Revival

Miki Thomas

“Give me a ‘J’. Give me an ‘E’. Give me
an ‘S’. Give me a ‘U’. Give me an ‘S’.
What does that spel1?..Jesus!”, the pastor
enthusiastically said amid cries of “Praise
Jesus, Worship God.” The atmosphere
was akin to that of an old time revival
complete with musing gospel songs. Un-
like an old time revival, however, most of
the participants were gay. This particular
revival, held on July 26-28 in Sche-
nectady, NY, was sponsored by the
Lighthouse Apostolic Church and the Na-
tional Gay Pentecostal Alliance (NGPA).

The theme of the revival was “We’ve
Come this Far by Faith.” It was also a
celebration for the twelfth anniversary of
the founding of NGPA. Reverend Wil-
liam Carey, or Brother Carey, has been
involved from the beginning. He left the
United Pentacostal Church because it
wasn’t particularly “gay cool”. Currently,
he is pastor of the Lighthouse Apostolic
Church in Schenectady, “an Apostolic,
spirit-filled, bible-believing church”,
open to all people regardless of sexual or-
ientation. Being an Apostolic church
means that its doctrine is based on what
the first century church taught according
to the Book of Acts and the Epistles:
there is one God, not a trinitarian god-

head, repentance, water immersion bap-
tism, and speaking in tongues, indicating
a baptism in the holy ghost.

Reverend Sandy Lewis, pastor of the
Casa de la Paloma Apostolic Church in
Tuscon, Arizona was the speaker and
preacher. She was dubbed “Sister Never
Quit” for her indestructible faith in God.
During the past several years she lost her
house and severely injured her back.
Casa de la Paloma for a long time had
only Reverend Lewis and her spouse Sis-
ter Phil in attendance, but now has
grown big enough for them to rent a
storefront. She envisions a vast revival
amongst the gay and lesbian community
with similar churches forming across the
country.

Sister Lewis’ enthusiasm was infectious,
as was everyone’s that weekend. Being
among gays and lesbians who declared
themselves children of God and who
took risks in coming out and spreading
the word was an affirming atmosphere in
which to worship. It is this willingness to
come out and take risks that enables
NGPA’s mission to let gays and lesbians
know that “Jesus loves you...no matter
what”.

For more information about NGPA,
write National Gay Pentacostal Alliance,
PO Box 1391, Schenectady, NY 12301-
1391 or call (518) 372-6001. A

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