From a young age, openly gay Pastor Omar Galloway knew he wanted to lead his own church, which he knew would be a welcoming, inclusive space where all people were respected.
In 1992, he wrote a framework but “had to wait to see what was the perfect time,” Galloway told the Germantown Info Hub. He spent his time in ministerial training at another church while working as a full-service worker for a Philadelphia nursing home.
Sixteen years later, in 2008, he founded Nehemiah Tabernacle, an “affirming church” for LGBTQ+ and straight people alike, out of his own house in Germantown, close to Fernhill Park. A slideshow on YouTube depicts the church’s early years when people began filling Galloway’s apartment in prayer and community.
Galloway leads the church alongside his husband, Jeffrey Dickerson. It takes its name from Nehemiah, a leader who, according to the Old Testament, rebuilt the city of Jerusalem during the fifth century B.C.
Galloway describes, “In Genesis, the Tabernacle was actually a movable tent, so I think… for us [it means] to help people learn how to rebuild their lives.” At the same time, it shows that “we are movable—we go into the community and connect with other organizations, and we don’t stay just in our building.”
Indeed, Galloway’s goal as a pastor is “helping people in every part of their lives” because, in his words, “[the] church doesn’t mean anything if you’re hungry.”
One time, he recalls, he noticed people in his house were hungry, and “I had to stop the bible study and cook them a meal.”
“We’re more that type of church,” Galloway said, “that’s our goal.”
Galloway has for years served his estimated 87-member congregation and the greater Germantown community through food drives, diaper drives, and youth programming through Hope for Tomorrow, the church’s nonprofit wing.
Sixteen years after opening his doors, Galloway is searching for a separate Church building where his congregation can grow, and he can expand his community service programs. His house, which comfortably accommodates approximately 30 people, lacks storage space, which has caused his congregation to temporarily pause many of their programs, like a monthly food giveaway. They still distribute school supplies through gift cards and holiday baskets close to Christmas, but he knows they could do so much more with the necessary resources.
Over the years, Galloway has received grants from the local and federal governments and donations from his members. Still, he said he doesn’t regularly solicit donations from the congregation in the same aggressive manner as other churches he has attended.
Nehemiah Tabernacle is a welcoming space, which contrasts with some of the churches Galloway attended growing up.
“I was raised in a very homophobic space, and most churches I came from were very homophobic,” he said. By contrast, his parents were very accepting of all people.
When he was nine or ten years old, Galloway remembers that a musician at his church who was gay wanted to preach, but the pastor wouldn’t permit it.
“So my parents and other leaders in the church petitioned the pastor saying that he’s like family to the church,” he said. “And like a month or two later, the pastor let him preach.”
He’s learned since then that “as long as you show people love and respect, that’s all that matters.”
An important pillar of welcoming LGBTQ+ people to Nehemiah Tabernacle is making sure that people who hold different queer identities all have a seat at the table, Galloway has learned, since many have life experiences different from his own. “We all need to learn because I’m still learning,” he added.
Galloway and Dickenson, his husband, were the third couple to get married in Philadelphia County when same-sex marriage was legalized in Pennsylvania in 2014. “We literally ran when they said we could get married,” Galloway recalls — and they got married, naturally, in their own home at Nehemiah Tabernacle.
You can follow Nehemiah Tabernacle on Facebook, where services are live-streamed. Read more about the church and how to get involved on its website.
