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Meet Our Pastor
Read the Seattle Gay News' article about Rev. Neal
MCC Seattle is pastored by the Rev. H. Ray Neal Jr., who moved to Seattle in February 2009 from Knoxville, Tennessee, where he had been associate pastor at MCC Knoxville since 2005. Pastor Ray is a 1982 graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. He was first ordained to the Gospel Ministry in 1982. He completed his transfer of ordination to Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches in 2008. Ray has served as senior pastor and associate pastor of small and large churches in Kentucky, Wisconsin, Illinois, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Ray believes that every church can and should grow both spiritually and numerically as Biblically evidenced by the miraculous growth of the first century church in the Book of Acts. Ray says, “MCC Seattle has an unprecedented opportunity for growth! We are the oldest LGBT church in Seattle, founded by and for LGBT persons in 1972. At 12.9% of the population, Seattle has the highest concentration of LGBT persons outside of the city of San Francisco! All persons need to know that God loves them exactly the way God created them! At MCC Seattle we are bringing harmony and peace to the question of spirituality and sexuality.”
Ray and his partner, Mark Cooley, live in the Beacon Hill Neighborhood of Seattle. Mark is the organist/pianist for Des Moines United Methodist Church, Des Moines, WA. They have been in a committed relationship since first meeting each other in 2004.
Though Ray’s family is from Tennessee, he grew up in the Chicago metropolitan region. He graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, with a B.S. in Education and an M.S. in Educational Administration. Previous to entering the ministry he taught elementary school. Ray has also been the owner of a small garden and landscaping shop in Abingdon, Virginia. Ray is the proud father of three living children and seven grandchildren. His family lives in Virginia and Indiana.
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