September 12, 2025 — A Pastoral Response to White Supremacy

A Pastoral Response to White Supremacy, Loving Your Neighbor, and Rejecting Violence:

When we hear news of violence, like the shooting of Charlie Kirk, we must hold two truths in tension. We can name the ways he has engaged in gaslighting, in harmful rhetoric that tears at the dignity of God’s children — particularly queer people, Islamists, Black people, immigrants, and others who have been targeted. At the same time, we must be clear: no one deserves to be shot just like no one deserves to be deported without due process. Violence is never the way of Jesus.

As those who follow in the way of Jesus, we are called to love our neighbor. Jesus did not qualify that commandment. Love is not sentimental. It is not passive. It is a fierce, active commitment to the well-being of the other — even when the other would deny ours.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught: “Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Our response, then, cannot mirror the violence we reject.

James Cone reminds us that love must be joined to justice: “Love is not weak or sentimental. It takes its stand with the oppressed and is willing to risk everything for freedom.” To love our neighbor is to refuse the dehumanization of anyone — even those who dehumanize us — while still holding them accountable for harm.

Delores Williams, writing from the heart of womanist theology, reminds us that survival itself is a theological act. She writes that God’s power is not in controlling others but in sustaining life in the wilderness. To love our neighbor is to insist on survival — our own and theirs — in a world that deals so freely in death.

And James Scott, reflecting on power, shows how domination hides in “everyday forms of violence.” We know that violence is not only bullets and blood. It is also the quiet destruction of dignity through gaslighting, lies, and manipulative words. This is white supremacy lived out in order to continue its domination. Our call is to resist that violence too, not by reproducing it, but by exposing it with truth and living differently.

And yet — as headlines fixate on Charlie Kirk, I cannot help but notice the abject absence of outrage over the schoolchildren who were shot on the very same day. Their lives matter just as much. Their blood cries out from the ground, but the nation does not stop to grieve them in the same way. Our selective outrage reveals how distorted our moral compass has become. To love our neighbor means to weep with all who weep, not only the powerful or the famous.

So today we grieve the schoolchildren whose names barely made the news. We grieve the shooting of Charlie Kirk, even as we grieve the violence he has inflicted with his words. We reject all forms of violence — from bullets to gaslighting, from public rhetoric that dehumanizes to the silence that erases whole communities of victims (especially communities that white supremacists would call “other”).

And we recommit ourselves to the way of Jesus, who reveals that loving our neighbor is not weakness, but holy courage. Love does not let us turn away from accountability, nor does it let us abandon our humanity. Love, in the end, is the only power strong enough to break the cycle of violence.

May it be so,

Rev. Lillie Brock

For Immediate Release:

Kim Davis Is Wrong: Marriage Equality Is Not Up for Debate 

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed in Obergefell v. Hodges that the freedom to marry is a fundamental right for same-gender couples. That decision was a promise: that our laws would not treat LGBTQ+ Americans as second-class citizens simply because of who they love.  

Kim Davis, the former Rowan County clerk who famously refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, now wants the Supreme Court to take that promise back. Her latest petition is not about protecting her faith—it’s about enshrining her personal theology into public law, and it’s about stripping away rights from her fellow citizens. 

We need to be clear about what’s at stake here. This is not a matter of “religious freedom” in the way the Constitution envisions it. Davis was a government official acting in her official capacity. The moment she took the oath of office, she accepted the responsibility to uphold the Constitution for all citizens, not just those whose lives align with her beliefs. No one is forcing Davis to marry a woman. But public officials cannot use their personal creed as a veto on someone else’s civil rights. 

Her claim that Obergefell infringes on her First Amendment rights flips the very idea of liberty on its head. The First Amendment protects her freedom to worship and to speak—but it does not grant her the power to deny other Americans equal treatment under the law. In fact, the Establishment Clause exists to prevent exactly this sort of imposition of sectarian doctrine on the whole of society. 

Let’s not miss the irony here. Davis is fighting to defend “traditional marriage” while her own personal history includes multiple divorces. That’s not a personal failing—it’s a reminder that marriage has always been more complex, more human, and more varied than any one religious definition can capture. 

Beyond the legal arguments, public opinion on marriage equality is clear. Nearly 70% of Americans support it (Gallop poll in 2024 says 69%). That’s not just a statistic—that’s an affirmation from across political and religious lines that our neighbors deserve dignity and equality. Overturning Obergefell wouldn’t just be legally disruptive; it would be a cruel and unnecessary tearing apart of families and lives that have been living openly, freely, and securely for nearly a decade. 

If the Supreme Court takes this case, it must reject Davis’s plea. The Constitution belongs to all of us, not just to those who interpret it through the lens of their own religion. Equality under the law means exactly that—equal, for everyone. 

We’ve already decided this question as a nation. It’s time to move forward, not drag ourselves back into a past where some people’s marriages were treated as less valid, less sacred, and less American. 

June 27, 2025 - Our senior pastor and one of our members were featured in the Suncoast Searchlight’s report from LGBTQ elders about what’s at stake in our community. We will continue to celebrate, continue to show up, and continue to ensure that love wins!

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April 18, 2025 - Press Release

For Immediate Release

Prayers for Florida State University

On this good Friday – a day when we remember the violence inflicted on Jesus, we also face the horror of gun violence in our own state of Florida.  Church of the Trinity Metropolitan Community Church wants to express our heartfelt sorrow for the families and friends of those who have lost their lives, the injured and all those who are affected by one more senseless act of violence. 

As we pray and stand in solidarity with the victims of gun violence around our country, we also commit ourselves to fighting for stricter gun laws.  In Florida, it is harder to register to vote than it is to get a gun.  In Florida, it is harder to find a book about a child with two moms than it is to get a gun.  In Florida, it is harder to teach the whole history of American than it is to get a gun.  So to all people of conscience and good will, we call on you to join us in our outrage over the endless loss to gun violence and the unwillingness on the part of our lawmakers to strengthen gun laws. 

As people of faith on this good Friday, we will lament the use of violence to silence a man named Jesus and we will also lament the hardened hearts that continue to act as if guns don’t kill.  As we move toward the hope of Easter, we also march toward the hope that someday, gun violence will be honestly faced by the people and lawmakers of our nation.  

May God’s presence in the world soften our hearts, open our eyes and motivate our feet to stand for stronger gun laws in the state of Florida. 

March 21, 2025 - Press Release

For Immediate Release

March 21, 2025

CHURCH LEADERS AMONG VISITORS TO STATE CAPITOL OPPOSING ANTI-LGBTQ BILLS

Among the thousands of Floridians who attended Pride at the Capitol in Tallahassee this week were dozens of pastors and volunteers from the state’s network of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), a Christian denomination founded specifically to serve LGBTQ people of faith.

Within its commitment to social justice, MCC leaders, pastors and congregations rise up against pending litigation that threatens the rights of and services to LGBTQ citizens – of which Florida has an abundance.

“It was truly uplifting to see hundreds of people from across our state unite in opposition to unjust legislation,” said Rev. Ray Simms, pastor of King of Peace MCC in Pinellas Park. “I’m proud to be part of a faith community that stands up against oppression.”

“I am reminded by being at the capital that people of faith who believe in kindness, love, and grace need to use our voices against legislation that leans toward meanness, condemnation and judgment,” said Rev. Elder Lillie Brock, pastor of Church of the Trinity MCC in Sarasota. “I saw a sign in one of our representative's office that was a campaign poster for Governor DeSantis. Under the governor's name, it said, ‘Come to Florida and be free.’ Yet bill after bill in our Legislature this year pursues the removal of freedom from multiple groups of people.”

Rev. Edler Cecilia Eggleston, global moderator of MCC Churches, was in the United States providing ministry and found time to support the Florida Network of MCC churches as they participated in the events at the Capitol this week.

“It was so encouraging to see the work of so many folks from MCC’s Florida churches, Equality Florida, and other groups standing for equality and justice,” Eggleston said. “Americans have extraordinary access to lawmakers, and seeing such citizen involvement in the process of government is incredibly heartening.

“I urge Florida legislators to heed the voices of the hundreds of thousands of their constituents who oppose the narrowing of free speech rights and the removal of protections for LGBTQ people, and I encourage all fair-minded Floridians to speak up and speak out,” Eggleston said.

Media Contact:

James Hartman

Metropolitan Community Churches

504-458-4600

jameshartman@mccchurch.net

February 19, 2025 - Sarasota Herald Tribune

Local religious leaders and organizations stand in solidarity together to defend Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Opinion: The dismantling of DEI is nothing more than a deliberate attempt to entrench inequity and white supremacy. We must lift our voices and speak out.

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January 30, 2025 - Sarasota Herald Tribune

Local religious leaders and faith organizations stand in solidarity together in the wake of new political leadership continuing an ongoing culture war against immigrants and LGBTQ+ sibling. Church of the Trinity MCC is proud to have helped draft this letter and have two of our pastors sign.

Read the Letter

December 18, 2024

For immediate release.

New ICE Policy Should be Alarming to All Floridians and Faith Communities, Sarasota Pastor Says

        “In this season of celebrating family, the birth of the Christ Child and the lights of hope, peace, joy and love, we also find ourselves in a season where these values are being violated right before our eyes,” said Rev. Lillie Brock of Trinity Metropolitan Community Church in Sarasota.

“Last week, we learned that the incoming Trump administration intends to eliminate a longstanding policy of not grabbing people – suspected undocumented immigrants, who, we must remember are people – from schools, hospitals and houses of worship. We must resist this deadly and cruel policy,” Brock said.

 Brock said that creating an atmosphere of fear in houses of worship is antithetical to American values, and pursuing mass deportations will run contrary to the government’s role of facilitating a strong economy.

 “Mass deportation goes against our values as a nation of immigrants,” Brock said. “Our country and, specifically, Florida, are only strengthened by those who come, to work, live, and enrich our communities. According to almost every knowledgeable academic, it will damage our economy. We depend on the labor of undocumented immigrants for our everyday needs. Moreover, as we continue to claim status as a world leader, we must not show our allies – nor even our enemies – that we so easily abandon foundational commitments to freedom, justice and compassion.”

Brock said freedom-loving Floridians, particularly people of faith and those who work in education and healthcare, should vocally oppose this looming policy.

“In this season wherein we tell the story of a family that had to flee for their lives to another country to escape terror, we must decide if loving our neighbor is just a sweet platitude, or something we will insist on right here, right now,” Brock said.

Media contact: Rev. Elder Brock: lbrock@trinitymcc.com or 941-355-0847.