First LGBTQ affirming church on the Coast

With recent talks of a military transgender ban, many members of the LGBTQ community say they have felt chastised. There is a place right here on the Coast that wants to make everyone feel right at home.

Once a week, people from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi gather together in Biloxi for church. Father Errol Montgomery-Robertson said, “We average about 20 on a Sunday. We have had as many as 42 and as little as seven, but we average about 20 usually.”

It might seem unusual that people are traveling so far just for church, but this church is different than most. Lighthouse St. Nicholas Episcopal Community is the first primarily LGBTQ affirming church on the Coast. “We are a traditional church in the sense that if you look at how we worship, you wouldn’t notice much difference from a normal episcopal church, whatever normal is, but our worship style is very much traditional. Here you will find persons of different hair colors with tattoos, lesbians with children, gay couples, trans folks, straight folks.”

The church’s main goal is to spread peace and love, it doesn’t really matter what religious background you are. Officials say anyone can come in. “We’ve had folks here who identify as Buddhists. We have people who are pagan folks or people with no faith at all, but they find community, acceptance, love, and affirmation here.”

If you would like to attend church here, services take place on Sundays at 10 a.m. at 610 Water Street in Biloxi. “Give us a try, you might be pleasantly surprised. We are more concerned about the journey and the questions than the right answers.”