Ron Stinnett serves on the board of directors as the Moderator. During the first part of my term, he was Co-moderator which allowed him to observe proceedings and got any questions answered before he assumed the Moderator position. That’s one of the things he loves best about the church – we come from every background, and we look like an LGBTQI would look like.
He shares that we come from pretty much the entire spectrum of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Some of us explored other religions when we entered adulthood, and they bring that richness with them as well.
Ron is a “PK”, a preacher’s kid. His father originally was a minister in the Church of the Nazarene; as he grew older, they left the Nazarene church for smaller and smaller denominations until finally there was only one church and that was the one his father preached at. Going to church twice on Sunday and once on Wednesday night was painful for him because he saw the congregation behave in ways that did not seem very Christian-like. As a teenager he promised himself he would never be forced to go to church if he did not want to go.
He read about Troy Perry and Metropolitan Community Churches almost from its inception. He was very curious, but his upbringing just would not allow him to explore. He entered a long-term relationship with another man and for 19 years they presented a positive picture of the perfect relationship, raising a son from the age of 5 and working.
His personal relationship with God down through the years had always been a good one. Alone with God, he basked in God’s love and feels so blessed. But transferring that to a church where he knew the congregants and their hypocrisy, he did not feel enveloped in love the way he did when he was alone in worship with God.
After the 1994 earthquake, his partner went to bed and rarely got up, hewas worried sick. A month into this he came home to see how he was doing and to fix his breakfast. He did not want anything to eat but agreed to a drink. As Ron was preparing the drink, he got out of bed and came to the kitchen, looked him in the eye and said, “Ron I’m going to die.” They both began crying and somehow words came out of his mouth, “Whatever this is we will go through it together.” He called an ambulance to take him to VA where he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma in the spinal column. He underwent chemotherapy, essentially to no avail and in August he passed peacefully in his sleep.
Several acquaintances had recommended MCCV, but they had gotten through 19 years independently and it seemed wrong to ask for help when he had refused for so long. It took another three years for Ron to finally venture inside the church and from the very first day, God’s love enveloped him just as it has always done when he worshipped alone.
Ron wanted us to know, “So, if you read this and you are wondering if this church might be right for you, the only thing I would stress is do not wait the many long years I waited. This church has no walls, we serve the world, and you are most welcome here.”
