Here’s where LGBTQ+ people can attend affirming religious services around southwest IL
Those who are looking for an LGBTQ+ affirming church to attend or a religious space to hold an LGBTQ+ wedding may not know quite where to start in their search.
The Belleville News-Democrat interviewed a pastor at a local, openly affirming church to provide readers with information about what a worship service might look like at a church that openly supports members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Here’s what the pastor said visitors can expect at church services with his congregation, along with some other local options for LGBTQ+ affirming worship.
“You don’t have to choose between your identity and your faith.”
David Roderick is the pastor at Immanuel United Methodist Church in Edwardsville. He said his ministry mantra is “helping those who don’t belong, belong.”
“The first hurdle for us is trust, because a lot of people have had bad experiences in churches in the past or are currently experiencing hurt or pain from churches,” Roderick said. “For us, it’s recognizing that people, when they come into our congregation, it’s already a big step for a lot of people.”
Roderick said he has conversations with people on almost a daily basis where they share stories about difficult experiences with churches.
“One of the primary things that we work to do is to change the narrative. You don’t have to choose between your identity and your faith,” Roderick said.
Immanuel UMC holds a worship service at 10 a.m. each Sunday. Roderick said while greeters aim to make new attendees feel welcome, they try not to overwhelm visitors.
The dress code for the church’s worship services is primarily casual, but some may choose to dress up more.
The music style is blended, including hymns that are hundreds of years old, as well as contemporary songs. There are bulletins and hymn books available, and lyrics are also projected on screens in the sanctuary.
“We are somewhat liturgical, in that we will use responsive readings, we’ll use creeds, things like that, but we don’t do any one of those on a weekly basis” Roderick said. “Every week looks a little bit different with the elements that are used in church.”
Immanuel UMC’s services have a designated prayer time, and there’s a wall where people can choose to share prayer requests with the congregation.
The church gives communion once per month and has resumed the service with precautions since the pandemic.
Many of this summer’s sermons will focus on Old Testament stories and how they relate to modern-day struggles, Roderick said. While Roderick is the primary speaker for most services, he said he periodically invites guest speakers from within the congregation and from outside Immanuel UMC.
Children are welcome at Sunday morning worship, and Immanuel UMC will host Vacation Bible School, programming designed for children 4 years old through fifth grade, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. July 25 to 29.
Other places of worship
There are a number of churches in southwest Illinois that are openly affirming to the LGBTQ+ community. We’ve rounded up a few, based on the criteria that they have official statements on their websites or Facebook pages openly supporting the LGBTQ+ community as a congregation.
Immanuel United Methodist Church
800 N Main St., Edwardsville, IL 62025
Services are in-person and online at 10 a.m. Sundays.
Immanuel United Methodist Church openly affirms members of the LGBTQ+ community and is affiliated with Reconciling Ministries, which works toward “the full and equitable participation of all LGBTQ+ people in the church.”
The pastor, David Roderick, told the Belleville News-Democrat the congregation aims to be a welcoming and inclusive community to all.
St. John United Church of Christ - Fairview Heights
10207 Lincoln Trail, Fairview Heights, IL 62208
Service is at 10 a.m. Sundays.
This church is “open and affirming,” and it encourages LGBTQ+ people to join the congregation and serve in ordained leadership. St. John United Church of Christ offers weddings and other services to LGBTQ+ couples, and its website says it is also willing to host LGBTQ+ support group meetings.
St. John United Church of Christ - Collinsville
307 West Clay St., Collinsville, IL 62234
Worship is at 9:30 a.m. Sundays.
St. John United Church of Christ in Collinsville adopted a covenant in 2021 to officially affirm and welcome LGBTQ+ people. The church offers a variety of avenues to serve the community, through making blankets for newborns, to providing free meals to the community, to youth service activities.
St. Mark Lutheran Church
105 East D St., Belleville, IL 62220
Services are in-person and online at 9 a.m. Sundays.
“All persons, without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, nationality, or social class are welcome at St. Mark Lutheran Church,” according to a statement.
The church identifies itself as liturgical and sacramental and invites everyone to participate in communion. The Sunday service typically lasts around 70 minutes.
Impact365
3910 State Route 111, Pontoon Beach, IL 62040
Service is held at 11 a.m. Sundays.
Impact365 openly affirms LGBTQ+ people and provides online Bible studies about Christianity and the LGBTQ+ community.
The church holds vacation Bible school, trivia nights and an annual Memorial Day weekend “Explosion Revival.” There are Sunday school classes and a midweek service you can attend, and you can also watch sermons online.
The Connection Faith Community
Worship location: Recess Brewing Co., 307 N. Main St., Edwardsville, IL 62025. The office is located separately.
Service is held in-person and online at 10 a.m. Sundays.
The Connection Faith Community is part of the United Methodist Church and is an “open and affirming” congregation.
Recent messages at The Connection have focused on the parables of Jesus and the art of an apology. Children are welcome at the worship services, and staff release weekly family devotions designed for connecting with children.
St. Louis places of worship
Here are some openly LGBTQ+ affirming religious houses in St. Louis.
Central Reform Congregation
5020 Waterman Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63108
Kabbalat Shabbat 7 p.m. Fridays, Queer Torah Class 2 p.m. Saturdays, Torah Study 9 a.m. Saturdays, Family Service 9:30 a.m. Saturdays, Shabbat Service 10 a.m. Saturdays
This Reform Jewish congregation advocates for Black Lives Matter, LGBTQIA+ rights and food security.
“As a diverse and inclusive community, we extend our welcome and affirmation to people of all genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, and relationships,” its website says.
Central Reform Congregation partners with organizations such as Planned Parenthood and The National Council of Jewish Women, and it offers a variety of volunteering and advocacy opportunities.
Congregation Shaare Emeth
11645 Ladue Road, St. Louis, MO 63141
Kabbalat Shabbat is held at 6 p.m. Fridays. A full calendar of events, including programming designed for youth, college students and seniors, is available online.
Congregation Shaare Emeth welcomes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Members who are in the LGBTQ+ community are invited to participate fully in the temple, including for marriages and baby namings.
The temple also has an LGBTQ+ outreach and support group, called Keshet, which means rainbow in Hebrew. The Keshet committee members host programming designed to support and celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusion within the congregation.
St. Stanislaus Parish
1413 North 20th St., St. Louis, MO 63106
For July 9 and 10, Saturday Vigil Mass is at 4 p.m. and Sunday Mass is at 10 a.m.
This parish is rooted in Poland, and it describes itself as theologically progressive. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are explicitly celebrated and protected, according to the church’s website.
St. Stanislaus Parish is not part of the Archdiocese of St. Louis or affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.
St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship
3752 Giles Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116
Worship service is held at 10 a.m. Sundays, and fellowship is at 11 a.m. Sundays.
This congregation welcomes LGBTQ+ in fellowship, leadership and marriage. It’s part of Mennonite Church USA and the Illinois Mennonite Conference. Each member of St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship signs a yearly covenant.
The fellowship has participated in outreach projects focusing on racial reconciliation, food security, natural disaster relief, job placement assistance and more.
Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis
7423 Michigan Ave., St. Louis, MO 63111
Service is held at 11 a.m. Sundays.
The Metropolitan Community Church identifies as progressive and explicitly supports the LGBTQ+ community, racial and social justice.
There are MCC congregations all across the country, and this St. Louis location’s current worship series is titled “The Faith We Sing.”
The Gathering
2360 McCausland Ave., St. Louis, MO 63143
101 N. Bemiston Ave., Clayton, MO 63105
921 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, MO 63119
Service times vary by location. Worship services are available both in person and online.
The Gathering is part of the United Methodist Church, and it has three locations in the St. Louis area.
According to its website, some of the ways The Gathering fulfills its mission is through support of the LGBTQ+ community, a duty to fight racism and commitment to serving the city.
How can you find more affirming congregations?
One tool you can use is Church Clarity, a crowdsourced platform with information about LGBTQ+ policies verified by a team of volunteers. You can search by congregation name or location, and there are currently 4,556 churches in the database.
Church Clarity evaluates entities by their LGBTQ+ policies and those affecting women in leadership. More information about how the site scores churches and what denominations are in the database is available at churchclarity.org.
Please email mhoward@bnd.com if you’d like a local, openly affirming church or place of worship to be added, or if you disagree with the affirming status of any of the institutions we included.
This story was originally published July 7, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
