The
Blade’s
annual
roundup
of
the
Best
of
Gay
D.C.
includes
many
perennial
favorites,
like
Annie’s
and
JR.’s,
along
with
a
few
fresh
faces
that
help
keep
this
city
lively
and
dynamic.
In
a
year
marked
by
disappointments
on
the
gay
rights
front
—
from
anti-gay
marriage
amendments
winning
approval
in
11
states
on
Election
Day
to
the
untimely
death
of
activist
Wanda
Alston
to
a
push
by
the
Catholic
Church
to
bar
gay
seminarians
—
it
is
refreshing
to
read
the
story
of
Revs.
Dennis
and
Christine
Wiley,
two
pro-gay
ministers
who
preside
at
Covenant
Baptist
Church.
The
Wileys
are
our
pick
for
best
straight
ally.
Blade
readers
voted
for
the
best
of
gay
D.C.
in
our
online
poll,
while
the
editors
debated
choices
that
frequently
diverged
from
the
readers’
picks.
Chris
Crain,
Kevin
Naff,
Rhonda
Smith,
Ken
Sain,
Brian
Moylan,
Lou
Chibbaro
Jr.,
Eartha
Melzer,
Elizabeth
Weill-Greenberg,
Katherine
Volin,
Jorge
Valencia
and
Patrick
Folliard
contributed
to
this
year’s
guide.
Although
the
Mautner
Project
bills
itself
as
“the
national
lesbian
health
organization,”
D.C.
area
lesbians
and
gay
men
have
considered
the
Washington,
D.C.-based
group
one
of
the
area’s
most
important
health
organizations.
Among
its
many
programs,
the
Mautner
Project
provides
direct
services
for
lesbians
living
in
the
D.C.
metropolitan
area.
Local
activists
have
also
played
a
role
in
the
Mautner
Project’s
development
and
fund-raising
since
activist
Susan
Hester
founded
it
in
1990.
Hester’s
partner,
Mary
Helen
Mautner,
asked
Hester
to
form
an
organization
to
help
other
lesbians
facing
the
challenges
of
life-threatening
illnesses
shortly
before
Mautner
died
in
1989
of
breast
cancer,
according
to
information
on
the
group’s
Web
site.
The
organization’s
work
includes
educating
lesbians
about
health
issues
relevant
to
them
as
well
as
educating
health
care
providers
about
the
needs
and
concerns
of
their
lesbian
clients.
Mautner
Project
1707
L
St.,
NW,
Suite
230
Washington,
DC
20036
202-332-5536
www.mautnerproject.org
Equality
Maryland,
a
non-partisan,
statewide
gay
civil
rights
organization
with
its
headquarters
in
Silver
Spring,
has
been
in
the
news
recently
in
its
effort
to
build
support
for
overturning
a
Maryland
law
banning
same-sex
couples
from
marrying.
With
the
ACLU
representing
nine
same-sex
couples
in
a
lawsuit
seeking
to
strike
down
that
law,
Equality
Maryland
organized
a
campaign
to
show
how
prohibiting
same-sex
couples
from
marrying
negatively
impacts
the
lives
of
many
Marylanders
and
their
families.
The
marriage
lawsuit
comes
at
a
time
when
Equality
Maryland
has
been
credited
with
helping
to
push
through
three
gay
rights
related
bills
in
the
Maryland
legislature
and
helping
to
defeat
an
anti-gay
bill.
One
of
the
bills,
which
Republican
Governor
Robert
Ehrlich
signed,
adds
protections
for
gays
and
transgendered
people
in
the
state’s
hate
crimes
law.
The
second
bill,
the
Medical
Decision
Making
Act
of
2005,
would
provide
decision-making
authority
to
domestic
partners
in
cases
where
one
of
the
partners
is
incapacitated
or
dies.
The
third
bill,
the
Transfer
and
Recordation
Tax
Act
of
2005,
would
eliminate
taxes
domestic
partners
currently
must
pay
when
one
partner
is
added
to
the
deed
of
the
other
partner’s
home.
Ehrlich
vetoed
the
latter
two
bills.
With
Equality
Maryland
coordinating
lobbying
efforts
on
behalf
of
gays,
the
legislature
also
defeated
a
proposed
state
constitutional
amendment
that
would
have
banned
same-sex
marriage,
making
the
lawsuit
by
the
same-sex
couples
moot.
Equality
Maryland
www.equalitymaryland.org
While
some
gay-friendly
churches
are
quick
to
note
that
their
house
of
worship
is
not
“a
gay
church,”
MCC-DC
boldly
embraces
this
moniker.
It
was
founded
in
1970
as
the
Community
Church
of
Washington,
D.C.
“The
Metropolitan
Community
Church
of
Washington
(MCC-DC)
is
a
Christian
Church
with
a
special
ministry
to
the
Gay,
Lesbian,
Bisexual,
and
Transgendered
community,”
the
church’s
Web
site
states.
After
35
years,
this
unequivocal
declaration
that
one
can
be
gay
and
Christian
continues
to
resonate
with
gay
men
and
lesbians
throughout
this
region
who
are
seeking
a
racially
mixed
spiritual
haven
where
they
are
unconditionally
accepted.
Rev.
Troy
D.
Perry
founded
Metropolitan
Community
Churches
in
California
in
1968.
MCC-DC
belongs
to
the
denomination.
At
MCC-DC,
Rev.
Dr.
Candace
R.
Shultis,
MCC-DC’s
pastor
since
1995,
and
Rev.
V.
Phillip
Mathews,
who
has
been
associate
pastor
there
for
10
years,
preside
along
with
three
assistant
pastors.
MCC-DC
474
Ridge
St.,
NW
Washington,
DC
20001
202-638-7373
www.mccdc.com
www.mccchurch.org
Unity
of
Washington,
D.C.,
is
a
gay-affirming
house
of
worship
on
Capitol
Hill
with
a
large
number
of
gay
congregants
—
though
it
is
not
specifically
aimed
at
this
population.
Most
gay
and
lesbian
members
seem
to
learn
about
it
through
word
of
mouth.
Unity
of
Washington’s
presiding
pastor
is
Rev.
Sylvia
E.
Sumter,
an
unassuming
Brooklyn
native
whose
sermons
emphasize
the
power
of
positive
thinking
and
a
metaphysical
connection
to
the
Bible.
Though
issues
related
to
race,
ethnicity
and
sexual
orientation
rarely
are
broached
from
the
pulpit,
leaders
at
Unity
of
Washington,
which
has
a
predominantly
African-American
congregation,
note
on
the
church’s
Web
site:
“It
is
imperative
that
our
...
