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Church of Our Savior (Boynton Beach, Florida)

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Coordinates: 25°45′27″N 80°11′34″W / 25.75753°N 80.19286°W / 25.75753; -80.19286
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Church of Our Savior, MCC
Religion
AffiliationMetropolitan Community Church
RiteProtestant
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusChurch
LeadershipRev. Rick Rhen-Sosbe, pastor
Year consecrated1997
Location
Location2011 S. Federal Highway
Boynton Beach
StateFlorida
Geographic coordinates25°45′27″N 80°11′34″W / 25.75753°N 80.19286°W / 25.75753; -80.19286
Architecture
TypeRestaurant
Website
https://www.churchofoursaviormcc.org
Interior of Church of Our Savior, MCC

Church of Our Savior, MCC, is located at 2011 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, Florida. It is affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church, a Protestant denomination with special outreach to the LGBTQ community. Like other MCC churches, it celebrates the Eucharist once a week, and practices open communion, meaning that recipients need not be a member of it or any other church to participate.

According to former pastor Renwick Bell, "MCC churches traditionally are a mixture of many faith traditions.... At Church of Our Savior we attempt to reach each and every person on their faith journey. We appreciate the diversity of faith traditions represented by our congregants and we attempt to touch each of these very special traditions at some time during our worship."[1] Many members have experienced rejection from families or other churches and according to Rev. Wendy Woodruff, "we want them to know this is a place of refuge, a place of sanctuary, that they don't have to fear being here."[2] According to her, "I feel called to serve the community as a whole, as well as the church community. We are called to carry the message of God's love for ALL, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, language, abled-ness, country of birth, or any of the many things that draw us apart."[3]

Pastors

Pastors of Church of Our Savior have been:

  • John F. Jacobs (1993[4]–1996)[5][6][7]
  • Mike Nikolaus (1995–1996) (acting)[8]
  • Tyrone Sweeting (1997[9]–2004)
  • Ana Vargas (2004–2005) (interim)[10]
  • Renwick Bell (2005–2014) Reverend Bell, a church member since 1991, was the church organist for several years before attending divinity school, after which he became the church pastor.[11]
  • Jack Copas (2015[12]–2017) (interim)
  • Wendy Woodruff (2017–2019)[13]
  • Rick Rhen-Sosbe (2019–2020) (provisional)

Vivien "Miss Vicki" Keller was long-term Choir Director.[14][15]

History

The Church of Our Savior, MCC, began in 1990 as a satellite extension of the Church of the Holy Spirit, now the Sunshine Cathedral, in Fort Lauderdale, to accommodate worshippers from northern Broward and southern Palm Beach counties. The first service was held in a rented space in Boca Raton (4770 NW 2nd Avenue[16]) in the fall of 1990, and the church was chartered by MCC in 1992.[17]

Finding a permanent home was the primary task of the church in its first years. At one point building a church with a separate "activity building" or "church hall" was considered,[18] but instead the church in 1997 acquired a former Pizza Hut building to use as its sanctuary. Most of the renovation work was done by congregation members.[19]

Stained-glass windows

A unique set of stained-glass windows fill the former restaurant windows.[20] 12 of the 14 were created by McMow Art Glass in Lake Worth, Florida, the other two by a member of the congregation for whom stained glass was a hobby. In five of them a rainbow appears; in the LBTGQ community the colors of the rainbow represent inclusiveness of the wide variety of human beings.

References

  1. ^ Monteagudo, Jesse (May 15, 2013). "Faith & Community. Boynton Beach's Church of Our Savior, MCC". South Florida Gay News. p. 16. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "Boynton LGBT church concerned break-ins, vandalism are hate acts". Palm Beach Post. May 14, 2018. pp. A1, A6. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. ^ "History of Church of Our Savior, MCC". Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "Reverend Ordained". Palm Beach Post. September 23, 1993. p. 4D (55). Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  5. ^ Dodd, Aileen (May 28, 1993). "Church Approved Despite Protests". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  6. ^ Shine, Terence (December 3, 1995). "Temple for Gays Has Faith It Can Grow". Sun-Sentinel. p. 10B (24). Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  7. ^ "James Gallegher (1953-2008). About Him". 2008. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "RIP Reverend Mike Nikolaus" (PDF). Sunshine Cathedral Sunday Morning. January 15, 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "Church and Synagogue News". Palm Beach Post. January 3, 1997. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  10. ^ Romo, Minerva (March 4, 2005). "In Profile. Church of Our Savior Metropolitan Community Church. Open Arms to All". Sun-Sentinel. p. BB3 (282). Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "Religion News". Palm Beach Post. September 2, 2005. p. 8E. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  12. ^ Cavanaugh, Donald (August 13, 2015). "Church of Our Savior MCC Installs Interim Pastor". South Florida Gay News. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Kent, Cindy (December 18, 2017). "People On the Move". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  14. ^ Monteagudo, Jesse (May 4, 2016). "Remembering Miss Vicky". South Florida Gay News. pp. 22–23. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "Tribute". Hotspots (Oakland Park, Florida). February 23, 2017. p. 94. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  16. ^ Swart, Ken (November 30, 1994). "Churches Herald AIDS Awareness". Sun-Sentinel. p. 17. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  17. ^ Romo, Minerva (March 4, 2005). "Open Arms to All". Sun-Sentinel. p. BB3 (234). Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  18. ^ Liewer, Steve (May 7, 1993). "Zoning panel approves Delray-area Church". Sun-Sentinel. p. B1 (15). Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  19. ^ "Groundbreaking Ceremony". Palm Beach Post. March 6, 1998. p. 4F (61). Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  20. ^ Seltzer, Alexandra (May 11, 2018). "Boynton church concerned about recent break-ins, vandalism". Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on March 22, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.

Further reading

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