A Bath church will be marking an important international event next tomorrow with the help of a special guest speaker.
Living Springs Metropolitan Community Church, which meets every Sunday evening in the United Reformed Church Halls, first opened its doors in 1989 and ever since has played an important role in raising awareness of gay rights and equality issues amongst the wider community.
‘A Celebration of all God’s People’ is held at the church to coincide with international Pride Month – a worldwide event to mark the Stonewall riots in the United States in June 1969.
The riots were a series of demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village, New York. The demonstrations are often cited as the first instance when people in the homosexual community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
To mark the event, the church leadership have invited Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Deputy Leader and member of the Cabinet responsible for Equalities, Cllr Nathan Hartley, along as the guest speaker.
Revd Kieren Bourne, Living Spring’s Pastor for the last 12 years, said: “We are delighted that Cllr Hartley will be able to join us for this special occasion. His passion for equal rights is well known.
“We used to call this a Pride service, but over the years the church has more strongly wanted to indicate our inclusive ethos, so the name has been changed and the service has become a little more general, but there is still some emphasis on LGBT ‘issues’.”
Cllr Nathan Hartley’s talk ‘Born Equal’ will celebrate the role that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people play in a diverse world. He said: “Despite it being 2012, and many of the social barriers of the 1950’s being broken down, there is still a lot that needs to be done to raise awareness of equal rights – particularly around people’s sexuality.
“I’m looking forward to speaking at Living Springs. Over the last 20 years it’s a church that has been a voice for the LGBT community, supported people exploring their sexuality, as well as their faith, and has raised awareness of equal rights in Bath and the wider area.”
‘A Celebration of all God’s People’ will be held at Living Springs Metropolitan Community Church, United Reformed Church Halls, central Bath at 6pm on Sunday 8th July. All are welcome to attend.
For more details about Living Springs visit www.mccbath.org.uk
