“We try to have a presence outside the city to represent an affirmative, positive image of the gay community,’’ Strumwasser said. “It’s particularly important for young people, who often have difficulty in dealing with issues concerning coming out and acceptance. It’s a positive presentation.’’
In line with its outreach mission, Strumwasser said, the chorus tries to appear in different regions. This season the group is also performing in the Groton-Dunstable area and on Cape Cod.
The First Congregational Church in Rockland is a good place for the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus to perform because it has a policy of welcoming members from all backgrounds, said Janet Cann, a member of the church council.
“Our church is an open and affirming congregation,’’ Cann said. “We accept all walks of life.’’
That inclusiveness is consistent with the standpoint of the church’s membership in the United Church of Christ denomination, the umbrella organization that includes most of the region’s historic Congregational churches.
As gays and lesbians sought more visibility and greater participation in mainstream institutions in recent decades, many churches opened their doors, Cann said.
“The churches stepped up,’’ she said. “Acceptance became more public.’’
Her church is also eager to build up its role as a local provider of arts and culture. “Because Rockland is a small town and does not have a lot of cultural events, we’ve tried to make a commitment to begin to have a few concerts here,’’ Cann said. “We have a hand-bell concert and we have a brass concert’’ at Christmas. “We’re doing this concert this spring.’’
The church is a good home for music, she said. “It has a beautiful sanctuary and excellent acoustics.’’
The Rockland Cultural Council, the agency distributing state arts funds to local programs, is backing the concert with an $800 grant.
While the Gay Men’s Chorus has a full membership of 180 to 200 to draw on, about 50 to 60 singers will perform in Rockland, in a church that seats about 300.
