This week, Buffalo gets its first LGBT church. Not an accepting or gay-friendly congregation, but an LGBT-led church in the community.

The Reverend T. Gerard Williams has established a chapter of the Unity Fellowship Church in Buffalo. Unity Fellowship Church has a 25-year tradition of serving the spiritual needs of LGBT communities across the US. Open to all and interdenominational in their approach to finding God within, the church has a history of giving LGBT people a spiritual home that is affirming and LGBT-focused in its approach to scripture. The focus of Unity Fellowship Church is to explore your own connections with God and not with religious doctrine. And as a community of faith that was formed in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, there has always been a strong social justice component to this movement that led them to establish LGBT churches within LGBT communities lead by LGBT clergy and laypersons. This church, while primarily serving communities of color within Buffalo’s LGBT community, is open to everyone and ready to serve the community in any way that is needed.

I recently sat down with Reverend Williams to find out more about this new and exciting addition to Buffalo’s LGBT and faith community.

What made you choose Buffalo?

RW: After visiting Buffalo and seeing how vibrant the LGBT community is and that there was no gay church for them to take ownership of their spiritual needs with, God said: “Come to Buffalo.”

How has the community responded?

RW: There are enough churches in Buffalo to go around but not all are preaching a liberating doctrine and providing freedom for LGBT worshipers to explore their personal relationships with God in an affirming way. Most have either been dismissive or equally excited that we are here to do the Lord’s work. Some LGBT community members have an air of apathy when it comes to religion and don’t understand that their expectations of what a religious community should provide us are simply too low. But that is just another challenge to face.

What do you see for the future of this church?

RW: We are currently meeting at a facility but would like to eventually by our own church to create a space that is our own and a place for LGBT worshipers to call home.

Unity Fellowship Church meets Sundays at 3pm at Fellowship Christian Center on Main Street, and will be hosting a fundraiser on August 16 at a member’s home. For more information on the church, schedule of services, or information on making donations, contact Reverend Williams at: revgwillufc8@aol.com or call 347-238-9299. You can also find information online at www.pridecenterwny.org/faith.