Greetings!

Pentecost! I love this season of Pentecost! It's known in church history as the birth of the early church. While there have been twists and turns, wars and divisions, denominational shifts, and more, it's still today the SAME SPIRIT that was given to ALL FLESH on that day! I'm so glad I know the Spirit, and that the Spirit still works in and through us today!

This month, we as MCCers celebrate Pride! There are many parades and festivals to attend, and FMCC will be involved all over the place! I encourage you to wear your FMCC Pride shirts to the different Pride events this month. It's a wonderful witness, and it's an opportunity to start a conversation about what the church means to you. Don't forget to invite others to our church!

This Saturday and next, we'll have multilingual, multicultural services that start at 10:00 a.m. Since there are so many events on the first two Sundays, we won't have worship on June 4th and June 11th. We will participate in the parade and festival for the LA Pride/Christopher Street West parade on June 11th. This is the Pride parade co-founded by Rev. Dr. Troy Perry, the same minister who founded Metropolitan Community Churches! I'm so glad we continue to participate in this event! Thanks to all the folks working behind the scenes to make us VISIBLE to the community!

This Saturday, we'll hear from several voices in our community during worship. The overall message is entitled, Our Stories. If you'd like to read the associated scripture, check out Psalm 145:3-7 (Voice Version). I look forward to worship wtih you all!



Pastor Keith
Remembering their time working together, Rev. Roy Birchard said, “Adam was the catalytic person in the formation of the MCC Capitol Hill lobbying office
Pride Month Worship
Please note that this weekend and next, we will hold worship at 10:00 a.m. on SATURDAY, June 3rd and SATURDAY, June 10th. (Thus, NO services on Sunday, June 4th and Sunday June 11th.) We will participate in the Pride Festivities (including having a booth and the parade on Sunday, June 10th for Christopher Street/LA Pride).
Saturday Night Spiritual Interfaith Service
Join us online for our monthly Saturday Night Interfaith Service, next Saturday, June 10th, at 5:00 p.m. Rev. Sheena Metal will share another Pride message for us!
Father's Day Pictures
Father's Day is this month, and we will honor our fathers (biological, chosen, spiritual, etc.) with flowers and a video presentation. If you would like your father to be included in the video, please e-mail your father's picture to [email protected] by June 12th. Please include your name and your father's name in the e-mail. (Pictured: Marc and Vinny Mohr.)
Pride Event at FMCC!
Join us on June 24th at 6:30 p.m. for a one-night show by our own Jair Bula! The show is Queer: Drag, Drugs And a Tick Tock Clock. Tickets are available on Eventbrite, and all proceeds go to Founders MCC! Here's the link for tickets!  Queer: Drag, Drugs And A Tick Tock Clock Tickets, Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 6:30 PM | Eventbrite 
Volunteers Needed Immediately! 
As we restructure our Communion Service, we will need more people to serve as Acolytes, Servers, and Prayer Partners. If you have served in one or more of these capacities before, we invite you to serve again. If you haven't, we invite you to join us! We will begin a new procedure on July 2nd, so we will have training on June 25th after 10:00 a.m. worship.
Graduation 2023
It's time to honor our graduates! If you are planning to graduate from school (any level) this year, please send a note to [email protected] to let us know:
 1. Your name. (Your Preferred Pronouns)
 2. Parents'/Guardians' names.
 3. School attended (current school affiliation).
 4. Post-graduation plans. 
 5. Planned major if going to higher education.
"Assistance for one of our Staff Pastors"
One of our Staff Pastors is experiencing a major health issue - cancer. There are ways that ALL of us can help, such as keeping him in our prayers. There are also some tangible ways we can help: financial assistance for medical bills, providing meals, daily walks, simple house chores, errands. Check out the website link provided to see how you may help:
Rev. Steve Pieters
Rev. Steve has been undergoing chemo therapy for cancer. He is currently in need of assistance in the following areas: 
  
1. Transportation to and/or from City of Hope in Duarte (every other Tuesday)

2. Getting groceries.

3. Minor chores (dishes, laundry, kitty litter)

4. Taking him for a walk 20 to 30 minutes each day.

If you can assist weekly, daily, monthly, anytime, please email Rev. Steve's scheduler, Solomon Trager:


There is also a GoFundMe page set up for Rev. Steve here:


Commitment Cards
Our Commitment Cards are available on-site and online throughout the year. We ask that you prayerfully consider your financial commitment for 2023.
Hospitality!
Join us before and after worship for a time of Hospitality in the church courtyard. Martin Miny is heading a team of people to get coffee, juice, and pastries ready each Sunday. Volunteers are always welcome!
Monkey Pox Vaccine Available 
LA County now has another limited supply of Monkeypox Vaccine available. You can sign up here: https://lacpublichealth.sjc1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aY96Sxs2lUgUZb8
Change In Covid-19 Protocols
As we continue to cope with Covid-19, we are changing our protocols. The new protocols are in line with the rest of LA County. Until further notice, here are our guidelines:

1. We will no longer require vaccinations and boosters for church attendance, though we highly encourage them.
2. We will make wearing masks optional. Please feel free to continue wearing masks as you feel comfortable.

3. We ask people that have symptoms of (or tested positive for) Covid, flu, monkeypox, or any other easily communicable disease to please refrain from attending until they are well.

As we have from the very beginning of the pandemic, we will continue to keep in line with the advice of the LA County Public Health Department. Thank you so much for your patience as we navigate new guidelines.
Tithes & Offerings
Thank you to all who have given so generously through our online giving portal. Our church cannot function without your generosity!! Feel free to continue giving through our website (on PushPay) or simply sending a check in the mail (4607 Prospect Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027). Again, thank you.

Grand Total For Week Ending: 5-29-2023: $4,814.00

Tithes for both services: $3,796.00
Building Fund: $204.00
Facilities Rental: $789.00
Evening Vespers
Hospitality - online - after worship!
Don't forget that we have a time of Hospitality after worship each Sunday. The link is at the top of the first page of our website. Come and have some fun with your church family!
Living out MCC's Core Values

The Commission on Pathways of Healing and Reconciliation has produced its final report after 2 years of listening to and learning from the stories of those in MCC impacted by racism and other experiences of oppression. The 20 recommendations in the report build on MCC's Core Values of Inclusion, Community, Spiritual Transformation and Justice to offer concrete actions to make MCC a more racially equitable, inclusive and diverse organisation - a house of prayer for all people. 

The Governing Board has accepted all the recommendations and individual Governors have taken responsibility for tracking specific recommendations to make sure that they are acted upon. 

The Commissioners would like to thank all those who shared their sacred stories with the Commission. You can hear more about the report from the Commission Co-Chairs, Rev. Dr Roland Stringfellow and Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston. 

You can read the full report here or find it in the Resource Bank under Commissions:
Council of Elders Reflection
on MCC's Mission, Vision, Core Values and Statement of Faith
June 2023
Transforming ourselves as we transform the world.

MCC MISSION STATEMENT - Be MCC:

Metropolitan Community Church proclaims and practices a spirituality that is anchored in the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ and confronts the issues of our volatile, uncertain, and complex world. We are called to develop and equip leaders, congregations, and ministries that foster spiritual growth, do the work of justice, act with compassion, and integrate sexuality and spirituality. We will do this through offering high-value training, local church support and resourcing, cutting edge theological exploration, and expanding partnerships.
 
A mission statement defines an organization’s set of beliefs and guides the individuals who are a part of the organization in the right direction, for their benefit as well as the organization. Mission statements define a need and an action specific to the individual or organization and indicate how these actions will be carried out and why. MCC’s Mission Statement inspires individuals to embrace movement with the intention “of being sent out and develop and equip leaders, congregations, and ministries that foster spiritual growth.”

Our Founder, Rev. Troy Perry, was clear about MCC’s Mission in its early days: “This religious congregation served as a place of refuge for LGBT individuals, as it aimed to foster a sense of community and spread spirituality simultaneously.” In addition to claiming MCC as a House of Prayer for all People, he also stated the importance of what was known as the Three-Pronged Gospel: “There are three central teaching points for the MCC, which include the Gospel of Salvation, the Gospel of Community, and the Doctrine of Christian Social Action.” (Reverend Troy Perry's Metropolitan Community Church | One Archives (usc.edu))

MCC’s Mission then and today, serves as reminders that society, culture, religion, spirituality, and the passing of time, will usher in wonderful and nerve-wracking changes. MCC’s Mission Statement prepares us to face the needs of tomorrow from what we have learned yesterday. 

And to Be MCC is to affirm that one’s empowerment was possible when another helped one to find the pathways towards healing and acceptance, so they can see themselves as God sees them, “a beloved of God”. 

To Be MCC is to acknowledge that you too will be called “to develop and equip leaders … that foster spiritual growth,” and in doing so, equipping others to access their spiritual toolkits so they can do the work of justice and compassion within the integration of sexuality and spirituality.

To Be MCC is to be moved so that your life speaks, and when it does, because it will, others will be listening and inspired to seek a glimpse of hope that all those who are a part of MCC speak about and live out.
To Be MCC is to help others find liberation through God’s unconditional love; a love that lives, speaks, and teaches from the oppressive margins of society, and in doing so, help them find their “true narrative” as they embrace a sense of belonging.

And to Be MCC is to be Moved by the Spirit, guided towards a sense of belonging that is found through Community, locally and globally, where borders are blurred, and we can come together knowing we are part of the same spiritual fabric.

As a spiritual community of LGBTQ+ beloved People of God, our mission to transform lives, hearts, and the history of the world as we know it, is more relevant today than ever before. And this is possible because as God loved us first, God also believes that we can continue moving forward in faith and hope, through the power of God’s love.
Rev. Elder Alejandro Escoto
Rev. Keith Mozingo (Moderator)
Dean Coffey (Vice Moderator)
Kim Doneche (Clerk)
Ed Shaughnessy (Treasurer)
Roger Owens
Ina Serene
Martin Miny
Parking Available
Children's Hospital has so graciously volunteered up to 10 spaces for us to park. It is a small lot off Sunset Blvd., just beyond the Metro Station entrance.