine. soft drinks, and light snacks will be served on the main floor.

MCC A brief History of the Church by William Bacon

Dear Friends: As the Tenth Anniversary of the Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford approaches, there are many things that we as a community need to consider. MCC Hartford has been part of the lives of scores of people In its ten-year history. People have come and they’ve gone, philosophies have changed, interest has peeked and waned. This has been a fact In MCC as in all organizations in the last few years. There were only a few people In the living room that housed our first service which was inspired by Rev. F. Jay Deacon back in November 1973. One of the first ministries MCC Hartford established In its early history was the Gay Switchboard, a service where Individuals could call for referrals and information. By the spring of 1974, MCC became a member of the Capitol Region Council of Churches. In May of 1975, the Hartford Church hosted Its first of three District Conferences and Its members had the opportunity to meet people from MCC’s In Boston, New York, Providence, Worcester, Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. At that conference, MCC Hartford received Its Charter. Rev. Jay Deacon left Hartford In 1978 and Rev. Stephen Pieters Joined us In 1979 and stayed until 1982.

In 1980, in response to the Cuban Refugee Crisis, the Hartford Congregation raised over $1,000 to assist in the effort to find homes for the refugees – one of the largest donations made nationally. In August of 1981 we moved to St. Elizabeth Chapel, at 118 Main Street in Hartford. Then last fall, MCC folk got out the scaffolding and painted the chapel – what a difference a coat of paint can make. In February of 1982, we became a member of Center City Churches, making our presence known within this community of churches. We are asking the community at large to join with us as a community, to think back on what MCC Hartford has been for you or your friends and to become a part of our celebration In November. MCC has made a tremendous Impact on this community. We are hoping for a reaffirmation of faith In this community. If you haven’t seen our chapel at 118 Main Street .. . please stop by or call the Gay Switch· board for more Information (522-5575). Our services are still at 7:30 pm on Sundays with Hymn sing at 7:15 pm. It would be nice to see some of the people that have shaped the history of this Church. Our Tenth Anniversary Service will be held November 13, 1983. Rev. Jay Deacon will be here. Won’t you? That week In November is very significant to us and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) as the Fellowship seeks to become part of the National Council of Churches whose national convention will be held at the Hartford Civic Center. It would be a very special event If UFMCC Is accepted as a member of this council. Sincerely, Warren Bacon Moderator of the Administrative Board Metroline 1983.

Metroline Advertisement for the 10^th anniversary of MCC.

30 Years of Worship and Celebration At MCC!

On evening of Saturday September 6th hundreds of people gathered in downtown Hartford at the Hilton to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Metropolitan Community Church in Hartford the Reverend Elder Troy Perry founder of MCC was the keynote speaker for the event. The Reverend Perry always believed the LGBT community should be able to worship God in all his glories without fear of harassment and discrimination it is through Perry’s visionary ministry that he has become an internationally recognized spiritual leader and one of the world’s leader activists for the civil rights of LGBT people. In addition to Perry a number of local organizations and individuals were honored at the celebration organizations included Love Makes a Family Project 100 State Representatives Art Feltman and Michael Lawlor. According to James Hall who wrote the article 30 Years of Worship and Celebration at MCC the past thirty years has seen a pilgrimages across the city of Hartford from the Unitarian meetinghouse to the former Methodist Church on Park Street to the old elite Saint Elizabeth covenant and then to the South Park Methodist Church then back to the Unitarian church. Then on to the Hartford Gay and Lesbian Community Center where MCC build their own chapel. With the closing of the Community Center the church moved to its present location The Church of the Good Shepard Parish House in the basement where they created a beautiful space for worship.

MCC had taken a leading role in the emergence of Hartford’s LGBT community prominently participating in Connecticut pride. The current pastor at the time of the 30th anniversary George Chen with his partner and assistant pastor for congregational life Julio Flores Metroline magazine owes its humble beginnings to MCC. Metroline was originally MCC news. Clyde Proch a Charter member of MCC had the following to say “God is at work in MCC Hartford we still have a long way to go God is alive and well living in the heads of MCC years. George did not shy away from being politically active. When Queers Without Borders held their Political Pride at the Federal Building George was there joining in.

“By the grace of God through the prayers and work of many we have come this far by faith May God guide us into an ever-greater future as we continue along the way calling God’s people to come home and to come out.”

NOTES:

(1) Corba Lilly and Her Renegade Nuns, The Connextion January/February 1974 Pg.7

Stop 10, 1841 Building on Broad Street will look at the years MCC had their chapel at the Project 100/ Community Center. Stop 6 also includes some information on MCC at 495 Farmington Ave.

The Pastors of MCC.

Rev. Jay Deacon in his own words:

MCC Boston sent me to Hartford to help found a new MCC congregation there.  When we tried to find a house of worship that would rent to us, guess what?  Only the Unitarian Meetinghouse in Hartford was up for it.  Okay, so you weren’t surprised.

These were exhilarating days, as both the city council and state legislature battled over our rights and dignity in the early 70s.  I wish I could describe a quite colorful confrontation with the Catholic Bishop of Hartford and the pastor of St.  Joseph Cathedral, but I have to tell you that in that incident, the Capital Region Conference of Churches, which had admitted us as a member, and its director Rev. George Wells, acted quite heroically, and we got lots of free space on the front page of the Courant and on local radio and TV news.

Then there were the “Blue Berets,” otherwise called “Faithful & True Roman Catholics,” who would gather monthly at the former World’s Fair grounds in Queens and listen to an address by the Virgin Mary.  Once she said she’d brought her son, but they couldn’t see him.  A basic civil rights ordinance had been introduced in the City Council, and it was time for the hearing.  The Blue Berets came in buses to the hearing, in their blue berets, and they got there early, so I was at the back of the line to testify.  They all addressed the Council, saying the usual appalling and astonishing things, and then it was my turn, and all I had to say was “I believe by now you see why this ordinance is so important.”  It passed.

My car had been firebombed; the story was in the next morning’s New York Times.  That afternoon I arrived late at a D.Min. class at The Hartford Seminary Foundation.  When I walked into the classroom, I was greeted with a warm hug from the professor, Doug Lewis.

I left Hartford and I went to a much bigger MCC in Chicago — in Lakeview, which we then called Boystown. These five years were just as exhilarating and challenging, and the old Chicago machine was being challenged by some gutsy reformers. It was while I was at Good Shepherd MCC that members began getting diagnosed with a strange new disease and dying.  I served on the institutional review board — really an ethics panel — for the gay clinic, Howard Brown Clinic, and we tried to grapple with the latest medical findings.

To read more about Rev. Jay Deacon go to HERE. It is Jay in his own words.  A few years back Jerimarie Liesegang and Richard Nelson interviewed Jay Deacon and Nick Carbone about the times in Hartford when the ordinance of which Jay refers to was trying to be passed. I am not sure what happened to the video after Jerimarie’s death.

Truly a remarkable person. Rev. Stephen Pieters.

Reverend Pieters was born and raised in Andover MA where his father chaired the mathematics department of Phillips Academy. Steven attended Phillips Andover in preparation for his theater studies at Northwestern University where he received his Bachelor of Science in speech in 1974. In 1976 he joined the Good Shepherd Parish Metropolitan Community Church in Chicago where he decided to pursue a calling to the professional ministry. He received his Master’s of Divinity degree from McCormick theological seminary in 1979 at which time he accepted a call as pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford CT.

In Hartford he served on the board of directors of the Hill Center INC and Center City Churches and on the Executive Committee of the Sexual Minorities Task Force of the Capital Region Conference of Churches. The Gay Switchboard for the region was kept in his home and he was interviewed in print media as well as on many TV and radio shows as one of the local gay activists.

In April 1982 Pieters began experiencing the first symptoms of what we now know as HIV infection but then was called GRID Gay Related Immunodeficiency. He resigned his position at Hartford and moved to Los Angeles where he experienced a series of illnesses including hepatitis cytomegalovirus, mononucleosis pneumonia that led to his diagnosis with  ARC: AIDS related complex. In April 1984 he was diagnosed with AIDS/Kaposi’s Sarcoma and stage four lympnopia and he was told by one health professional that he would not live to see 1985. There were no treatments available and as doctor Alexandria M Levine MD told him you’re in the church, it has more to offer at this point than we do in medicine she also challenged him to do everything you can to create the conditions for medication to work when we find something adding if 0.001% end up surviving aids then why not believe that you will be among that group? Not only did he live to see 1985 but during that year he became patient number one on the first antiviral drug trial to treat HIV he took Suramin for a total of 39 weeks within six weeks of the treatment with Suramin both cancers went into complete remission. Due to the toxic side effects the drug was discontinued for use against AIDS.

However Reverend Pieters continues to enjoy a complete remission of his cancers according to his physician. Reverend Pieters has served on boards of directors of AIDS project Los Angeles the aids interfaith council of Southern California the aids national interfaith network and the first Los Angeles city county aids task force and was failed director for the aids ministry of the universal fellowship of metropolitan Community Church from 1987 to 1997 he has written a series of articles for the journey magazine about his experience with aids which have been collected with other writings of reverend Peters in the book I’m still dancing. Reverend Peters was interviewed by Tammy Faye Baker and she had a complete turnaround in her faith and her outlook towards gay people. See an Interview with Rev. Pieters about his interview with Tammy Faye found HERE.

Pieters left his position with UFMCC AIDS Ministry in 1997 and returned to school at Antioch University Los Angeles to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology. He received his M.A. from Antioch in 2003, and now works as a psychotherapist at Alternatives, an LGBT drug and alcohol treatment center in Glendale, California.

In October 2019, examples of his work in AIDS Ministry and of his life as a person with HIV/AIDS were placed in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Included in that collection is his fairy wand.

Ministry at MCC and ministry to people with AIDS continued under the leadership of Rev. J. T. Atkinson.  God is Greater Than A.I.D.S. Rev. Atkinson was one of the founders of A.I.D.S Project Hartford.

AIDS Project Hartford. which started meeting in June 1985, was formed to begin meeting the needs of persons with AIDS. their families and friends. One of our intentions is to help educate the high-risk groups. particularly gay and bisexual males and intravenous drug users. Educational efforts also include reaching out to the general public with information that may help calm many of the fears and anxieties that are accompanying the AIDS crisis. A phone line has been established to answer questions and give referrals. The phone line is now staffed by volunteers on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

AIDS . PROJECT HARTFORD. From Bert Kissling After several meetings throughout the summer and fall, a group of  community members, including clergy health professionals, members of the Hartford Gay Health Collective, and other committed people have organized AIDS Project Hartford, a volunteer group dedicated to providing service, support, and advocacy for all people with AIDS, their spouses, families, and friends. The new organization is seeking help or referrals from any person and can be contacted by writing AIDS Project Hartford. One of the contact people was J.T. Atkinson. AIDS Project Hartford was going to offer counseling, education, assistance to persons with AIDS, and their family and friends.

It was noted at this time that life insurance companies sought to deny coverage to high-risk groups, companies fired or refused to employ PWA’s, and state institutions attempted to compile lists of names of individuals who had contracted the AIDS virus.

AIDS Project Hartford Meets:  from J. T Atkinson. APH Co-Chair. At its first Annual Meeting, AIDS Project Hartford passed its new By-laws and elected its first Steering Committee. APH will be made up of three working committees: the Steering Committee, the Outreach/Education Committee. and the Counseling/Support Committee. The Steering Committee is composed of: Co-Chairs Bob Jolin & J.T. Atkinson, Secretary Stu Flavell, Treasurer Stan Veysey and At-large members Ray Howell & Ed Dempsey. The co-chairs of the other committees (are yet) to be elected, the meeting schedule for APH has been established for each Wednesday evening. On the first and third Wednesdays, the Counseling/Support Committee meets in the Carriage House behind the Hill Center, 350Farmington Ave. at 7 pm. The Outreach/Education Committee meets the second Wednesday at 31 Woodland St also, at 7 pm, (and) the Steering Committee will meet the fourth Wednesday, also at 31 Woodland Street at 7 pm.

Getting the Word Out

In 1986 after focusing almost exclusively on homosexual men, Connecticut begins reaching out this month to its fastest-growing population of AIDS victims – users of intravenous drug. The five AIDS supports groups in the state have purchased 10,000 copies of a pamphlet showing addicts how to sterilize needles. Addicts, homosexuals and bisexuals are considered by health officials’ primary victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome. And, armed with a $190,000 Federal grant received two weeks ago, the state is preparing to work with methadone clinics to try to prevent the spread of AIDS among users of intravenous drug. Some people are considering visiting ”shooting galleries,” where addicts give themselves the narcotics. ”That’s a dangerous area, I don’t even know where they are. said the Rev. J. T. Atkinson, organizer of AIDS Project Hartford, which formed in December. ”But we need to find some way. ”We’re approaching it from a neutral, nonjudgmental stance. We’re saying, ‘If you’re going to do it, clean the needles.’ ”

A Dedication, To Keith Brown and BIG THANK YOU!

THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR LIVES FOR A CHANGE!

How could we not do it? This stop is dedicated to Keith Brown who lives just down the street and has for years. Keith has been at the forefront in getting the news out to the community via the radio show Gay Spirit. Every Thursday since 1983, WWWUH 91.3 rain or shine he has walked, biked, or gotten to WWUH on the University of Ct. campus to bring us news of the community. Keith holds the scripts of the Gay Spirit programs from June 1983 to the present day.  And he is still going strong. Keith has interviewed many queer singers, song writers, writers and other artists ranging from Allen Ginsberg to historian Jim Kemper, Jill Thompson, and other openly gay musicians. Part of his outreach to the community is letting listeners know what is happening in the community, events that are coming up and interviews with community people.  Keith began his career as a Gay rabble rouser in high school when he cut out and pinned to his shirt a red H. The red H stood for homosexual. He was one of the leaders in the Gay Liberation Front/Hartford and in the Kalos Society in the early movement in Hartford for our civil rights. Our community owes a great deal to Keith for bringing us the news. We all remember back in the day that getting the news out to the people was a revolutionary act, an act that was carried out by Keith Brown. Thank you, Keith, for all of these years.

Gay Spirit Radio was founded in 1980 by Rob Meeham and the first show was broadcasted on Thanksgiving Day 1980. A week later Meeham was joined by Keith Brown who has been with the show ever since. Meehan did musical segments. Brown did the news. A few weeks later, they were joined by local lesbian activists, forming the Gay Spirit Radio Collective. After a few years working as a collective, Meehan and the activists moved on to other projects. A movie about Keith Brown was featured at the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Hartford Ct.