KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Christ the King Independent Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri's Westside practices Catholicism and opens its doors to LGBTQ+ and divorced Kansas Citians.
Father Taylor Tracy founded the church. While he is an ordained priest, the church is not affiliated with the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
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“We started with nothing, we met in the park during COVID-19, and I said we didn’t have a candlestick to our name," he said.
Father Taylor is a part of the LGBTQ+ community himself. He met his husband in high school.
"I will tell you, I couldn’t be here without him," he said.
The church has grown to125 parishioners at the church Taylor established in 2021 at the corner of Pennway and Jefferson Streets.
“Well, we welcome all people, and that includes people in the LGBTQI+ community, those who have been divorced, those who have been made to feel as though they aren’t welcome for one reason or another," he said.
That includes parishioner Theresa Magana, a lifelong Catholic who was once married by the courts, divorced and married a Baptist.
“I knew from what I had heard that I would still be welcomed here," she said. "At my church that I was attending, I was no longer made to feel like I could receive any blessing, the eucharist, ashes or anything.”
After first attending mass at Christ the King for Ash Wednesday in 2023, Magana said it's her church for life.
“It’s a wonderful feeling, I feel at peace now," she said. "I feel like if I were to pass tomorrow, that I am OK, and I didn’t feel that way, I was worried about that.”
Parishioner Jenri Conley is part of the LGBTQ+ community and a lifelong Catholic. She first found Christ the King online after meeting her fianceé while attending Kansas State University.
Conley and her fianceé would travel from Manhattan to Kansas City to attend mass at Christ the King somewhat regularly.
“I guess I was just desperately searching for someplace I could still practice my faith in a more authentic way,” she said.
One day, Father Taylor will officiate their wedding at Christ the King Independent Catholic Church.
“I think about this a lot, just how blessed I am to have this space, have a space where we can get married and have our wedding ceremony with the faith traditions that I hold so close to my heart," Conley said.
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