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St. Mark United Methodist Church and Southern Voice had event contracts canceled at The Abbey at St. Paul's after church leaders learned same-sex dancing might occur. (Photo by Dyana Bagby)
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: Ryan Lee
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An iconic Midtown venue that used to be filled with shirtless gay men partying away weekends has become a conservative Christian church that refuses to rent its facility for events that feature same-sex dancing.
After drifting throughout Midtown since 1999, the congregation of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church purchased the former Abbey restaurant in April 2006. A gothic structure situated on the southern edge of Midtown on Ponce De Leon Avenue, the Abbey was a longtime popular nightlife venue for gay and straight promoters, but had fallen into disrepair during its last years operating as a restaurant.
A pair of gay events that were scheduled to take place at The Abbey in February and March were canceled when St. Paul’s leadership discovered the parties might include gay couples dancing.
The organizers of Club M.A.R.K. — a church-wide dance sponsored by the gay-welcoming St. Mark United Methodist Church — entered a rental agreement with St. Paul’s in October, but didn’t learn until days before their Feb. 9 dance that St. Paul’s was canceling the event.
“We were within about five days of the event,” said St. Mark Senior Pastor James Moor, who added that the dance was advertised on fliers, posters, handouts and in newspapers.
“They apparently were uncomfortable with same-gender dancing,” Moor said. “It’s all somewhat mysterious to us.”
St. Paul’s leadership also backed out of a rental agreement with Southern Voice for The Abbey to host the newspaper’s 20th anniversary party March 7, according to Southern Voice publisher Bob Gunby.
“My understanding is one of the owners found out about it and they said no,” Gunby said. “Obviously, it’s within their right [to not lease their property to gay groups], but in view of the community that has done so much for this part of town, in this day and age it still seems like such an issue for same-sex groups to take advantage of what other people are able to take advantage of.”
The St. Paul’s staff member responsible for booking the facility, events coordinator Melissa Alford, declined an interview request. St. Paul’s Pastor Chris Robins did not respond to repeated interview requests by press time.
In January, Keith Hand, who is gay, entered a contract with St. Paul’s to run his catering business, Bridge Catering, out of the church's renovated kitchen. Hand also signed a contract to cater all functions at St. Paul’s, and said it was shocking that any events facility in Midtown would prohibit gay groups from renting space.
“It’s very sad,” said Hand, who has also been a member of St. Mark for 11 years. “It’s a precarious situation for us.”
Hand said his sexual orientation or the diversity within his catering company has never been an issue with St. Paul’s leadership, who appear to have altered their rental policies after denying the gay organizations.
“They decided they’re only going to do weddings here, I think that is their latest statement,” Hand said.
Both Southern Voice and St. Mark had entered into contracts with Bridge Catering for food services, but only St. Mark had finalized a contract with St. Paul's to rent the church's space. St. Paul's canceled its contract with St. Mark, and informed SoVo that it would not host the anniversary party.
The Club M.A.R.K. dance was rescheduled for March 1 at Paris on Ponce, while Southern Voice organizers continue to look for a replacement venue for the anniversary event.
Moor is not naïve enough to believe that all churches — especially ones that are situated on the more conservative end of the theological spectrum — are welcoming of gay people and organizations. Part of what frustrates Moor is that St. Paul’s expressed its views by reneging on a contract.
“If that’s who you are, that’s who you are, but tell us up front,” said Moor, who wrote and hand-delivered a letter to St. Paul’s leadership on the same Monday that St. Mark found out Club M.A.R.K. was canceled. The letter demanded a refund of the deposit Club M.A.R.K. had paid, and St. Paul’s officials were waiting with the refund check in-hand, Moor said.
The St. Mark pastor said he plans on writing a second letter to St. Paul’s that goes beyond expressing displeasure at St. Paul’s business practices.
“I didn’t articulate our feelings much in the first letter,” Moor said. “I think, on the one hand, this has been a very painful, hurtful thing ...
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