Rev. Elder Louis Loynes

Rev. Louis Loynes was born in 1928 and raised in San Jose, California where he lived with his family until entering college at Vallejo, California. After his graduation from college, he entered the U.S. Navy where he served for approximately 13 years, about nine of which were spent in the Orient, before he resigned his commission as Lieutenant Commander to pursue other endeavors.  During his tenure in the Navy, he attended courses of study and was graduated from the U. S. Naval Post Graduate School, General Line School, Monterey, California and the U. S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

His early upbringing was in the Presbyterian Church and later with the Unity Church until he became associated with Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles.  As a charter member of the Los Angeles Church, Rev. Loynes and his partner, Lee Rubio, had been with Metropolitan Community Church almost since the beginning, commencing his attendance at the third service held by M.C.C. in the little house in Huntington Park, California.

As a member of the board of directors of MCC-LA and First Reader, Rev. Loynes was interested and active in furthering the work and goals of the church as well as those of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. He was elected to the first Board of Elders of the denomination in 1970, along with Rev. Troy Perry, Rev. John Hose and Rev. Richard Ploen.  Loynes was the first lay person elected to this office, but because of the by-laws regulations at the time, some members of the denomination insisted that he be ordained clergy, which was done.

He served on the Board of Elders until he was retired by the General Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1973.  He continued to serve Metropolitan Community Church congregations in southern California for many years after that.  Rev. Loynes passed away in 1999.

(This bio statement taken from In Unity, September 1971 and updated by Frank Zerilli and Troy Perry)

Biography Date: July, 2010

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