The Brazilian church that
welcomes gay believers into the fold
LGBT worshippers find spiritual home
in a country where evangelicals are increasingly outspoken in their
homophobia
Pastor
Marcos Lord, who is also the drag queen Luandha Perón, in the Metropolitan
community church in Rio. Photograph: Antonio Franco
From the outside,
there is little to distinguish the Metropolitan community church from the many
other evangelical houses of worship in Rio’s Zona Norte. But as Marcos Lord
prepares for an evening sermon, it soon becomes clear that this church is not
like the others.
It
takes the pastor about an hour to prepare for the pulpit: donning false
eyelashes, a wig and a pair of vertiginous heels to transform himself into the
drag queen Luandha Perón. In a country where evangelical Christians have become
increasingly influential – and outspoken in their homophobia – the church
provides a space for gay, bisexual and transsexual believers.
The Gnostic Gospels
The Gospel According to Thomas
And He said: "Whoever finds the explanation of these words
will not taste death..."
Chapter 8
8:1
Jesus said: From Adam until John the Baptist there is among those who are born
of women none higher than John the Baptist, so that his eyes will not be
broken.
8:2
But I have said that whoever among you becomes as a child (with child-like
faith and humility) shall know the Kingdom, and he shall become higher than
John.
8:3
Jesus said: It is impossible for a man to mount two horses and to stretch two
bows, and it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters, otherwise he
will honour the one and offend the other
\
(you cannot serve God
and mammon [materialism]).
8:4
No man drinks old wine (indulges his human 'Self') and immediately desires to drink new wine (feed his spirit-Being);
and they do not put new wine
(Spiritual Truth) into old wineskins (someone who clings to the doctrine of the churches
and the belief that he's only human), lest they burst, and they do not put old
wine (human worldly lusts
and pleasures) into a new
wineskin (one who is born again as his spirit-Being - John 3:3-9), lest it
spoil it.
8:5 They do not sew an old
patch on a new garment, because there would come a tear (you cannot mix human 'Self'-ishness and worldly pleasures with
Spiritual unselfishness, Truth and Enlightenment).
This evening,
Luandha is hosting a recital of lesbian poetry. “This story isn’t erotic enough
for my liking,” she jokes with the congregation, before reading a touching poem
that one member has written about the first time she met her partner. Watching
this confident character command an audience, it is hard to imagine that Lord
once believed he was possessed by demons, and felt unable to come out until he
was 26.
At 19, he fell in
love with a fellow member of his church who described himself as an “ex-gay”,
believing that his faith had cured him. The episode caused family tensions and
Lord stayed away from religion for many years until he discovered the
Metropolitan community church.
“At first, I
resisted it. I didn’t want a church just for gays; it should be everyone,” he
says. “But it seemed normal to me, there was a traditional service. No drag
queens in those days!”
Now a pastor for
the church, Marcos gives services and takes part in gay pride marches as
Luandha. A teacher by day, Lord says the character of Luandha, who is more
outspoken and forthright than he can be, waits “like a genie in a bottle” for
her turn to appear.
There
are 14 Metropolitan community churches across Brazil, each with about 70 members. The church was started in Los Angeles in 1968
by the Reverend Troy Perry, specifically for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender Christians.
The gay rights
movement in Brazil has not always been supportive, seeing religion and gay
rights as mutually exclusive, while evangelical Christians with influence in
public life have frequently used their religion to campaign against laws such
as the proposed criminalisation of homophobia in Brazil.
Pastor Marcos Lord prepares his
drag queen persona Luanda Péron at Bethel metropolitan church in Rio.
Photograph: Antonio Franco
Presidential
candidate Marina Silva, a Pentecostal evangelist, was forced to backtrack on
proposals for same-sex marriage, despite being viewed by many as a liberal,
progressive figure.
Since she became
candidate after the death in a plane crash of Eduardo Campos, religion and
issues such as gay rights have been put centre stage.
A homophobic rant
by fringe candidate Levy Fidelix this week overshadowed a TV election debate and caused a storm on social networks in
Brazil.
“Fundamentalists
say the Bible says homosexuality is a sin, but the same text says children who
defy their parents should be killed,” says Lord, 40. “They choose which parts
they want to believe. But why can’t I be gay and be a Christian? I just want
the same respect as everyone else.”
Teacher Leia de
Carvalho, 45, is like many of the congregation here. She grew up in a strict
religious family, but left formal religion when she discovered her sexuality.
“My dad was a
Baptist pastor,” she says. “When I realised I was gay, I put myself in exile
from the church for many years, but there was always something missing in my
life. To my family, I was asexual. Then, in 2010, we had the first wave of
civil partnerships in Brazil and I was on TV with my partner. My mother saw
it.”
At first, De
Carvalho’s family told her she was defying God but they gradually learned to
accept her sexuality. When she discovered the Metropolitan community church,
eight years ago, the final part of the puzzle fell into place. “I felt like I
was coming home,” she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment