Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church has always had a relatively progressive stance toward marginalized communities, at least in terms of religious mentalities. Women have been allowed to serve as pastors since 1974. In 1976, the church voted to be fully inclusive to "homosexual persons" as they believe they "have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the church.” Recently, they've added gender expression to their inclusivity practices and "in 2018, the church committed to oppose all legislation that restricts public restroom, locker room and shower access for transgender and gender non-conforming people" (Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Episcopal Church, n.d.)
Their homepage on their website states, "We believe that God loves you – no exceptions."
The Episcopal Diocese of Michigan serves 75 congregations in the southeastern region of Michigan, including the Detroit Metropolitan Area and as far Hillsdale. Their mission statement is, "The Episcopal Diocese Of Michigan is an open, affirming and welcoming Body Of Christ. We are grounded in our commitment to both embrace our neighbors with the unconditional love of Christ, and to uphold and maintain our histories and traditions. No matter who you are, there is a sacred place for you in this Diocese" (Episcopal Disocese of Michigan, n.d).
Below you'll find some documents outlining the Episcopal Church's response to the AIDS crisis, which at that time was thought to only affect gay men, as well as a timeline, written by Jim Toy, of the Michigan Diocese's acceptance of queer individuals.
St. Joseph's-St. Matthew's
St. Joseph’s-St. Matthew’s began as two separate Episcopal churches in Detroit. St. Joseph’s founding can be traced to a chapel gifted to the congregation by Mrs. Lucetta Medbury in 1883. In 1926, the congregation moved to its current location on the corner of Holbrook and Woodward.
It’s an important church in the history of affirming ministries in Michigan, as it was essential to the founding of Michigan’s Gay Liberation Movement. On January 15, 1970, a group of gay men organized a meeting at the church due to its progressive views. That meeting led to the formation of Michigan’s Gay Liberation Movement, founded by James Toy, the church’s organist at the time. (James Toy was an incredibly important and influential activist in Michigan’s queer community. There is a short biography further down this page.) This meeting also led to the formation of Michigan’s Gay Liberation Front - some of their documents related to their work at the church are in this archive. St. Joseph’s and St. Matthew’s merged in 1971.
Below you'll find a picture of St. Joseph's as well as news releases pertaining to its radical acceptance of the queer community.
Jim Toy
Jim Toy’s activism and influence on Michigan’s queer community cannot be understated. In 1970, while speaking at an anti-Vietnam war rally in Detroit, Toy introduced himself by stating his name, age, and that he was gay. He is widely known as the first out gay man in Michigan.
He founded both Detroit’s Gay Liberation Movement and Ann Arbor’s Gay Liberation Front after attending a “gay meeting” at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church.
After pressure from AAGLF, University of Michigan created the Human Sexuality Office (now the Spectrum Center) and Toy became co-coordinator and “gay male advocate” from 1971 to 1994. Jim spent 21 years fighting the University of Michigan to include non-discrimination based on sexuality into their bylaws.
According to pbs, Toy preferred “TBLGQI” instead “LGBTQIA” in order to “invert the power relationships and to prioritize transgender and bisexual people, whom he said are at the greatest risk of harassment, discrimination, and assault” (Wang, 2022).
References:
Detroit Historical Society. (n.d.). St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/st-matthews-st-josephs-episcopal-church
Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ issues: Episcopal Church. (n.d.). Human Rights Campaign. https://www.hrc.org/resources/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-episcopal-church
Wang, F. K.-H. (2022, January 5). Activists and historians remember Jim Toy as a pioneering leader in LGBTQ rights. PBS NewsHour. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/activists-and-historians-remember-jim-toy-as-a-pioneering-leader-in-lgbtq-rights