What if we saw ourselves — and one another — as sacred beings, as different expressions of the Divine Image?

Portraits of Belovedness is a creative community art project celebrating the holiness, beauty, resilience, and joy already present within us. Participants will have their portraits professionally taken and artistically transformed into contemporary “saint portraits,” honoring the unique light, story, and belovedness each person carries.

Inspired by traditional iconography and the saints who came before us, this project reimagines sainthood through the lives of ordinary people — queer people, healers, artists, survivors, neighbors, friends, and community members who embody love, courage, compassion, and joy in everyday ways.

Portraits may be displayed online and/or in person as part of a larger community exhibit celebrating the sacredness woven throughout our lives and community. Each participant will be able to give consent for their photo to be used on picture day. Participation in the project is an invitation to reflect on what it means to be seen, honored, and claimed as beloved – including you!

Want to get more involved in worship? Curious about what it really means to be part of our worship service? Join us for a Worship Leader Training on June 7th, right after church! This is a great opportunity to learn, grow, and explore how you can serve and participate more fully during worship. Whether you're interested in leading or just want to learn more, we’d love to have you there!

Join us for our Live Streaming Ministry Training on Sunday, May 31, and Friday, June 5, where you’ll learn simple, hands-on skills to help bring worship beyond the walls of the church. And, more importantly, you will learn the skills to tell elegant camera jokes such as... “Why did the camera join the church? It wanted to capture the spirit.” Or a better one, “I tried to become a camera operator… but I just couldn’t focus.” 

Come and join the team! No tech background needed. No experience required. Just a willingness to learn and be part of something meaningful. Livestreaming has become an important part of how we stay connected, especially for those who can’t always be in the room. Being part of this team is a simple but meaningful way to support the church’s reach and presence. Use the link on the flyer to register for one or both sessions, and “Don’t worry, if you mess up, we’ll just say it was a creative camera angle.”

About the Event

Join us at Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis for our annual fundraising cabaret, CHARIS After Dark — a one-night-only celebration of community, creativity, and bold performances. From song and dance to comedy and lip sync, this variety show brings it all.

The event spotlights CHARIS and community members and will showcase a diversity of talents, including vocal and instrumental performances, lip sync, comedy, dance, spoken word, and other "variety-type" acts performed by an individual or a group.

In addition to music, we will have snacks and a bar.

Join the #NOH8 Campaign in St. Louis, MO and add your face to the fight for equal human rights!

WHERE: Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis
7423 Michigan Ave.
St Louis, MO 63111

DATE: Tuesday June 2nd, 2026

TIME: 6:00pm - 8:00pm

COST: (NO TICKETS NEEDED)
Single/Solo Photos: $40
Couple/Group Photos: $25 per person

NOH8 accepts cash and credit cards only. Fees paid to participate cover services and costs for one edited digital print only, made available via noh8campaign.com, and do not include physical prints.

* COME CAMERA-READY *
* WEAR A WHITE SHIRT *
* POSE & MAKE A STATEMENT! *

The NOH8 Campaign returns to St. Louis on Tuesday, June 2nd for an open photo shoot. Stop by Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis anytime between 6pm-8pm to pose for an official NOH8 photo by photographer Adam Bouska. No reservations needed!

Photos are first-come, first-served - and we move fast! Please arrive camera-ready with a plain white shirt to match the signature style of the NOH8 photos.

When is the best time to arrive? Most people tend to arrive before the photo shoot begins, but as long as someone has arrived by the advertised end time for the photo shoot (8:00pm for this photo shoot), they will be guaranteed a chance to pose!

Once you arrive, the next steps are easy!

1. Fill-out one numbered model release for each person.
2. Process your payment.
3. Trade your processed model release for duct tape!
4. Apply a NOH8 temporary tattoo for your photo.

NOH8 Co-Founder Adam Bouska will photograph roughly 5-10 frames per person. One frame will be selected/edited by our team and made available within approximately eight weeks (timeline subject to change).

INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING? E-mail info@noh8campaign.com with your contact information and make sure to note which shoot you'd like to volunteer for!

Funds raised by the NOH8 Campaign will be used to continue promoting and raising awareness for marriage and human equality as well as anti-discrimination and anti-bullying through NOH8’s interactive social media campaign. This includes bringing the campaign to other cities and countries around the world, creating and compiling images for our ongoing large-scale media campaign, and covering the costs of the daily operations and maintenance necessary to run this rapidly growing campaign out of our Burbank Headquarters.

The NOH8 Campaign is a tax-exempt charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Click here and scroll down to the 'Funds & Financing' portion of our FAQ for more information about how fees are utilized

Join us for our Live Streaming Ministry Training on Sunday, May 31, and Friday, June 5, where you’ll learn simple, hands-on skills to help bring worship beyond the walls of the church. And, more importantly, you will learn the skills to tell elegant camera jokes such as... “Why did the camera join the church? It wanted to capture the spirit.” Or a better one, “I tried to become a camera operator… but I just couldn’t focus.” 

Come and join the team! No tech background needed. No experience required. Just a willingness to learn and be part of something meaningful. Livestreaming has become an important part of how we stay connected, especially for those who can’t always be in the room. Being part of this team is a simple but meaningful way to support the church’s reach and presence. Use the link on the flyer to register for one or both sessions, and “Don’t worry, if you mess up, we’ll just say it was a creative camera angle.”

Please join us as we celebrate the survival of and memorialize those lost by domestic violence.

Raise your voice and your glass! Join us at Urban Chestnut Brewery for an evening of well-loved hymns and protest songs.

Gather around the table for a time of music, joy, and fellowship – a space where every voice is welcome and every emotion has room to be held. 

Whether you come with joy, sorrow, gratitude, or hope, we’ll sing together. We can't wait to share this moment with you.

Join us on on Wednesday, May 20th at 7pm for a poetry open mic night ! This open mic night is open and welcome to all. You are welcome to read your own poem, someone else’s, or simply come and listen. There will be refreshments and snacks available!

Meditate with us while walking around the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Together, we will observe changes with each visit throughout the year and reflect on our spiritual lives.

We will stop along the way for a time of quiet reflection and meditation.

We will be there monthly, so join as often as your schedule allows throughout the year.

Strollers and scooters are available for rent at the information desk.

Rev. Lauren’s Last Sunday before she leaves for Sabbatical will be on May 17th, so please come out to bless her on her sabbatical journey, as we are blessed on our own journey together too. 

If you are part of our online community, you are invited to fill out the form below. There are a couple of items that we purchased that we would like to send you for us to journey together this summer.

Pride Community Dinner! We are inviting: PROMO, MTUG, Black Pride, and SQSH to a Beloved Community Dinner! On June 18th from 6:00-8:30 we will host dinner and take pictures of our beautiful selves! The dinner will be from about 6:30-7:30, and then folks are able to have pictures taken before/during/and after the event. This event is completely free to you! 

This dinner is simply a time to get to know one another better and share in a yummy meal. The event will be structured in a format similar to, but not exact, to The People's Supper, which aims to foster trust and build relationships. 

This event will be an RSVP'd event, so we know how much food to supply.

Through the time of the event a local photographer, Zachary Steele, will be there to take photos of our beautiful selves! The photographer will help us take photos of ourselves that will help us honor and love our bodies in all the ways and forms that it shows up. 

We are installing more art pieces, and one of them is our Living Saint Wall. Embracing the concept that we are our own Saints, and acknowledging we each have wisdom, love, and guidance to offer this world. 

There will be a consent form for the photos to let us know if we can use them as part of our own Saint Wall in our church.

Join the celebration as Pastor Eli becomes Rev. Eli Anthony on Saturday, May 9th at 10 a.m.

There will be time for fellowship and food afterwards!

Raise your voice and your glass! Join us at Urban Chestnut Brewery for an evening of well-loved hymns and protest songs.

Gather around the table for a time of music, joy, and fellowship – a space where every voice is welcome and every emotion has room to be held. 

Whether you come with joy, sorrow, gratitude, or hope, we’ll sing together. We can't wait to share this moment with you.

Join us as we and another gather at Tower Grove Park at the Humboldt South Pavilion at 10:30 AM on April 21st, where we will read a statement written by the LGBTQ+ Faith Alliance in support and love for trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming Missourians. We also gather to sings songs of resistance.

We aim to gather to support one another and make it loud and clear that trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming folks belong and are deeply loved here in Missouri.  

There will be singing, prayer, and a lot of love gathered here!

Meditate with us while walking around the Missouri Botanical Garden. Together, we will observe changes with each visit throughout the year and reflect on our spiritual lives. We will stop along the way for a time of quiet reflection and meditation. At 9:00 a.m. we will stop in the MoBot Cafe for coffee hour and fellowship.

We will be there monthly, so join as often as your schedule allows throughout the year.

Strollers and scooters are available for rent at the information desk.

A community that plays and prays together stays together.

Have fun, be silly, and grow in strategy at Pieces Board Game Cafe.

We’ll eat lunch while getting to know each other, clear the tables, then play as long as you like. 

We will be hiking on Saturday April 11th at 10 AM at St. Francios State Park - Swimming Deer Trail to go see the Bluebells that are out!! Every spring, the Swimming Deer Trail in St. Francois State Park is flooded with an endless sea of bluebells and other wildflowers. 

The Swimming Deer Trail is a fairly easy trail that not only offers you a walk through a blue carpeted forest in the spring, but also views of the river. The trail is a little over 3 miles long, but one doesn’t have to hike in very far to see the flowers..

Here are the directions:
Swimming Deer Trail at St Francois State Park @ 10:00 AM
8920 US Highway 67 North
Bonne Terre, MO 63628

Interested in helping to plan our spring camping trip? Come to our meeting! It doesn’t matter if you have been camping with us or not! We would love for your voice to be there.

Join us for Celtic Easter Service which celebrates the Risen Christ with the rising of the Moon. Bring a chair or something to sit on as we gather to celebrate the Risen Christ with song, prayer, and communion at 7:30pm in Tower Grove Park at the Tunica Shelter. This shelter can be accessed from Southwest Drive off of Arsenal. 

Join us this year as we combine services with Epiphany UCC. This Good Friday we are hosting a Tenebrae Service.

A Tenebrae service is traditionally a solemn Christian Holy Week service that is often held on Good Friday. This services is one meditates on the death of Christ. It usually characterized by the gradual extinguishing of candles and lights, follows scripture, and focuses heavily on music.

Join us for this onsite only Maundy Dinner Church Service in the downstairs (yes, we have an elevator) Fellowship Hall at 6:30 p.m.

We will celebrate the gift of the Last Supper while we break bread together.

Raise your voice and your glass and join us for Singing in the Revolution on March 31st at 7:00pm, where we bring together the joy of beloved hymns and protest songs that are pulled from traditions both sacred and secular.

We’ll gather at Urban Chestnut Brewery in the Grove for an evening of music, community, and connection. No experience necessary! If you’ve got a voice, you’re invited to use it. Whether you're coming with joy, grief, gratitude, or curiosity, you’ll find space here.

Come for the singing, stay for the spirit. Let’s make a little holy noise together

Join us at MCCGSL, as we watch the film The Voice of Hind Rajab. The movies follows a Red Crescent volunteers who receive an emergency call. The person on the other line, is a 6-year old girl who is trapped in a car under IDF fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. The volunteers try to keep her on the line, while they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her.

Together we’ll explore how film can reveal glimpses of the sacred, confront us with moral dilemmas, and open conversations about God, humanity, and the world we long for. Whether you’re a movie buff or just love a good story, this is a space where faith meets film. Join us once a month to dive deeper in faith and film with us.

Join us for our Walking Meditation Group!
We gather from 8:00–9:00 AM for a guided time of walking and meditation, with an optional time to chat in the café from 9:00–10:00 AM.

We begin with brief introductions, walk together to a quiet part of the garden, listen to a short reading or poem, and then spend some time in silent meditation. Afterward, we reconvene to share any reflections that came up during our practice.