A Rare Haven for Gay Men and Lesbians in Harlem<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By GERREN KEITH GAYNORIn a church nestled among a row of residential brownstones, parishioners clapped and danced as a woman began to testify. \u201cAren\u2019t you\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/a-rare-haven-for-gay-men-and-lesbians-in-harlem.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Rare Haven for Gay Men and Lesbians in Harlem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By GERREN KEITH GAYNORIn a church nestled among a row of residential brownstones, parishioners clapped and danced as a woman began to testify. \u201cAren\u2019t you\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/a-rare-haven-for-gay-men-and-lesbians-in-harlem.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-28T13:51:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre E. 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{"id":2098,"date":"2012-05-28T13:51:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-28T13:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/a-rare-haven-for-gay-men-and-lesbians-in-harlem.html"},"modified":"2012-05-28T13:51:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-28T13:51:00","slug":"a-rare-haven-for-gay-men-and-lesbians-in-harlem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/a-rare-haven-for-gay-men-and-lesbians-in-harlem.html","title":{"rendered":"A Rare Haven for Gay Men and Lesbians in Harlem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

By GERREN KEITH GAYNOR<\/p>\n

In a church nestled among a row of residential brownstones, parishioners clapped and danced as a woman began to testify. \u201cAren\u2019t you glad Jesus got up?\u201d the woman, Twanna Gause, asked the predominantly black congregation, which responded with enthusiastic shouts of \u201cAmen\u201d and \u201cHallelujah.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe got up so I can come out,\u201d Ms. Gause said, as worshipers hopped out of their seats and cheered in agreement. \u201cHe got up so you can come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

For black Christians who are gay and lesbian, church can be a daunting experience, where on any given Sunday they are taught that homosexuality is not only a sin, but a one-way ticket to hell. That alienation has been a benefit for the Rivers at Rehoboth congregation, in Harlem, which has made ministry to gay men and lesbians, combined with the worship traditions of black churches, its mission.
Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"