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 | it is looked upon as a family holiday, and many gays and lesbians have "lost their birth families" |
| it is also perceived by some as a religious holiday, and many gays and lesbians have been "excluded from the church" |
But for the past 7 years, the Metropolitan Community Church has organized a Christmas Eve service at Roy Thompson Hall. The MCC was described as having "grown to 300 congregations in 17 countries" and as having as it role to minister "to the homosexual community and other Christians alienated by what they see as a lack of compassionate theology of sexuality in mainstream churches."
The service featured "carols, a sermon, and a rousing rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's 'Messiah'." 30 minutes into the service, minister Brent Hawkes asked members of the congregation to stand if they had lost a "lover, friend or relative" over the past year. Nearly half of the 3,000 present rose.
