by The Rev. Dr. Troy D. Perry
MCC Founder and Moderator Emeritus

 The young woman literally pushed her way between us.

 It was MCC's 1974 General Conference in San Francisco; I was talking with an MCCer when the young woman stepped in between us, flashed a smile, and said, "Let a real butch belly up to the bar."

 That's how I first met Jeri Ann Harvey � and she's been making an impression on me, and thousands of others, ever since.

 From that first moment, I felt a deep connection with Jeri Ann. We soon became colleagues; we quickly became the best of friends.

 I am saddened that I will not see Jeri Ann again in this life, but there is a reunion that is yet to come in which we will again be reunited.

 I know today that Jeri Ann Harvey rests in the arms of a loving God and that she will be there to greet us again some day, just inside the Eastern Gate.

 In Christ,

 The Rev. Troy D. Perry
Founder and Moderator Emeritus
Metropolitan Community Churches