Tucked into the corner of 5th and Ridge Streets NW, just a few short blocks from the Mt. Vernon Square Metro station in Washington, DC, the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington DC - known to its people as MCCDC - has been a spiritual home for those the wider world has too often turned away for fifty-five years. From a handful of friends gathered in a Capitol Hill living room in 1970 to a congregation of more than 400 members at the height of the AIDS crisis, MCCDC's story is woven through every major chapter of LGBTQIA life in the nation's capital. Today the church describes itself with a simple phrase: "MCCDC: The Place to Be."
A Home Built on Ridge Street
The ministry facility at 474 Ridge Street NW is, in many ways, the physical answer to a prayer that began in a Capitol Hill living room. After years of meeting in borrowed sanctuaries - first the chapel of First Congregational Church at 10th and G Streets NW, then a townhouse at 415 M Street NW purchased in 1984 for $160,000 - the congregation had outgrown every space it had been given. Between 1987 and 1989, leaders assembled six lots at the corner of 5th and Ridge Streets NW. Construction began on December 23, 1991, and the congregation moved into the new ministry center on December 17, 1992. The building was dedicated to the Glory of God on March 27, 1993.
The ground-level sanctuary seats up to 175 people on padded chairs with purple cushions, with no fixed pews, a marble altar that stays in place except in extraordinary circumstances, and a color scheme of gray and shades of purple. The room is equipped with a sound system, overhead microphones, two keyboards, and space for additional instruments. Upstairs - elevator accessible - the chapel seats 25 in a more intimate setting with shades of gray, an upright piano, and the columbarium that holds the ashes of some of the congregation's most beloved saints. The facility is also rented out for outside events, with applications handled through the church office.
Sunday Morning at 10:30
MCCDC gathers for a single Unified Worship Service every Sunday morning at 10:30 AM. The service is held in person at 474 Ridge Street NW and is simultaneously livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube, and at live.mccdc.com, with services available afterward on demand. A live ASL interpreter is provided every week. The worship folder with lyrics, readings, and scripture is posted online before each service, and visitors can let the church know they are present by filling out a short online check-in form or by using the new iPad-based check-in system at the door.
The service carries the marks of MCC's blended worship tradition: contemporary music drawn from a wide repertoire, a choir that has performed at community and citywide events including Pride gatherings, liturgical dance from the Moving Spirit Dance Ministry, occasional drama from the Drama Ministry, and open communion offered to all who wish to receive. Ushers greet at the Ridge Street entrance, hand sanitizer and masks are offered, and first-time visitors receive a visitor package. Hospitality and food follow the service in a social time coordinated by the Hospitality Ministry.
From Capitol Hill to the AIDS Front Lines
Rev. J. E. Paul Breton founded the Community Church of Washington, DC, in 1970, and the congregation was chartered on May 11, 1971 by the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches - now simply Metropolitan Community Churches. From those early days the church played an outsized role in the denomination, helping to plant congregations across Virginia and Maryland in the 1970s. Pastor Larry J. Uhrig, who led the church from 1977 until his death in December 1993, was instrumental in purchasing 415 M Street - the first property owned by any LGBT organization in Washington, DC - and in laying the groundwork for the Ridge Street building that followed.
The defining work of the 1980s and early 1990s was the response to the AIDS epidemic. In October 1982, MCCDC partnered with the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the National Institutes of Health, MCC Baltimore, and Georgetown University Hospital to host one of the first AIDS forums in the nation, held at the church's then-home at First Congregational. In the worst years, the congregation hosted as many as six or seven funerals and memorial services in a single week, and Pastor Uhrig often visited local gay bars to reach those the epidemic was isolating. Worship attendance in the early 1990s typically ran between 300 and 400 people, and Sunday mornings included services at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 7:00 PM to fit the crowds.
After Pastor Uhrig's death, Rev. R. Steven Taylor served as interim, and Rev. Candace Shultis was elected Senior Pastor in 1995. Rev. Elder Charlie Arehart followed as interim in 2008. In November 2009 the congregation elected with a near-unanimous vote Rev. J. Dwayne Johnson, who had previously led Resurrection MCC in Houston and who had himself first come into MCC from the Church of the Nazarene. The current Senior Pastor position is vacant as the congregation searches for an interim, with Rev. Cathy Alexander continuing to lead day-to-day ministry as Associate Pastor.
Holy Unions and the Long Walk to Marriage Equality
MCCDC has been celebrating same-sex unions for most of its fifty-five-year history. By the late 1970s the church had developed a robust ministry to gay and lesbian couples. In the 1990s, several of the church's couples petitioned the DC government for marriage licenses and were turned down, but the church kept working. Over a dozen members and clergy testified before the DC City Council during the 2009 marriage equality hearings, helping to organize the faith community's support for the legislation. MCCDC was among the first houses of worship in the District to hold a same-sex wedding after marriage equality became law.
Couples today can choose between a legal wedding and a Holy Union. Weddings and Holy Unions are both rites of the church in which a couple's lives and souls are joined in a covenanted relationship before God; Holy Unions are not legally binding, while weddings are performed under DC law. Both sanctuary and chapel are available for ceremonies, with no requirement that the couple be members of MCCDC or any MCC church, and no DC residency requirement. Associate Pastor Rev. Cathy Alexander is legally authorized to perform weddings in the District, Virginia, and Maryland, and several of the volunteer clergy are also authorized.
Music, Dance, and Drama
The Worship Arts Ministry - WAM - is the engine behind much of what happens musically on Sunday morning. The choir sings regularly in worship and at special concerts throughout the year, and has performed at community and citywide events including Pride gatherings and LGBT justice meetings. All voice parts and all vocal abilities are welcome.
Eclectic Praise is the church's monthly band, with musicians and singers who aim to help facilitate the praise and worship of others through music. The Drama Ministry, directed by Rev. Jules Christian, rehearses on Mondays at 6:30 PM and performs on the second Sunday of each month, with plans to expand into an annual dinner theater. The Moving Spirit Dance Ministry offers liturgical dance as a creative form of praise and is always looking for new dancers, regardless of experience. The AV Ministry livestreams services and records other events, working closely with the Soundboard Ministry - the same group that provides sound for weddings, funerals, concerts, and special occasions hosted at the church.
A Sign Language Welcome Since the 1970s
MCCDC's Deaf Ministry is one of the oldest in the denomination. The congregation has offered ASL interpretation in worship on a regular basis since the 1970s and has, at various points, hosted more than 60 deaf and two deaf/blind members, ASL classes, a Sunday School class for the Deaf, deaf deacons, and weddings officiated by deaf clergy. The 10:30 AM Unified Worship Service includes ASL interpretation every Sunday, and the ministry also sponsors periodic ASL classes and church-wide social gatherings for both hearing and deaf members. Pastoral Care Ministers serve as a referral ministry to outside professional and community-based organizations for counseling, financial services, and other services not directly provided by MCCDC.
Prayer at Noon, and Around the Clock
Prayer is woven into the rhythm of the week. A midday prayer call led by Rev. Jo-Anne Ludy runs Monday through Friday from 12:00 to 12:30 PM on Zoom. The Intercessory Prayer Team gathers the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 7:00 PM for a Spirit-led time of corporate prayer for the church, the DMV region, the nation, and the world, and also hosts quarterly prayer events. The Pastoral Care Ministry offers prayer and support by telephone, text, email, and home and hospital visits, and can be reached through an after-hours support cell phone for prayer requests.
Bible Study, Writers, and Spiritual Formation
Tuesday Night Bible Study meets year-round at 7:00 PM on Zoom, with a brief summer break in July and early September. Led by a diverse team of lay and clergy facilitators, the group works through the Old and New Testaments alongside non-traditional texts by authors such as Rev. Troy Perry, Rev. Durrell Watkins, Iyanla Vanzant, and Maya Angelou, and has even Skyped with many of those authors during their book studies.
Every other year - in odd years - the congregation embarks on a 90-day Bible in 90 Days journey, reading the scriptures cover to cover. Creating a Life that Matters is an 18-week intensive course that engages participants in learning, living, and experiencing God, self, and their passions at a deeper level. The Writers' Ministry meets by Zoom on the third Saturday of every month from 10:00 AM to noon and welcomes writers of every level.
Children, Youth, and the Older Adult Ministry
MCCDC's Children's Ministry provides Children's Church and youth activities for children ages 2 to 12, with Children's Church held on Sunday mornings at 11:15 AM, alongside the adults in worship. The children learn the same spiritual lesson as their parents and guardians in a child-friendly setting, and the ministry also coordinates annual events like Youth Sunday and the Easter Egg Hunt.
The Older Adult Ministry focuses on finding meaning, purpose, and connection as we age, offering social, educational, health, and wellness activities. It meets on the first Sunday of the month after the morning service, and recent sessions have included AARP fraud-prevention talks with a volunteer attorney from the Michigan Attorney General's office, plus wills and estate-planning workshops with a Whitman-Walker attorney.
Walking Forward: The AIDS Walk, the Komen Walk, and Pride
The AIDS epidemic shaped MCCDC's identity, and the Walk & 5K to End HIV - now in its fortieth year and benefiting Whitman-Walker Health - remains one of the church's signature outreach efforts. Each year the MCCDC team walks, runs, or even sleep-walks to raise funds for the community health center that has been the church's partner since the early 1980s.
The church also fields a team for the Susan G. Komen More than Pink Walk to End Breast Cancer, walking in memory of and alongside members of the congregation touched by the disease. The Pride Outreach Ministry increases the visibility of faith-based organizations in the LGBTQIA community through DC Pride activities including Youth Pride Day, TransPride, Black Pride, Latino/a Pride, and Capital Pride. The SHARE food program, run in partnership with the wider community, offers deeply discounted grocery items to anyone regardless of income or church membership, with food distributed monthly.
Beliefs, Mission, and Core Values
MCCDC belongs to Metropolitan Community Churches, a denomination founded in 1968 by Rev. Troy Perry and built on the conviction that God's love is radically inclusive. The congregation's Statement of Faith reads, in part: "We are people on a journey, learning to live into our spirituality, while affirming our bodies, our genders, our sexualities... grounded in God's radically inclusive love for all people." The denomination expects to see God's reign on earth as it is in heaven, and its members commit to actively resisting systems and structures that destroy creation.
The church's stated mission is to create a powerful inclusive spiritual community, working with God to make a positive difference. Four core values shape that work: Spiritual Inspiration - worship, education, prayer, and spiritual formation that helps people experience Christ in body, mind, and soul; Connection - bringing diverse people together for discovery, friendship, fun, and support; Engagement - putting faith into action by serving the neighborhood and community; and Innovation - staying open to new ideas and thinking in terms of the future.
Leadership and Governance
With the Senior Pastor position currently vacant, Associate Pastor Rev. Cathy Alexander leads day-to-day ministry, including development of spiritual and affinity-based programming, volunteer engagement, and the church's business, operations, and financial management. She is joined by a volunteer clergy team that includes Dr. Carla Sherrell, Rev. Jo-Anne Ludy, Rev. Dr. Robin Hawley Gorsline (the church's first Writer-Theologian in Residence), Dr. Rev. Teresa Tygart, and Rev. Jules Christian.
The Board of Directors serves as the church's elected governing body. As of February 2026, Tina Fulp serves as Vice Moderator and Acting Moderator, Tim Helm as Treasurer, Tommy Wiggins as Vice Treasurer, Sheila Chittams as Clerk, Phil Helbling as Vice Clerk, and Darryl Walker as Member-at-Large. Board meetings are held on the third Tuesday of every month in the lower-level conference room and are open to all. The Trustees of the Buchanan Memorial Building Fund, between five and seven members appointed by the Board, oversee the church's properties, structures, and real-property decisions.
Generosity and the Three Funds
MCCDC's generosity rests on three named funds. The General Fund supports the church's core ministry: worship, wellness work, benevolent activities, utilities, salaries, and basic operations. The Buchanan Fund supports the building itself - maintenance, repairs, roof leaks, elevator work, and the safety of the ministry facility. The Parks/McCann Benevolent Fund supports MCCDC's work with those in immediate need and is administered by the Pastoral Care Ministry Team, including ongoing support for partner organizations such as the Whitman-Walker Clinic. Giving is available online through the church's giving platform, by texting GIVE4UNITY to 1-888-364-GIVE, or by mailing a check to 474 Ridge St NW, Washington, DC 20001.
The Office, the Building, and a 55-Year Legacy
The church office is staffed by administrative volunteers Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and is closed on federal holidays; the church notes that it is "always open online." The building is a short walk from the Mt. Vernon Square Metro station on the Green and Yellow Lines. As MCCDC passes the fifty-fifth anniversary of its 1971 chartering, the congregation continues to mark itself with the words it has carried since its earliest days: "All Are Welcome." Whether someone arrives for Sunday worship, the Tuesday night Bible study on Zoom, the noon prayer call, a wedding in the sanctuary, or a Thursday evening with the Intercessory Prayer Team, the door on Ridge Street remains open - and has, in some form, for fifty-five years.