LGBTQ synagogue
Open-knowledge reference entry
LGBTQ synagogues (historically known as gay and lesbian synagogues) are synagogues primarily serving LGBTQ Jews. LGBTQ synagogues date to 1970, with the oldest extant one, Beth Chayim Chadashim (BCC) in Los Angeles, established in 1972. Their religious doctrines vary, but are generally liberal; many affiliate with the Reform movement and one with Reconstructionism, while others, such as Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST) in New York City, are independent. Many use custom liturgy shaped by the LGBTQ experience and Jewish feminism, often using degenderized terms to refer to God. LGBTQ synagogues are largely found in the United States, although one, Beit Klal Yisrael, exists in London.
Early LGBTQ synagogues emerged alongside and with the help of the LGBTQ-affirming Metropolitan Community Church. The synagogues' growth was heavily shaped by the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, which in some congregations killed close to half of the membership. The ministry of Rabbi Yoel Kahn at Congregation Sha'ar Zahav was influential on liberal Jewish attitudes toward AIDS throughout the United States. LGBTQ synagogues mourning losses from AIDS created the modern Mi Shebeirach for healing, a prayer previously absent in most liberal Jewish practice. Debbie Friedman and Rabbi Drorah Setel, a lesbian couple with ties to BCC, debuted their well-known setting of the prayer in 1987.
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