Gay-oriented churches seeing shift in memberships
“There’s less need. You can church-shop and find at a local level a parish that is accepting…. We provide an option. We don’t recruit people who are already happy in their church.”
Archbishop Mark Shirilau of founder or the Ecumenical Catholic Church which was established in 1987 to cater to the needs of gays and lesbians who were not comfortable in their own churches. However, it’s reported, that attendance has dwindled at his church from 2,000 at 25 congregations to 500 at 20 congregations. The growing acceptance of gay members at mainstream churches is said to be the cause. It’s also stated in this article that another gay-specific organization, the Metropolitan Community Church, has only had a slight increase in attendance, which is likely due to an increase in non-gay members. (The Press-Enterprise)
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