Church of Our Savior (Boynton Beach, Florida) explained

Church of Our Savior, MCC
Location:	2011 S. Federal Highway Boynton Beach
Geo:	25.7575°N -80.1929°W
Religious Affiliation:	Metropolitan Community Church
Rite:	Protestant
State:	Florida
Consecration Year:	1997
Status:	Church
Leadership:	Rev. Rick Rhen-Sosbe, pastor
Website:	https://www.churchofoursaviormcc.org
Architecture Type:	Restaurant

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.

Further reading

• News: Path to salvation not necessarily straight, insists gay congregation. Douglas. Belkin. The Palm Beach Post. February 25, 2000. E1, E4.
• News: Faith & Community: Boynton Beach's Church of Our Savior, MCC. South Florida Gay News. 16. Jesse. Monteagudo. May 15, 2013. Issuu.
  

Also at:

Web site: Jesse Monteagudo . 2 . June 26, 2013 . Faith & Community at Church of Our Savior MCC . The Bilerico Project / LGBTQ Nation . April 15, 2019 . September 29, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220929115409/https://bilerico.lgbtqnation.com/2013/06/faith_and_community_at_church_of_our_savior_mcc.php . dead .

• News: Is a separate church for gays still needed?. March 20, 2014. Alexander. Santora. Jersey Journal.
• News: Oddly captivating photos show what happened to all those Pizza Hut restaurants. Ana. Swanson. October 15, 2015. The Washington Post.
• News: May 4, 2018. Another burglary leaves church members feeling less secure. Chuck. Weber. WPEC (CBS12).
• News: MCC Church in Boynton Beach Concerned about Vandals, Break-ins. South Florida Gay News. 20. Denise. Royal. May 25, 2018.

External links

• Online worship, on Facebook.
• Official website
• Pizza Hunt (project "collecting" former Pizza Hut restaurants)

Notes and References

1. News: Faith & Community. Boynton Beach's Church of Our Savior, MCC. South Florida Gay News. 16. Jesse. Monteagudo. May 15, 2013. April 15, 2019. April 10, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190410105516/https://issuu.com/sfgnissues/docs/v4i20/16. live.
2. News: Boynton LGBT church concerned break-ins, vandalism are hate acts. Palm Beach Post. May 14, 2018. A1, A6. April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430035230/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30558934/burglary_broken_window_dirty_word_at/. live.
3. Web site: History of Church of Our Savior, MCC. April 12, 2019. April 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411115025/http://www.churchofoursaviormcc.org/History.htm. live.
4. News: Reverend Ordained. Palm Beach Post. September 23, 1993. 4D (55). April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430055214/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30488152/rev_john_f_jacobs_ordained_church_of/. live.
5. News: Church Approved Despite Protests. Aileen. Dodd. Sun-Sentinel. May 28, 1993. April 15, 2019. April 29, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190429170326/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30487698/zoning_approval_for_new_building_for/. live.
6. News: Temple for Gays Has Faith It Can Grow. December 3, 1995. Sun-Sentinel. 10B (24). Terence. Shine. April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430034934/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30487971/synagogue_temple_keshet_using_facility/. live.
7. Web site: James Gallegher (1953-2008). About Him.. 2008. April 10, 2019. April 11, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411115018/http://jim-mommie-gallagher.memory-of.com/. live.
8. News: RIP Reverend Mike Nikolaus. Sunshine Cathedral Sunday Morning. January 15, 2017. April 10, 2019. September 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928231804/http://sunshinecathedral.org/sunburst/2017/Order%20of%20Worship%20%26%20SB%2020170115.pdf. live.
9. News: Church and Synagogue News. Palm Beach Post. January 3, 1997. April 15, 2019. April 26, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190426162302/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30425336/installation_of_tyrone_sweeting_as/. live.
10. News: In Profile. Church of Our Savior Metropolitan Community Church. Open Arms to All. Minerva. Romo. Sun-Sentinel. March 4, 2005. BB3 (282). April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430034859/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30432543/in_profile_church_of_our_savior_mcc/. live.
11. News: Religion News. September 2, 2005. Palm Beach Post. 8E. April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430055206/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30425167/installation_of_renwick_bell_as_pastor/. live.
12. News: Church of Our Savior MCC Installs Interim Pastor. Donald. Cavanaugh. August 13, 2015. South Florida Gay News. April 15, 2019. August 12, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160812004108/http://southfloridagaynews.com/Community/church-of-our-savior-mcc-installs-interim-pastor.html. live.
13. News: Cindy. Kent. People On the Move. December 18, 2017. Sun-Sentinel. April 15, 2019. September 28, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200928231806/https://www.newspapers.com/image/360380633/?terms=Church%2Bof%2Bour%2Bsavior. live.
14. News: Remembering Miss Vicky. Monteagudo. South Florida Gay News. Jesse. May 4, 2016. 22–23. April 15, 2019. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415122442/https://issuu.com/sfgnissues/docs/sfgn_05-04-16_final_small. live.
15. News: Tribute. 94. Hotspots (Oakland Park, Florida). February 23, 2017. April 15, 2019. April 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190415122444/https://issuu.com/hotspotsmediagroup/docs/ov3208/96%3Fff. live.
16. News: Churches Herald AIDS Awareness. Ken. Swart. Sun-Sentinel. November 30, 1994. 17. April 15, 2019. March 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190325222011/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29785208/churches_in_palm_beach_county_aids/. live.
17. News: Open Arms to All. Minerva. Romo. Sun-Sentinel. BB3 (234). March 4, 2005. April 15, 2019. March 25, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190325040302/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29785235/ana_vargas_interim_pastor_church_of_our/. live.
18. News: Zoning panel approves Delray-area Church. Liewer. Steve. Sun-Sentinel. May 7, 1993. B1 (15). April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430034927/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30487776/zoning_application_of_church_of_our/. live.
19. News: Groundbreaking Ceremony. 4F (61). Palm Beach Post. March 6, 1998. April 15, 2019. April 30, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190430055426/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30558581/groundbreaking_for_renovation_of_former/. live.
20. News: Boynton church concerned about recent break-ins, vandalism. Alexandra. Seltzer. May 11, 2018. Palm Beach Post. April 15, 2019. March 22, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190322130837/https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/local/new-boynton-church-concerned-about-recent-break-ins-vandalism/vMAGFTKLGDBZrqP9nZtbkK/. live.