ALSO ON OUTRAGE MAGAZINE
A few months after meeting Christopher, my partner, he told me about the church he was attending. It was an LGBTQIA+-affirming Christian community, tucked away in a humble room inside the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) compound in Quezon City.
It was my first time hearing of a Christian church for gay people like me. The very idea felt surreal, an answered prayer for a longing that had settled deep in my heart ever since I became a lapsed Catholic in college. I was astonished. A progressive church that not only preached but welcomed questions, genuinely listening to its members? It felt like a dream.
The room itself was remarkably modest. Yet there was something profoundly moving about watching LGBTQIA+ individuals, with their own hands, trying to make a “DIY” Church work, striving for its continued existence even as the world outside seemed determined to erase them.
But what truly captivated me was the pastor, Joseph San Jose. He was a young man, wearing a stole over simple pants and a shirt, far from the elaborate vestments I had grown up seeing Catholic priests wear. Still, he interpreted Scripture in ways that were controversial, awe-inspiring, and deeply awakening.
I was particularly struck by his unwavering dedication. I recall a time when hardly anyone was able to attend service, yet he still commuted every Sunday from Laguna to preach, with virtually no monetary compensation. His commitment taught me what selfless faith looks like.
After my first Sunday service, for the first time in my entire life, I felt truly seen. Christopher playfully nudged me, “So, we don’t look like a cult, right?” I laughed. But deep inside, a quiet certainty grew. It felt as if God had brought Christopher into my life to help me revive a faith that had lay dormant since college.
Before finding Open Table MCC, I often felt like a walking sin. My parents had embraced me for being gay, but it hurt deeply to feel unloved by my own Church when I was so loved in my own home.
I had spent years trying to reconcile my faith with my identity, convinced I had to choose between being true to myself and being accepted by God. The irony was that the path to a deeper, more authentic faith led me to a community that celebrated every part of who I am.
For so long, the prevailing narrative told me that being gay meant eternal damnation, a life outside God’s grace. But in a small room among people who had also been marginalized, I finally found true grace and belonging. I had once pictured “church” as grand cathedrals and rigid doctrines, places where my questions were unwelcome and my identity, an unspoken sin. Yet the most sacred space I’d ever encountered was a modest room filled with acceptance and boundless love.
That humble beginning led me to Open Table Metropolitan Community Church (Open Table MCC), an ecumenical Christian Church specifically reaching out to LGBTQIA+ families and communities. It is part of the larger Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), or the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), a global Christian movement with over 250 member congregations across 23 countries.
Open Table MCC holds worship services every Sunday. As an ecumenical Church, it embraces everyone, regardless of their religious background. This open-door policy resonated deeply with me. It allows anyone, especially women, to lead Holy Communion, which I find incredibly empowering.
The communion itself is quite literally an “Open Table,” accessible to anyone, regardless of where they are in their personal faith journey. After years of feeling like an outsider in my own faith, the idea of a church that truly welcomes everyone felt revolutionary. It serves as a vivid demonstration of Christ’s unconditional love, not just in words but in practice.
Beyond worship, Open Table MCC actively participates in local LGBTQIA+ and human rights activism. The congregation is a regular presence at the Metro Manila Pride March and other local Pride events, as well as in various outreach and advocacy efforts. Among its social justice work, Open Table MCC holds a firm commitment to marriage equality for LGBTQIA+ people. For me, this activism is a profound expression of faith, an extension of the Gospel’s call to stand with the marginalized and affirm their dignity, making God’s love tangible in the world.
Love is Open Table MCC’s greatest moral value. Resisting exclusion is central to its ministry. It is committed to being a conduit of a faith where everyone is included in the family of God, and where all parts of one’s being are welcomed at God’s table. That’s why Open Table MCC feels like home. It’s a place where I don’t have to compartmentalize my identity. My faith and my sexuality are both cherished, embraced, and united at God’s boundless table.
This truly is a “DIY” Church run by dedicated volunteers, self-aware of its imperfections, yet constantly striving to be a true sanctuary. Open Table MCC offers a haven for souls yearning to worship, learn, and grow in their faith while being their truest selves. Its deepest desire is to equip individuals to share God’s grace actively to transform their lives and the world around them with the same inclusive love they’ve found.
Open Table MCC has become a lifeline for many LGBTQIA+ individuals in Metro Manila and beyond, who find a few hours of genuine happiness and welcome every Sunday by simply “coming as they are” before returning to their often miserable, homophobic, or transphobic realities.
This December, Christopher and I will celebrate eight years together. That’s nearly the same amount of time I’ve been with Open Table MCC, and that’s no coincidence. It’s the ultimate, profound irony. For years, I heard the teachings of Christ twisted into tools of exclusion. Yet it was within a humble, queer Christian Church that I finally witnessed the true, boundless love Jesus preached: a table so radically open, it feels like a glorious rebellion. — WALPHS.com
Ralph
Revelar Sarza is an internationally published film critic currently serving on
the Board of Open Table MCC. The Church holds its Sunday worship
services at Unit 1604, 16th Floor, Annapolis Wilshire Plaza, Annapolis Street,
San Juan City.