Toronto Star

Until Metropolitan Community Church had a home to call its own, the congregation did not feel they were part of a "real" church, says Rev. Brent Hawkes. "For years we rented other facilities, from community halls to other churches," Hawkes says in an interview. "And it never felt like home." In 1991, MCC bought its first buildings, and attendance immediately jumped. "Having our own space allowed us to set our own agenda," Hawkes says. "The congregation felt, now we are a real church." Such is the importance of architecture. The word church, after all, has many definitions. It can mean the bureaucratic structure of organized religion, or the people who subscribe to its views. Or, it can mean the building where they meet. Hawkes says MCC churches typically grow by about 40 per cent once they have a building of their own. That certainly has been his experience. His Riverdale church, the congregation's second, is full to overflowing, and Hawkes is on the lookout for a new location.