Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in San Francisco has triggered a furious backlash after inviting a gay porn star and non-binary drag performer to preach during a service held in sync with one of the world's biggest kink festivals.
The church staged its annual Folsom Sunday Worship & Praise Service to coincide with the city's famous Folsom Street Fair, a huge event celebrating BDSM and kink subcultures.
Leather Pride Flags in the sanctuary
Critics say the church went far beyond simply acknowledging the weekend. The sanctuary was decorated with Leather Pride Flags, a symbol created in 1989 to represent the leather and fetish community, in what the church described as solidarity and allyship.
The guest preacher was Honey Davenport, an adult film star and drag performer who is also billed as the "International Mr. Leather 2026" winner. Davenport, whose legal name is James Heath Clark, delivered a guest reflection based on the Bible passage Matthew 21:23–32.
Sermon on 'found community'
The New Testament scripture shows Jesus challenged by religious leaders about his authority. He dodges their trap by asking them about John the Baptist, leaving them unable to answer. He then tells the Parable of the Two Sons to expose hypocrisy: one son refuses but later obeys, while the other agrees politely and does nothing.
Jesus applies it by saying tax collectors and prostitutes are entering God's Kingdom ahead of the religious elite because they responded with real repentance and action, not empty words. In the sermon, Davenport spoke about the virtues of "found community", drawing direct comparisons between the support networks built within queer circles - including the leather community and the sex-worker community - and the passage's message about genuine action over empty words.
Online condemnation and support
The service quickly drew widespread attention online and sparked sharp condemnation from socially conservative Christian publications. One outlet, Protestia, denounced the event as "abhorrent", accusing the denomination of abandoning Christian teaching.
Supporters, however, pointed to MCC's history as a church founded with a mission to provide an affirming spiritual home for LGBTQIA+ people. The Metropolitan Community Churches fellowship began in 1968 and remains known for its progressive stance.
MCC San Francisco, on the other hand, celebrated the service as a deliberate statement of inclusion, portraying it as an active demonstration of "radical queer liberation" and "bodily autonomy", and insisting the Leather Pride Flags were a signal of institutional solidarity with the leather community during Folsom weekend.
