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ATLANTA BARB-Page 2 Rev. Troy Perry To Visit Atlanta several experiences, as he was growing up, he hop ed to sublimate his desires in marriage and his minis try. He couldn’t understand why God would have made him a homosexual, yet called him to a profession where such people seemed out of place. I ' While attending school in Chicago, Troy pastor- ed a nearby Pentecostal church. .But a former lov er, in a fit of jealousy, exposed him to the district overseer; and Troy was ordered to return imme diately to Florida. There his work con tinued, and he was ordain ed. But Florida was con ducting a "witch hunt" for homosexuals in 1961, and Rev. Perry walked under a heavy shadow. His wife had learned about 14m, in Chicago, and stood by him; they had a son. His mother also learned about his homosexuality, and came to accept it because she loved him. He returned to Chicago to finish school. He took a day job with a plastics firm and attended Moody Bible Institute at night. The plastics company of fered him a junior execu tive position at a new plant they were opening in Tor rance, Calif., and he ac cepted. ^ In California, the Church .of God of Prophecy, a de nomination he had been at tracted to in Chicago, gave Rev. Perry a church to pastor in Santa Ana. He preached the straight and narrow, and practiced what he preached. But he felt vaguely unfilfilled. He was 23. Like many gay people, 'Rev. Perry knew nothing Continued From Page 1 about homosexuality ex cept from his own ex periences, and the nega tive attitude society had drilled into him. Now he began reading about the subject, and at last ac cepted the fact that he was, indeed, a homosexual. Though he and his wife still loved each other, and now had two sons, Rev. Perry felt that the only honest thing they could do would be to separate. She took the boys and return ed to her family. At the same time, he was forced to resign his pastorate. He moved to Hunting don Park, where his moth er was living with a new husband. Rev. Perry be came acquainted with the Los Angeles gay scene, and formed a fast friendship with Willie Smith, who was to become Music Director of the church Troy was to found. No one but God had any - inkling of this in 1965, when Rev. Perry was draft ed. He had an active gay sex life in the Army, both stateside and in Germany, where he spent most of his two-year hitch. Back In L. A. he moved in with his friend, Willie Smith. A friend of Willie’s introduced him to Ben, the young malt: who was to be come his first real lover. Rev.> Perry, fell head over heels in lOVe. But his love for Ben re placed his love for God; and when their affair end ed, six months later, Troy felt completely alone. He attempted suicide. His close brush with death brought him back to God, and his mission began taking shape in his mind. *¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥•*¥1 In MACON It’s * GO-GO BOYS £ NITELY £ 434 Cotton Ave. Macon, Ga. LOUNGE -( LIVE ENTERTAINMENT * TWICE MONTHLY PhAno*7 A A-0103 $ * If he’s been waiting for a "sign," it came in 1968 when a friend of his, Carlos, was arrest ed as part of a harassment campaign by local police. After Rev. Perry had ob tained his release, Carlos was inconsolable; he felt that no one cared about him. ‘ ‘God cares, ’ ’ the minis - ter said, almost automa tically. But Carlos, who had been told by the pastor of his church that he couldn’t be both a homosexual and a Christian, wouldn’t be lieve it. "God doesn’t care about me," he said. Rev. Perry realizeathen how many of his fellow gays felt the same way - - he himself had had doubts; and he knew what he had to doi. He took out an ad in the Advocate, a national gay newspaper based in Los Angeles, announcing that the first service of the Metropolitan Com munity Church would be held Oct. 6, 1968.-* Rev. Perry' conducted the ser vice in his living room, wearing borrowed vest ments, 12 people attended. The church continued, and grew.. Doctrines had to be ecumenical enough that no one, from whatever de nominational background, would feel left out. And MCC Could not ■* exclude straight people, for that would be to practice in re verse the discrimination that had been used against gays for so long. After five years, the fellowship had expanded to more than 50 congre gations, all over Ameri ca and in other parts of the world. Rev. Perry step ped down from the pasto rate of the L. A. church to become Moderator of the Board of Elders. And despite some set- backs- -the firebombing of church building in some cities and the failure of the church to take hold in others -- MCCs minis try has grown continually and phenomenally. His visibility, position' of authority and gift of self- expression have made the Rev. Troy Perry a res pected leader in the cru sade for Human Rights and the struggle for gays to be accepted as equals. In 1972 his autobiography, "The Lord Is My Shep herd and He Knows I’m Gay," was published by Nash. MCC came to Atlanta in Jan., 1972, pastored by Rev. John Gill, who still serves that function. The Atlanta church was char tered in April, 1972, and will celebrate the second anniversary of that charter ing when Rev. Perry arri ves next^ month. Even more importantly, Rev. Perry will be dedi cating MCC Atlanta’s new: building, the former Hilan Theatre on N. Highland Ave. a block from Ponce de Leon, which the church is pur chasing. The official move will be made in March. And Rev. Perry will lead a Spiritual Renewal from April 10-14. The rafters will ring with the res ponse to his usual opening line, "If you love the Lord, say Amen!" LEATHER Zodiac Wrist Bands ... something new under the Sun from LEATHER FOREVER. Great combinations of brass and black leather: 1 Vi" wide brass plates featuring your Astrological Sign riveted onto a black leather wrist band with a buckle closing. 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