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Title A name given to the resource RTSA Conference Call Notes 2017/06/21 RTSA Conference Call Notes RTSA Ecumenical Planning Team https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/ddd15ae56fe18c20fe54645789107570.pdf 1dfc6a03a684f5c35b5ba326026b6ce0 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource RTSA Conference Call Notes 2017/05/16 RTSA Conference Call Notes RTSA Ecumenical Planning Team https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/c5fe508279d60ccf8e2b16df04c3ad91.pdf 61879f41374b80c40c9e9cf06fcbd4c7 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. 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Title A name given to the resource RTSA Conference Call Notes 2017/03/15 RTSA Conference Call Notes RTSA Ecumenical Planning Team https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/cef87b7ce666c5a62db6056479ed277a.pdf 2cc740a60f6c7ecf6cb081dee9273c44 Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource RTSA Conference Call Notes 2017/02/09 RTSA Conference Call Notes RTSA Ecumenical Planning Team https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/6f124d6e94e4195ec01f3fc0982710b1.pdf 081d75e4657a3c0fbc2e1cddab59c6ca Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. 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Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Final RTSA Program Book https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/6904fffeb7d4cec36a4410177b5af8c4.JPG ab83b0ede39589bc40cd9979002f83be Still Image A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Ecumenical Planning Team RTSA Ecumenical Planning Team https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/b5317ddd0cdfaf1f946955042025805c.jpg 173fa751af135040e42bb214b31565a7 Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Zachary Jones was born and raised in Los Angeles, California in 1958. He was the youngest son of seven children born to Maggie and Frank Jones. Early in his life, his mother knew he had a strong call to God and to the church and encouraged his spiritual pursuits. He has been active in church ministry since he was a youth. As a teenager, he held his own Bible studies and was licensed as a pulpit minister in 1978 at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church.  Yet, Bishop Jones was religiously explorative because after his licensure with his local Baptist congregation, he moved his membership and affiliation to the Pentecostal denomination. He later joined West Adams Foursquare Church in Los Angeles, a largely black congregation within the predominately white denomination. This community encouraged Bible centered practice and instruction and while attending this church, Bishop Jones entered and graduated from Palos Verdes Bible Seminary, where he received his license in Systematic Theology. While at West Adams Foursquare Church, Bishop Jones decided that he needed to live his life fully as a gay man. As a teenager, he had wrestled with his sexual orientation and family/religious expectations. His oldest brother Larry is gay and as a youth, Zachary would hang out with him in the Hollywood gay community. These were contentious times as his family and religious communities were not supportive of gay persons so Zachary spent those early years fantasizing about a time when he could live sexually free. He made the first step towards this freedom by coming out to his mother and entering a self-imposed religious exile while he discerned what being gay meant for him socially and religiously. During this self-discovery period, Zachary tried different religious communities such as the Metropolitan Community Church, but he felt that these experiences were too white and foreign to him. Although he has a religiously eclectic background, he did not find a spiritual home again until he visited Unity Fellowship Church. Unity Fellowship Church Movement, Inc. is a movement that is dedicated towards fighting homophobia and injustice for all. It was founded and headquartered in Los Angeles by Archbishop Carl Bean. Initially Zachary was drawn to Unity Fellowship because of its work with the Minority AIDS Project, a group he was already volunteering with after his partner died from AIDS. During those early years, Unity Fellowship was a small congregation serving the needs of black gays and lesbians. Zachary eventually became more involved in the church, driving Archbishop Bean to do hospital visits and teaching Sunday School. He entered full-time ministry in 1987 when he was appointed Assistant Pastor of the congregation. He served in that capacity for five years when he was sent to New York City to form and pastor the first Unity Fellowship church, Unity Fellowship of Christ Church- NYC located in Brooklyn, New York. When he moved to New York he discovered that the area was in need of a stronger black voice to speak to the oppression facing their community. Thus, he founded a congregation that has a social justice ministry that prides itself on taking the concept of “church” outside of the regular Sunday service. After actively serving as pastor of the NY congregation, he was elevated to elder of the church. He joined the denomination’s House of Bishops and became the Administrator and Senior Bishop of the world-wide Unity Fellowship Church Movement, Inc. in 2007. Outside of the church, Bishop Jones is the founder of Breaking Ground, a lesbian, gay, and transgender, not-for-profit, youth educational organization. He is an activist for lesbian, gay, and transgender issues, such as violence, homophobia, and HIV/AIDS. He is a board member of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) and is also a founding member of New York State’s Black Gay Men’s Network. Finally, Bishop Jones finds fulfillment and contentment in being a husband, father, and jazz pianist. (This biographical statement provided by Zachary Jones.) Biographical Text Zachary Jones was born and raised in Los Angeles, California in 1958. He was the youngest son of seven children born to Maggie and Frank Jones. Early in his life, his mother knew he had a strong call to God and to the church and encouraged his spiritual pursuits. He has been active in church ministry since he was a youth. As a teenager, he held his own Bible studies and was licensed as a pulpit minister in 1978 at the Mount Moriah Baptist Church. Yet, Bishop Jones was religiously explorative because after his licensure with his local Baptist congregation, he moved his membership and affiliation to the Pentecostal denomination. He later joined West Adams Foursquare Church in Los Angeles, a largely black congregation within the predominately white denomination. This community encouraged Bible centered practice and instruction and while attending this church, Bishop Jones entered and graduated from Palos Verdes Bible Seminary, where he received his license in Systematic Theology. While at West Adams Foursquare Church, Bishop Jones decided that he needed to live his life fully as a gay man. As a teenager, he had wrestled with his sexual orientation and family/religious expectations. His oldest brother Larry is gay and as a youth, Zachary would hang out with him in the Hollywood gay community. These were contentious times as his family and religious communities were not supportive of gay persons so Zachary spent those early years fantasizing about a time when he could live sexually free. He made the first step towards this freedom by coming out to his mother and entering a self-imposed religious exile while he discerned what being gay meant for him socially and religiously. During this self-discovery period, Zachary tried different religious communities such as the Metropolitan Community Church, but he felt that these experiences were too white and foreign to him. Although he has a religiously eclectic background, he did not find a spiritual home again until he visited Unity Fellowship Church. Unity Fellowship Church Movement, Inc. is a movement that is dedicated towards fighting homophobia and injustice for all. It was founded and headquartered in Los Angeles by Archbishop Carl Bean. Initially Zachary was drawn to Unity Fellowship because of its work with the Minority AIDS Project, a group he was already volunteering with after his partner died from AIDS. During those early years, Unity Fellowship was a small congregation serving the needs of black gays and lesbians. Zachary eventually became more involved in the church, driving Archbishop Bean to do hospital visits and teaching Sunday School. He entered full-time ministry in 1987 when he was appointed Assistant Pastor of the congregation. He served in that capacity for five years when he was sent to New York City to form and pastor the first Unity Fellowship church, Unity Fellowship of Christ Church- NYC located in Brooklyn, New York. When he moved to New York he discovered that the area was in need of a stronger black voice to speak to the oppression facing their community. Thus, he founded a congregation that has a social justice ministry that prides itself on taking the concept of “church” outside of the regular Sunday service. After actively serving as pastor of the NY congregation, he was elevated to elder of the church. He joined the denomination’s House of Bishops and became the Administrator and Senior Bishop of the world-wide Unity Fellowship Church Movement, Inc. in 2007. Outside of the church, Bishop Jones is the founder of Breaking Ground, a lesbian, gay, and transgender, not-for-profit, youth educational organization. He is an activist for lesbian, gay, and transgender issues, such as violence, homophobia, and HIV/AIDS. He is a board member of Gay Men of African Descent (GMAD) and is also a founding member of New York State’s Black Gay Men’s Network. Finally, Bishop Jones finds fulfillment and contentment in being a husband, father, and jazz pianist. (This biographical statement provided by Zachary Jones.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Zachary Jones Baptist Pentecostal Unity Fellowship Church Movement Zachary Jones https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/0370a151b30d6abe7bbcaa5afd6a12f1.jpg 597250890f8072b90b4d88383a80f2f6 Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document The Rev. Elder Dr. Troy D. Perry founded Metropolitan Community Churches with 12 people in his living room in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968. Since that time, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) has grown, under his leadership, to 44,000+ people in over 300 congregations in 16 countries around the world. It has not always been an easy journey. In his autobiography, The Lord is My Shepherd and Knows I’m Gay, Rev. Perry recalls realizing his vocation in Florida at the age of 13 and being licensed as a Baptist minister two years later. Rev. Perry describes in frank, sometimes heartbreaking detail, the discovery and disclosure of his sexual orientation, divorce, estrangement from his wife and children, loss of his license as a minister, a failed suicide attempt and the "rediscovery" of his vocation and ministry, leading to the founding of UFMCC. Rev. Perry’s ministry and activism have taken many turns during the past 30 years, including positions on a number of boards of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered organizations. In 1978 Rev. Perry was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter with its Humanitarian Award. He also held a seat on the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. Perry has become an internationally recognized spiritual leader and one of the world's leading activists for the civil rights of gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgendered people. In 1984, Rev. Perry completed a one-hour video on the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, titled "God Gays & The Gospel: This Is Our Story" which is available for broadcast on local public access stations. Rev. Perry serves as host of "Out, Gifted and Blessed", a regularly scheduled 30 minute internet 'cybercast'. The program features music by UFMCC artists, UFMCC news, sermons by Rev. Perry and interviews with religious leaders. Virtually every major magazine and newspaper in the world has covered the story of the founding and successful ministry of this unique Fellowship. Rev. Perry and Lay and Clergy Leaders of UFMCC have spoken on issues of gay/lesbian spirituality and the g/l/b/t civil rights movement on numerous local television/radio shows. At a national level UFMCC has been represented on virtually every major network news program, including 60 Minutes, Nightline, PBS presentations, Dateline, and many others in the USA, and in a wide range of world media as well. The UFMCC founder holds an Honorary Doctorate of Ministry from Samaritan College in Los Angeles for founding MCC, an Honorary Doctorate in Human Services from Sierra University, Santa Monica, California for his work in civil rights, and was lauded by the Gay Press Association with its Humanitarian Award. Rev. Perry has been invited to the White House on five occasions: <ul> <li>in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter to discuss the whole spectrum of g/l/b/t rights;</li> <li>in 1993 by President Bill Clinton as a participant in the first White House Conference on AIDS;</li> <li>in 1997 invited by President Clinton as a participant in the White House Conference on Hate Crimes;</li> <li>in 1997 again as a guest of President Clinton as an "honoree" at a White House breakfast with President honoring 100 national spiritual leaders in the USA.</li> <li>in 2009, along with his partner Phillip, by President Barack Obama on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.</li> </ul> Rev. Perry led the movement for MCC’s membership in the National Council of churches starting in September, 1981. The UFMCC was given Official Observer status to the 7th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which was held in Canberra, Australia, in February, 1991. Perry was a featured speaker at all of the LGBT Marches on Washington: 1979, 1987, 1993, 2000 and 2009.  He  conducted "The Wedding"--a demonstration for marriage equality at two of the marches--in 1993 at the IRS building and in 2000 at the Lincoln Memorial.  Rev. Troy Perry has devoted his life to help others discover the loving and caring God to whom he has committed his life. Rev. Perry also completed a sequel to his first book entitled Don’t Be Afraid Anymore, published by St. Martin’s Press. He is contributing editor for the book Is Gay Good? and the subject of another book, Our God Too. While Rev. Perry realizes the oppression still facing gays and lesbians, he stands at the vanguard of the movement, telling his flock - and the rest of the world - "We’re Not Afraid Anymore." Rev. Elder Perry resides with his lover of 28 years, Mr. Phillip Ray DeBlieck, in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles, Calif. (This biographical statement provided by Troy Perry.) Biographical Text The Rev. Elder Dr. Troy D. Perry founded Metropolitan Community Churches with 12 people in his living room in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968. Since that time, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) has grown, under his leadership, to 44,000+ people in over 300 congregations in 16 countries around the world. It has not always been an easy journey. In his autobiography, The Lord is My Shepherd and Knows I’m Gay, Rev. Perry recalls realizing his vocation in Florida at the age of 13 and being licensed as a Baptist minister two years later. Rev. Perry describes in frank, sometimes heartbreaking detail, the discovery and disclosure of his sexual orientation, divorce, estrangement from his wife and children, loss of his license as a minister, a failed suicide attempt and the "rediscovery" of his vocation and ministry, leading to the founding of UFMCC. Rev. Perry’s ministry and activism have taken many turns during the past 30 years, including positions on a number of boards of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered organizations. In 1978 Rev. Perry was honored by the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter with its Humanitarian Award. He also held a seat on the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. Perry has become an internationally recognized spiritual leader and one of the world's leading activists for the civil rights of gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgendered people. In 1984, Rev. Perry completed a one-hour video on the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, titled "God Gays & The Gospel: This Is Our Story" which is available for broadcast on local public access stations. Rev. Perry serves as host of "Out, Gifted and Blessed", a regularly scheduled 30 minute internet 'cybercast'. The program features music by UFMCC artists, UFMCC news, sermons by Rev. Perry and interviews with religious leaders. Virtually every major magazine and newspaper in the world has covered the story of the founding and successful ministry of this unique Fellowship. Rev. Perry and Lay and Clergy Leaders of UFMCC have spoken on issues of gay/lesbian spirituality and the g/l/b/t civil rights movement on numerous local television/radio shows. At a national level UFMCC has been represented on virtually every major network news program, including 60 Minutes, Nightline, PBS presentations, Dateline, and many others in the USA, and in a wide range of world media as well. The UFMCC founder holds an Honorary Doctorate of Ministry from Samaritan College in Los Angeles for founding MCC, an Honorary Doctorate in Human Services from Sierra University, Santa Monica, California for his work in civil rights, and was lauded by the Gay Press Association with its Humanitarian Award. Rev. Perry has been invited to the White House on five occasions: <ul> <li>in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter to discuss the whole spectrum of g/l/b/t rights;</li> <li>in 1993 by President Bill Clinton as a participant in the first White House Conference on AIDS;</li> <li>in 1997 invited by President Clinton as a participant in the White House Conference on Hate Crimes;</li> <li>in 1997 again as a guest of President Clinton as an "honoree" at a White House breakfast with President honoring 100 national spiritual leaders in the USA.</li> <li>in 2009, along with his partner Phillip, by President Barack Obama on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Stonewall.</li> </ul> Rev. Perry led the movement for MCC’s membership in the National Council of churches starting in September, 1981. The UFMCC was given Official Observer status to the 7th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which was held in Canberra, Australia, in February, 1991. Perry was a featured speaker at all of the LGBT Marches on Washington: 1979, 1987, 1993, 2000 and 2009.  He  conducted "The Wedding"--a demonstration for marriage equality at two of the marches--in 1993 at the IRS building and in 2000 at the Lincoln Memorial.  Rev. Troy Perry has devoted his life to help others discover the loving and caring God to whom he has committed his life. Rev. Perry also completed a sequel to his first book entitled Don’t Be Afraid Anymore, published by St. Martin’s Press. He is contributing editor for the book Is Gay Good? and the subject of another book, Our God Too. While Rev. Perry realizes the oppression still facing gays and lesbians, he stands at the vanguard of the movement, telling his flock - and the rest of the world - "We’re Not Afraid Anymore." Rev. Elder Perry resides with his lover of 28 years, Mr. Phillip Ray DeBlieck, in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles, Calif. (This biographical statement provided by Troy Perry.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Troy Perry Baptist MCC Metropolitan Community Church Troy Perry https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/f1c85cb6424ca1e771597651b470f06d.jpg e3e9447449a992ec40908ef079d22fb3 Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document <div id="bio-view"> The Rev. Tom Baynham is a native of Richmond, Virginia and has served as the Director of Worship Arts and Event Planning at the Grace United Methodist Church in Saint Louis since July 2017.  He holds the Master of Sacred Theology from the Boston University School of Theology; the Master of Divinity from the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and the Master of Arts from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served congregations in Indiana, New Hampshire and Virginia. From 2011 to 2014, Tom served as the Associate Director for the One Voice Chorus, and receives frequent requests as a soloist, choral adjudicator and clinician.  He is a member of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada; Advisory Board for the Center for Congregational Song and The CenturyMen. Tom is father to two adult children, Daniel, a social sports coordinator in Jacksonville, Florida, and Lindsey, an ordained elder in the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. </div> Biographical Text The Rev. Tom Baynham is a native of Richmond, Virginia and has served as the Director of Worship Arts and Event Planning at the Grace United Methodist Church in Saint Louis since July 2017.  He holds the Master of Sacred Theology from the Boston University School of Theology; the Master of Divinity from the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and the Master of Arts from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served congregations in Indiana, New Hampshire and Virginia. From 2011 to 2014, Tom served as the Associate Director for the One Voice Chorus, and receives frequent requests as a soloist, choral adjudicator and clinician.  He is a member of The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada; Advisory Board for the Center for Congregational Song and The CenturyMen. Tom is father to two adult children, Daniel, a social sports coordinator in Jacksonville, Florida, and Lindsey, an ordained elder in the Virginia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Tom Baynham Tom Baynham UMC United Methodist Church https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/5be3d6c1e1ded6413e51b95c779e7c05.jpg 1857b1ae8d703ad7bc6cb4fd451359d4 Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Robyn is a lifelong Baptist who has been involved in LGBTQ justice work since college. Having been the only queer and gender nonconforming person in their college classroom, Robyn has always spoken from margin to center. As a mixed-raced Latinx, Robyn has been bridging together both anti-racism with LGBTQ advocacy for two decades. As an out Transqueer person who studied theology, Robyn found that the institutional church to not be a place where they flourished. Leaving the institutional church to do faith-rooted justice work meant that Robyn continued in their theological training, culminating in a PhD in Constructive philosophical theology. Robyn has been trained by Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Methodist scholars and holds three degrees in theology with an emphasis in queer theory and Latinx studies. For the last ten years, Robyn has been vigilant in naming the culture of whiteness of the LGBT movement. In particular,  the ways that the institutional church has focused so acutely on their welcome & affirming stances has allowed Robyn to name the culture of dominance, which has been expressed in & thru whiteness. In an effort to decenter whiteness and intentionally widen the circle of Movement work to include people of color and other marginalized folks, Robyn is devoted to participating & curating  an assemblage of Movement work that is grounded in the politics of radical difference.  (This biographical statement provided by Robyn Henderson-Espinoza.) Biographical Text Robyn is a lifelong Baptist who has been involved in LGBTQ justice work since college. Having been the only queer and gender nonconforming person in their college classroom, Robyn has always spoken from margin to center. As a mixed-raced Latinx, Robyn has been bridging together both anti-racism with LGBTQ advocacy for two decades. As an out Transqueer person who studied theology, Robyn found that the institutional church to not be a place where they flourished. Leaving the institutional church to do faith-rooted justice work meant that Robyn continued in their theological training, culminating in a PhD in Constructive philosophical theology. Robyn has been trained by Baptists, Roman Catholics, and Methodist scholars and holds three degrees in theology with an emphasis in queer theory and Latinx studies. For the last ten years, Robyn has been vigilant in naming the culture of whiteness of the LGBT movement. In particular,  the ways that the institutional church has focused so acutely on their welcome & affirming stances has allowed Robyn to name the culture of dominance, which has been expressed in & thru whiteness. In an effort to decenter whiteness and intentionally widen the circle of Movement work to include people of color and other marginalized folks, Robyn is devoted to participating & curating  an assemblage of Movement work that is grounded in the politics of radical difference.  (This biographical statement provided by Robyn Henderson-Espinoza.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Robyn Henderson-Espinoza Robyn Henderson-Espinoza https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/58420ca4232cd3768d88b5823e02cfe6.jpg bb0bf2f1452b9e0f8fa4fab7d31f881f Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Dr. Rick Huskey, M.D., D.Min., M.Div., a co-founder of Affirmation: United Methodists for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, was born May 19, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rick grew up in southeast Minneapolis, in the University of Minnesota community. At the beginning of junior high school, Rick's family moved to suburban Golden Valley. Rick's mother, a third-generation Methodist Christian, lead the family into attending the Golden Valley United Methodist Church, where Rick and his brother were confirmed. He attended the Robbinsdale School District, graduating from Robbinsdale Senior High School in 1968, with honors. Rick received a scholarship to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in religion, with minors in classics, philosophy and urban studies. He served as a secretary for the student body government. While an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Rick helped organize the Northfield Gay Liberation Front in 1971. After graduating cum laude from St. Olaf in three years, he began seminary studies at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He completed the course work for his Master of Divinity Degree in two years. While attending the United Methodist General Conference in Atlanta in May, 1972, as part of a seminary class, Rick met openly gay minister Gene Leggett from Texas. Rick and Gene quickly became colleagues and lobbied for acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy there. That General Conference adopted the infamous "we do not condone..." clause in the waning hours of the conference. Back at seminary in the fall of 1972, Rick was instrumental in the formation of Chicago Gay Seminarians and Clergy, along with fellow seminarians John Yoakam (Chicago Theological Seminary), David Sindt (McCormick Theological Seminary), David Blix (University of Chicago Divinity School) and Bill Krick (Garrett Theological Seminary). The following spring Huskey and Leggett traveled the East Coast together (in Huskey's Dodge Dart) and began building a network of gay and lesbian United Methodist clergy. After receiving an M.Div. degree from Garrett and a D.Min. degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1974, Rick returned to Minnesota where he served as associate pastor at Good Samaritan UM Church in Edina. The following May, during a conversation about pastoral appointments with Bishop Wayne Clymer, Rick informed the bishop that he was gay and asked to begin a ministry with gay and lesbian Christians in Minnesota. Huskey understood that his ministry was following in the footsteps of John Wesley, Methodism's founder, who in 1732 ministered to the "homosexual" Tommy Blair in Oxford's Bocardo Jail. This ministry was documented in Wesley's Oxford Diaries and confirmed by the diaries of other "Holy Club" members. Among the diary listings are John's private visitations, running errands, teaching religious catechism, and serving as legal defense in young Blair's "buggery" charge. The bishop removed Huskey from his parish position, placing him on "voluntary location." Two years later, the Minnesota Annual Conference voted to put Huskey on "involuntary location," thereby ending his ministerial career in the church. Over 100 gay men and lesbian from the area participated in a "kneel-in" demonstration protesting Huskey's "de-frocking" during the ordination service at the conference session. During this time, Rick continued to organize gay and lesbian United Methodists. In the summer of 1975, he, Steve Webster (Madison, Wisconsin), Ernie Reagh (New York) and Gene Leggett convened the first national meeting of gay and lesbian United Methodists. During this meeting at Wheadon UM Church in Evanston, this group named itself The United Methodist Gay Caucus. In the spring of 1976, Huskey and other members of the UM Gay Caucus met in Oklahoma City to make plans for a presence and participation in the 1976 General Conference in Portland, Oregon. During the General Conference, Rick was editor of "Blair's Blurbs" the daily newsletter of the Caucus and participated in discussions with delegates and visitors to the Conference as well as demonstrations and witnesses. In the summer and fall of 1977, Huskey was one of the lead organizers of demonstrations against Anita Bryant's campaign to repeal the St. Paul (Minnesota) ordinance that banned discrimination in employment and housing. Huskey continued his involvement in Affirmation, as the UM Gay Caucus was later renamed, and the Reconciling Congregation Program (founded in 1984) in the years following, including participating in the decision of his home church (Wesley UM. Church in Minneapolis) to become a Reconciling Congregation. However, more of his energy was poured into beginning a new ministry career--in medicine. He studied medicine in the Dominican Republic from 1978-1981 and did his clinical rotation at the University of California in San Francisco in 1980-81. Subsequently, Huskey did post-graduate research and training at the University of California Davis Medical Center (1982-83), Hennepin County Chest Clinic and Minneapolis Indian Health Board (1984-87), the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (1987-1991) and Albert Einstein Medical Center and The Philadelphia Geriatric Center, affiliated with Temple University Hospitals in Philadelphia (1991-93). In 1993, he began a geriatric medical practice in Washington, D.C., and worked in several clinics and hospitals there. In 2002, he became the Associate Medical Director and Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the Medlink Hospital and Nursing Center in Washington, D.C., and after three terms as Chair of the DC Board of Nursing Home Administration, he became the Emeritus Chairperson. In 1988, Huskey arranged for the beginning of a United Methodist Gay and Lesbian Archives by donating his collection of papers and documents to the United Methodist Archives at Drew University. He has actively campaigned and worked to get the papers of other early United Methodist gay and lesbian leaders added to this collection. In the mid 1990's, Huskey was named historian for Affirmation. In 1998 Huskey helped establish the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's National Religious Leadership Roundtable. He represented Affirmation in the organizing and initial meetings. In spring 2000 Dr. Huskey was editor of Affirmation's newsletter at the General Conference, "Table Manners," and was the medical contributor on aging gay men's health issues in "The Coming of Age," in Men Like Us: the GMHC Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical and Emotional Well-Being. Rick lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and commutes to his practice in the District. He is the attending physician for over 200 seriously ill nursing home patients. Dr. Huskey cares for patients in their final, end-of-life status. He cares for the sickest elderly in the community, and incorporates home care visits into his practice. He yet expects to be ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church as an open gay man with a call to ministry. (This biographical statement was written by Rick Huskey with assistance from LGBTRAN staff Mark Bowman.) Biographical Text Dr. Rick Huskey, M.D., D.Min., M.Div., a co-founder of Affirmation: United Methodists for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns, was born May 19, 1950 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rick grew up in southeast Minneapolis, in the University of Minnesota community. At the beginning of junior high school, Rick's family moved to suburban Golden Valley. Rick's mother, a third-generation Methodist Christian, lead the family into attending the Golden Valley United Methodist Church, where Rick and his brother were confirmed. He attended the Robbinsdale School District, graduating from Robbinsdale Senior High School in 1968, with honors. Rick received a scholarship to attend St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in religion, with minors in classics, philosophy and urban studies. He served as a secretary for the student body government. While an undergraduate student at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Rick helped organize the Northfield Gay Liberation Front in 1971. After graduating cum laude from St. Olaf in three years, he began seminary studies at Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He completed the course work for his Master of Divinity Degree in two years. While attending the United Methodist General Conference in Atlanta in May, 1972, as part of a seminary class, Rick met openly gay minister Gene Leggett from Texas. Rick and Gene quickly became colleagues and lobbied for acceptance of gay and lesbian clergy there. That General Conference adopted the infamous "we do not condone..." clause in the waning hours of the conference. Back at seminary in the fall of 1972, Rick was instrumental in the formation of Chicago Gay Seminarians and Clergy, along with fellow seminarians John Yoakam (Chicago Theological Seminary), David Sindt (McCormick Theological Seminary), David Blix (University of Chicago Divinity School) and Bill Krick (Garrett Theological Seminary). The following spring Huskey and Leggett traveled the East Coast together (in Huskey's Dodge Dart) and began building a network of gay and lesbian United Methodist clergy. After receiving an M.Div. degree from Garrett and a D.Min. degree from Chicago Theological Seminary in 1974, Rick returned to Minnesota where he served as associate pastor at Good Samaritan UM Church in Edina. The following May, during a conversation about pastoral appointments with Bishop Wayne Clymer, Rick informed the bishop that he was gay and asked to begin a ministry with gay and lesbian Christians in Minnesota. Huskey understood that his ministry was following in the footsteps of John Wesley, Methodism's founder, who in 1732 ministered to the "homosexual" Tommy Blair in Oxford's Bocardo Jail. This ministry was documented in Wesley's Oxford Diaries and confirmed by the diaries of other "Holy Club" members. Among the diary listings are John's private visitations, running errands, teaching religious catechism, and serving as legal defense in young Blair's "buggery" charge. The bishop removed Huskey from his parish position, placing him on "voluntary location." Two years later, the Minnesota Annual Conference voted to put Huskey on "involuntary location," thereby ending his ministerial career in the church. Over 100 gay men and lesbian from the area participated in a "kneel-in" demonstration protesting Huskey's "de-frocking" during the ordination service at the conference session. During this time, Rick continued to organize gay and lesbian United Methodists. In the summer of 1975, he, Steve Webster (Madison, Wisconsin), Ernie Reagh (New York) and Gene Leggett convened the first national meeting of gay and lesbian United Methodists. During this meeting at Wheadon UM Church in Evanston, this group named itself The United Methodist Gay Caucus. In the spring of 1976, Huskey and other members of the UM Gay Caucus met in Oklahoma City to make plans for a presence and participation in the 1976 General Conference in Portland, Oregon. During the General Conference, Rick was editor of "Blair's Blurbs" the daily newsletter of the Caucus and participated in discussions with delegates and visitors to the Conference as well as demonstrations and witnesses. In the summer and fall of 1977, Huskey was one of the lead organizers of demonstrations against Anita Bryant's campaign to repeal the St. Paul (Minnesota) ordinance that banned discrimination in employment and housing. Huskey continued his involvement in Affirmation, as the UM Gay Caucus was later renamed, and the Reconciling Congregation Program (founded in 1984) in the years following, including participating in the decision of his home church (Wesley UM. Church in Minneapolis) to become a Reconciling Congregation. However, more of his energy was poured into beginning a new ministry career--in medicine. He studied medicine in the Dominican Republic from 1978-1981 and did his clinical rotation at the University of California in San Francisco in 1980-81. Subsequently, Huskey did post-graduate research and training at the University of California Davis Medical Center (1982-83), Hennepin County Chest Clinic and Minneapolis Indian Health Board (1984-87), the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (1987-1991) and Albert Einstein Medical Center and The Philadelphia Geriatric Center, affiliated with Temple University Hospitals in Philadelphia (1991-93). In 1993, he began a geriatric medical practice in Washington, D.C., and worked in several clinics and hospitals there. In 2002, he became the Associate Medical Director and Chair of Geriatric Medicine at the Medlink Hospital and Nursing Center in Washington, D.C., and after three terms as Chair of the DC Board of Nursing Home Administration, he became the Emeritus Chairperson. In 1988, Huskey arranged for the beginning of a United Methodist Gay and Lesbian Archives by donating his collection of papers and documents to the United Methodist Archives at Drew University. He has actively campaigned and worked to get the papers of other early United Methodist gay and lesbian leaders added to this collection. In the mid 1990's, Huskey was named historian for Affirmation. In 1998 Huskey helped establish the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's National Religious Leadership Roundtable. He represented Affirmation in the organizing and initial meetings. In spring 2000 Dr. Huskey was editor of Affirmation's newsletter at the General Conference, "Table Manners," and was the medical contributor on aging gay men's health issues in "The Coming of Age," in Men Like Us: the GMHC Complete Guide to Gay Men's Sexual, Physical and Emotional Well-Being. Rick lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and commutes to his practice in the District. He is the attending physician for over 200 seriously ill nursing home patients. Dr. Huskey cares for patients in their final, end-of-life status. He cares for the sickest elderly in the community, and incorporates home care visits into his practice. He yet expects to be ordained an Elder in the United Methodist Church as an open gay man with a call to ministry. (This biographical statement was written by Rick Huskey with assistance from LGBTRAN staff Mark Bowman.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Rick Huskey Affirmation Methodist Rick Huskey UMC United Methodist Church https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/6076469e9b8c6c21d271c1a62aa50311.jpg b45cf5c548d4b5d67adea4e182f00e67 Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1951. She attended parochial grade and high schools, which served to shape her faith as a devote Roman Catholic. As a child of the Civil Rights Movement, her life had been infused with the certainty of God’s commitment to end oppressions of any kind and trust in God’s promises of abiding and unconditional love and acceptance. She had also learned from her parents and grandparents that actively participating in God’s liberating and healing actions in the world was her responsibility. Her faith has remained grounded in the belief that God calls us to do simple things: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and work to release those imprisoned by guilt, shame, fear, and despair. This laid the foundation for involvement in activities designed to fight discrimination. As a teenager she was involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Black Catholics in Action, programs of her local parish council targeting low income children devastated by the 1967 civil unrest in Detroit, and various university based political and social justice groups. <img src="http://rollingthestoneaway.org/media/profile/renee-mccoy/Pic%20MCC%20Harlem.jpg" />Sent from MCC New York to start MCC Harlem (with Karen Ziegler) Her fidelity to the Catholic Church was eventually shaken by its rejection of homosexuality, its limited sensitivities to racial justice, and its unyielding refusal to empower women. Her faith in the power and love of God, however, has never wavered and she has tried to remain true to God’s demand for continued social justice activism. In her search for community, she attended various churches looking for one that would affirm and empower her to answer God’s call for her life but finding none. One Saturday night in 1976 she met members of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit (MCCD) bar ministry team conducting outreach in LGBTQ bars. They invited her to their worship services so she decided to give organized religion one more try. If nothing else, she thought, there was the possibility of meeting a “good Christian woman”! She attended worship the following day and experienced a sense of belonging through the sermon of Rev. Nancy Wilson and the vision of denomination (MCC) that had been missing from her life for many years; she joined the church soon thereafter. When she realized the racism she had experienced in the bars had also seeped into the church, she became chair of the MCC Racism Task Force, which eventually became the current MCC People of African Descent. To continue addressing racism and homophobia, McCoy became a founding member of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG), an organization started in 1978 to address the needs and concerns of LGBTQ persons of color. She also decided to move to New York City to expand her life experiences and discover more diverse opportunities for ministry. There, she started the New York Third World LGBT Coalition, an NCBLG chapter focused on issues important to African Americans and Latino LGBTQ persons. Upon completing student clergy training and requirements for licensure and ordination at MCC New York, Rev. McCoy was ordained in 1981. In February of that same year she founded Harlem Metropolitan Community Church (Harlem MCC), the first Christian congregation in both MCC and the country openly governed by African American LGBTQ persons. Harlem MCC was also designed to address their concerns, encourage and empower them, and reflect African American worship styles. Regrettably, HIV/AIDS surfaced soon after the church began and by November this new congregation faced the daunting challenge of caring for persons dying from a new and mysterious disease. The disproportionate occurrence of HIV/AIDS among African Americans had a devastating impact and this new pastor found herself ministering to persons few wanted to touch. This challenge was further complicated by her secular job working with homeless mentally ill women at a shelter in midtown Manhattan. As pastor, she led a congregation truly charged with serving the most broken, providing encouragement and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse issues, and homelessness regardless of sexual orientation. Burdened by serious health issues, McCoy resigned from Harlem MCC after six years of service and moved to Washington D.C., where she worked as the Executive Director of NCBLG. <img src="http://rollingthestoneaway.org/media/profile/renee-mccoy/Pic%20Patricia.jpg" />Meeting first love Patricia When McCoy assumed leadership of NCBLG, HIV/AIDS was approaching the height of global devastation and the organization was forced to narrow its focus to this disease. It joined with others serving people of color to ensure equitable care and McCoy continued providing pastoral support through the ministries of MCC Washington D.C. Continual health and financial challenges, however, required her to move back to Detroit to receive support from her family and the local NCBLG chapter. NCBLG agreed to relocate the national office to Detroit and she remained the Executive Director until 1988. In 1988, she left NCBLG to work for the Detroit Department of Health AIDS Program, which had just begun providing care and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS. There, she worked as liaison to the LGBTQ community and provided HIV testing services and prevention education throughout the metropolitan area. <img src="http://rollingthestoneaway.org/media/profile/renee-mccoy/Pic%20Wedding.jpg" />Wedding with Patricia in Detroit in 2009 That same year (1988) a group of African American LGBTQ persons requested that she start a church that addressed their particular needs and concerns. In response, Rev. McCoy founded Full Truth Fellowship of Christ Church, which will celebrate 29 years of life in September 2017. In order to address the needs of African American LGBTQ persons living with HIV/AIDS, she also founded a secular organization, Healing Ourselves through Prevention Education and Services (HOPES) governed by church and community members. HOPES provided an avenue for federal and state funding, which was denied religious organizations at that time. Full Truth Fellowship Church and HOPES were then together able to provide both spiritual and non-spiritual care and services for persons affected by and t risk for HIV/AIDS. Under McCoy’s leadership HOPES and Full Truth Fellowship gained great respect throughout the Detroit metropolitan area for the tremendous and powerful care their members provided. Eventually, Full Truth Fellowship purchased a building to expand its ministries and HOPES’ HIV/AIDS services, making the church the first LGBTQ organization in Michigan to own land. While she was pastor, McCoy continued working for the Health Department and returned to Wayne State University to complete an undergraduate degree. After receiving a BA in anthropology, she decided it was time to address her own personal needs. She felt conflicted telling her congregation to follow their dreams when she was not doing the same. After leaving parish ministry she went on to earn an MA in anthropology with a specialization in medical anthropology in 1995 and a PhD in medical anthropology in 2005. Her dissertation was titled “African American Men who have Sex with Men: Meaning, Identity, and Risk”.  Since leaving parish ministry, Rev. McCoy  has continued to work in HIV/AIDS related projects including the following: Consultant for the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency (CARE) Act Title I; Research Project manager for the Positive Care Project: Care Giving among African Americans with HIV/AIDS; Instructor – Women’s Studies Department at Eastern Michigan University; Qualitative Research Consultant – Wayne State University; Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty teaching Business and Organizational Anthropology – Wayne State University; Program Coordinator and Evaluator at the AIDS Consortium of SE Michigan; HIV Behavioral Surveillance Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Community Health; Director of HIV/AIDS Programs at the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion; Lecturer at the University of Washington Department of Anthropology; Director of Prevention Education at Lifelong AIDS Alliance; and Director of Public and Private Grants at Lifelong AIDS Alliance. <img src="http://rollingthestoneaway.org/media/profile/renee-mccoy/Pic%20Family.jpg" />Family with Renee & Patricia at the wedding In 2015, Rev. McCoy served as interim pastor of Eastgate Congregational United Church of Christ for a year while the congregation searched for a permanent pastor. She continues to be an active member there and serves as a member of the MCC Public Policy Team. She has also been a potter for over 30 years and continues to make and market functional and ornamental pottery in her home studio. She recently joined the board directors at the Seward Park Clay Studio in Seattle. After being diagnosed with and surviving pancreatic cancer in 2016, Rev. Dr. McCoy decided to retire from fulltime employment and limit her energies to those with less stress and more joy. She looks forward to increased pottery making and other art projects, writing, and fishing. She has been married to the Rev. Dr. Patricia Hunter for eight years and lives in Seattle, WA with their dog, Baxter. Dr. McCoy has also published a number of articles and studies including the following: McCoy, Renee. Ain’t I a Man: Gender Meanings among Black Men who have Sex with Men. In: S. McGlotten and D. Davis, (ed.)Black Genders and Sexualities, Palgrave McMillian, 2012. McCoy, Renee. African American Elders and Cultural Traditions. Generations, Fall, 2011; Rituals and Later Life issue. McCoy, Renee. The Failure of the Black Church to Care for Black Lesbians and Gays. In:Brinkley, S (ed.), Where My Girls AT?, Blacklight Press, San Francisco, 2010. McCoy, Renee (2009) Ain't I a Man: Gender Meanings among Black Men who have Sex with Men. Souls: a Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and SocietyVol. 11 No.3, pp. 337-346   McCoy, Renee (2008) HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Prevention Training Manual for Providers and Community Groups. Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotions McCoy, Renee. Ujima Substance Abuse Prevention Curriculum for High Risk African American Youth; AIDS Consortium of Southeastern Michigan; October 2001. McCoy, Renee. Volunteer Training Manual; Men of Color Motivational Group; June 2000. Rapid Assessment, Response, and Evaluation (RARE) Report: Assessing the HIV/AIDS Intervention and Service needs of African Americans in Detroit, MI.  US Department of Health and Human Resources and Detroit Health Department, Jan. 2000. Gleason, JA, Fletcher, C, and McCoy, R.  Assessing Needs for Women with HIV/AIDS in Greater Detroit.  National HIV Infection in Women Conference.  U. S. National             Institute of Health, Washing ton D.C., 1995. Sankar, A., and McCoy, R. "Ethnographic Methods in Public Health Research,” Human Organization Gleason, J., McCoy, R., Fletcher, C.  (1995).  Planning Greater Detroit HIV/AIDS Continuum of care:  consumer perception of health & service needs.  American Public Health Association 123rd Annual Meeting.  San Diego, CA. Detroit Eligible Metropolitan Area 1994 Needs Assessment - Southeastern Michigan HIV/AIDS Council.  Co-investigator in charge of recruitment and outreach AIDS Link, Vol.4, No.2, December 1991, AIDS in the African American Community, with Michelle Rowser and Dr. Ali Naqvi, Ph.D. McCoy, R. The Failure of the Black Church to Care for Black Gays and Lesbians. 1989. Blacklight Magazine. http://www,blacklightonline.com (This biographical statement provided by Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy.) Biographical Text Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1951. She attended parochial grade and high schools, which served to shape her faith as a devoted Roman Catholic. As a child of the Civil Rights Movement, her life had been infused with the certainty of God’s commitment to end oppressions of any kind and trust in God’s promises of abiding and unconditional love and acceptance. She had also learned from her parents and grandparents that actively participating in God’s liberating and healing actions in the world was her responsibility. Her faith has remained grounded in the belief that God calls us to do simple things: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and work to release those imprisoned by guilt, shame, fear, and despair. This laid the foundation for involvement in activities designed to fight discrimination. As a teenager she was involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Black Catholics in Action, programs of her local parish council targeting low income children devastated by the 1967 civil unrest in Detroit, and various university based political and social justice groups. Her fidelity to the Catholic Church was eventually shaken by its rejection of homosexuality, its limited sensitivities to racial justice, and its unyielding refusal to empower women. Her faith in the power and love of God, however, has never wavered and she has tried to remain true to God’s demand for continued social justice activism. In her search for community, she attended various churches looking for one that would affirm and empower her to answer God’s call for her life but finding none. One Saturday night in 1976 she met members of the Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit (MCCD) bar ministry team conducting outreach in LGBTQ bars. They invited her to their worship services so she decided to give organized religion one more try. If nothing else, she thought, there was the possibility of meeting a “good Christian woman”! She attended worship the following day and experienced a sense of belonging through the sermon of Rev. Nancy Wilson and the vision of denomination (MCC) that had been missing from her life for many years; she joined the church soon thereafter. When she realized the racism she had experienced in the bars had also seeped into the church, she became chair of the MCC Racism Task Force, which eventually became the current MCC People of African Descent. To continue addressing racism and homophobia, McCoy became a founding member of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays (NCBLG), an organization started in 1978 to address the needs and concerns of LGBTQ persons of color. She also decided to move to New York City to expand her life experiences and discover more diverse opportunities for ministry. There, she started the New York Third World LGBT Coalition, an NCBLG chapter focused on issues important to African Americans and Latino LGBTQ persons. Upon completing student clergy training and requirements for licensure and ordination at MCC New York, Rev. McCoy was ordained in 1981. In February of that same year she founded Harlem Metropolitan Community Church (Harlem MCC), the first Christian congregation in both MCC and the country openly governed by African American LGBTQ persons. Harlem MCC was also designed to address their concerns, encourage and empower them, and reflect African American worship styles. Regrettably, HIV/AIDS surfaced soon after the church began and by November this new congregation faced the daunting challenge of caring for persons dying from a new and mysterious disease. The disproportionate occurrence of HIV/AIDS among African Americans had a devastating impact and this new pastor found herself ministering to persons few wanted to touch. This challenge was further complicated by her secular job working with homeless mentally ill women at a shelter in midtown Manhattan. As pastor, she led a congregation truly charged with serving the most broken, providing encouragement and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse issues, and homelessness regardless of sexual orientation. Burdened by serious health issues, McCoy resigned from Harlem MCC after six years of service and moved to Washington D.C., where she worked as the Executive Director of NCBLG. When McCoy assumed leadership of NCBLG, HIV/AIDS was approaching the height of global devastation and the organization was forced to narrow its focus to this disease. It joined with others serving people of color to ensure equitable care and McCoy continued providing pastoral support through the ministries of MCC Washington D.C. Continual health and financial challenges, however, required her to move back to Detroit to receive support from her family and the local NCBLG chapter. NCBLG agreed to relocate the national office to Detroit and she remained the Executive Director until 1988. In 1988, she left NCBLG to work for the Detroit Department of Health AIDS Program, which had just begun providing care and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS. There, she worked as liaison to the LGBTQ community and provided HIV testing services and prevention education throughout the metropolitan area. That same year (1988) a group of African American LGBTQ persons requested that she start a church that addressed their particular needs and concerns. In response, Rev. McCoy founded Full Truth Fellowship of Christ Church, which will celebrate 29 years of life in September 2017. In order to address the needs of African American LGBTQ persons living with HIV/AIDS, she also founded a secular organization, Healing Ourselves through Prevention Education and Services (HOPES) governed by church and community members. HOPES provided an avenue for federal and state funding, which was denied religious organizations at that time. Full Truth Fellowship Church and HOPES were then together able to provide both spiritual and non-spiritual care and services for persons affected by and t risk for HIV/AIDS. Under McCoy’s leadership HOPES and Full Truth Fellowship gained great respect throughout the Detroit metropolitan area for the tremendous and powerful care their members provided. Eventually, Full Truth Fellowship purchased a building to expand its ministries and HOPES’ HIV/AIDS services, making the church the first LGBTQ organization in Michigan to own land. While she was pastor, McCoy continued working for the Health Department and returned to Wayne State University to complete an undergraduate degree. After receiving a BA in anthropology, she decided it was time to address her own personal needs. She felt conflicted telling her congregation to follow their dreams when she was not doing the same. After leaving parish ministry she went on to earn an MA in anthropology with a specialization in medical anthropology in 1995 and a PhD in medical anthropology in 2005. Her dissertation was titled “African American Men who have Sex with Men: Meaning, Identity, and Risk”.  Since leaving parish ministry, Rev. McCoy  has continued to work in HIV/AIDS related projects including the following: Consultant for the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency (CARE) Act Title I; Research Project manager for the Positive Care Project: Care Giving among African Americans with HIV/AIDS; Instructor – Women’s Studies Department at Eastern Michigan University; Qualitative Research Consultant – Wayne State University; Lecturer/Adjunct Faculty teaching Business and Organizational Anthropology – Wayne State University; Program Coordinator and Evaluator at the AIDS Consortium of SE Michigan; HIV Behavioral Surveillance Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Community Health; Director of HIV/AIDS Programs at the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion; Lecturer at the University of Washington Department of Anthropology; Director of Prevention Education at Lifelong AIDS Alliance; and Director of Public and Private Grants at Lifelong AIDS Alliance. In 2015, Rev. McCoy served as interim pastor of Eastgate Congregational United Church of Christ for a year while the congregation searched for a permanent pastor. She continues to be an active member there and serves as a member of the MCC Public Policy Team. She has also been a potter for over 30 years and continues to make and market functional and ornamental pottery in her home studio. She recently joined the board directors at the Seward Park Clay Studio in Seattle. After being diagnosed with and surviving pancreatic cancer in 2016, Rev. Dr. McCoy decided to retire from fulltime employment and limit her energies to those with less stress and more joy. She looks forward to increased pottery making and other art projects, writing, and fishing. She has been married to the Rev. Dr. Patricia Hunter for eight years and lives in Seattle, WA with their dog, Baxter. Dr. McCoy has also published a number of articles and studies including the following: McCoy, Renee. Ain’t I a Man: Gender Meanings among Black Men who have Sex with Men. In: S. McGlotten and D. Davis, (ed.)Black Genders and Sexualities, Palgrave McMillian, 2012. McCoy, Renee. African American Elders and Cultural Traditions. Generations, Fall, 2011; Rituals and Later Life issue. McCoy, Renee. The Failure of the Black Church to Care for Black Lesbians and Gays. In:Brinkley, S (ed.), Where My Girls AT?, Blacklight Press, San Francisco, 2010. McCoy, Renee (2009) Ain't I a Man: Gender Meanings among Black Men who have Sex with Men. Souls: a Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture, and SocietyVol. 11 No.3, pp. 337-346   McCoy, Renee (2008) HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Prevention Training Manual for Providers and Community Groups. Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotions McCoy, Renee. Ujima Substance Abuse Prevention Curriculum for High Risk African American Youth; AIDS Consortium of Southeastern Michigan; October 2001. McCoy, Renee. Volunteer Training Manual; Men of Color Motivational Group; June 2000. Rapid Assessment, Response, and Evaluation (RARE) Report: Assessing the HIV/AIDS Intervention and Service needs of African Americans in Detroit, MI.  US Department of Health and Human Resources and Detroit Health Department, Jan. 2000. Gleason, JA, Fletcher, C, and McCoy, R.  Assessing Needs for Women with HIV/AIDS in Greater Detroit.  National HIV Infection in Women Conference.  U. S. National             Institute of Health, Washing ton D.C., 1995. Sankar, A., and McCoy, R. "Ethnographic Methods in Public Health Research,” Human Organization Gleason, J., McCoy, R., Fletcher, C.  (1995).  Planning Greater Detroit HIV/AIDS Continuum of care:  consumer perception of health & service needs.  American Public Health Association 123rd Annual Meeting.  San Diego, CA. Detroit Eligible Metropolitan Area 1994 Needs Assessment - Southeastern Michigan HIV/AIDS Council.  Co-investigator in charge of recruitment and outreach AIDS Link, Vol.4, No.2, December 1991, AIDS in the African American Community, with Michelle Rowser and Dr. Ali Naqvi, Ph.D. McCoy, R. The Failure of the Black Church to Care for Black Gays and Lesbians. 1989. Blacklight Magazine. http://www,blacklightonline.com (This biographical statement provided by Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Renee McCoy Catholic MCC Metropolitan Community Church Renee McCoy Roman Catholic https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/1eab4cbb2ca592951a31cff08dcc0ea3.jpg 5e4e135b6a8912dab2383df65ebf237a Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Randall Miller, a life-long United Methodist layperson, has worked for the past twenty-five years in a variety of sectors, including academic, philanthropic, religious, and social justice settings. Randall currently holds the position of Director of the Global Religions Program at the Arcus Foundation, which seeks to build and support a worldwide network of pro-LGBT religious leaders and organizations within Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Communities. Prior to coming to Arcus, Randall was tapped by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund to lead a six-year national grantmaking initiative that invested $9M in faith-based organizations. This movement building effort has been widely credited for cementing the pro-LGBT policies of the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ as well as ramping up the successful repeal efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church USA. Randall’s other professional experiences include leadership stints at the 1987 March on Washington for LGBT Rights, the Jesse Jackson ’88 Campaign for President, the National Task Force on AID Prevention, the Vanguard Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the Pacific School of Religion. A long-time champion of LGBT equality, Randall’s religious advocacy began in earnest in the mid 80’s when he attended his first national meeting of Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian and Gay Concerns and was subsequently elected to its national council and drafted to be one of two national co-spokespersons. In this role, he facilitated meetings that led to the eventual separation of Affirmation and, what was then, the Reconciling Congregrations Program. He also served for four years as an official observer of the denomination’s first official study committee. Having attended United Methodist General Conferences every four years since 1988, Randall has participated in numerous civil disobedience actions, was formally invited to speak to the gather General Conference three times, and was elected four times to Northern California’s official delegation, including one stint as its head. Other United Methodist positions have included a two-year tenure as the paid director of the National Youth Ministry Organization at the General Board of Discipleship and voluntary positions on the executive committees of the General Board of Global Ministries, the General Board of Church and Society, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and the Commission on the General Conference. From 2006-2012 Randall was elected to a single term as alternate lay representative to the United Methodist Judicial Council. Randall holds a PhD in ethics and social theory from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA and currently resides in both New York City and Oakland, California. In 2012, he and, Glenn Eagleson, his partner of twenty-one years (now twenty-six) were legally married. (This biographical statement provided by Randall Miller.) Biographical Text Randall Miller, a life-long United Methodist layperson, has worked for the past twenty-five years in a variety of sectors, including academic, philanthropic, religious, and social justice settings. Randall currently holds the position of Director of the Global Religions Program at the Arcus Foundation, which seeks to build and support a worldwide network of pro-LGBT religious leaders and organizations within Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Communities. Prior to coming to Arcus, Randall was tapped by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund to lead a six-year national grantmaking initiative that invested $9M in faith-based organizations. This movement building effort has been widely credited for cementing the pro-LGBT policies of the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ as well as ramping up the successful repeal efforts of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church USA. Randall’s other professional experiences include leadership stints at the 1987 March on Washington for LGBT Rights, the Jesse Jackson ’88 Campaign for President, the National Task Force on AID Prevention, the Vanguard Foundation, the Tides Foundation, and the Pacific School of Religion. A long-time champion of LGBT equality, Randall’s religious advocacy began in earnest in the mid 80’s when he attended his first national meeting of Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian and Gay Concerns and was subsequently elected to its national council and drafted to be one of two national co-spokespersons. In this role, he facilitated meetings that led to the eventual separation of Affirmation and, what was then, the Reconciling Congregrations Program. He also served for four years as an official observer of the denomination’s first official study committee. Having attended United Methodist General Conferences every four years since 1988, Randall has participated in numerous civil disobedience actions, was formally invited to speak to the gather General Conference three times, and was elected four times to Northern California’s official delegation, including one stint as its head. Other United Methodist positions have included a two-year tenure as the paid director of the National Youth Ministry Organization at the General Board of Discipleship and voluntary positions on the executive committees of the General Board of Global Ministries, the General Board of Church and Society, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and the Commission on the General Conference. From 2006-2012 Randall was elected to a single term as alternate lay representative to the United Methodist Judicial Council. Randall holds a PhD in ethics and social theory from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA and currently resides in both New York City and Oakland, California. In 2012, he and, Glenn Eagleson, his partner of twenty-one years (now twenty-six) were legally married. (This biographical statement provided by Randall Miller.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Randall Miller Affirmation arcus Global Religions Program Methodist Randall Miller UMC https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/3a288c1c361dd21f19e48273ffbb19a2.jpg 31f262f9994fb19e08ed7dc2833e86dd Person An individual. Text Any textual data included in the document Peggy Campolo has advocated publicly for justice for her gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers since 1994.  A graduate of Eastern University, she has spoken at churches, universities and conferences throughout the United States, and is a strong proponent for the full inclusion of GLBT people within the church. She has participated in protests with Soulforce, served on the Council of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, and supports PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and Evangelicals Concerned. Peggy belongs to Central Baptist Church, Wayne, Pennsylvania which is duly aligned with American Baptist Churches USA and The Alliance of Baptists. Her own story of how coming to know Christ led her to stand up for those children of God who happen not to be straight is a chapter in Homosexuality and Christian Faith – Questions of Conscience for the Churches, edited by Walter Wink (1999).  Her essay on justice for nontraditional families appears in The Justice Project, edited by Brian McLaren (2009). Peggy and her husband, Tony, live in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.  They are the parents of two children and have four grandchildren. PEGGY CAMPOLO’S MISSION STATEMENT My commitment is to live out the values of the Kingdom of God on earth.  I am an advocate for justice for God’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children, not in spite of the fact that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, but because of it. I believe in traditional family values, including the rights and responsibilities of marriage for all God’s children, not just those who happen to be straight. I want to let my GLBT brothers and sisters know that God loves them just as they are, and am committed to telling their stories to those who do not understand them, be those people their classmates, their teachers, their parents, their churches, their pastors or their representatives In government.  This is the Kingdom work God has given me to do, and doing it brings me great joy and peace. (This biographical statement provided by Peggy Campolo.) Biographical Text Peggy Campolo has advocated publicly for justice for her gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender sisters and brothers since 1994.  A graduate of Eastern University, she has spoken at churches, universities and conferences throughout the United States, and is a strong proponent for the full inclusion of GLBT people within the church. She has participated in protests with Soulforce, served on the Council of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, and supports PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and Evangelicals Concerned. Peggy belongs to Central Baptist Church, Wayne, Pennsylvania which is duly aligned with American Baptist Churches USA and The Alliance of Baptists. Her own story of how coming to know Christ led her to stand up for those children of God who happen not to be straight is a chapter in Homosexuality and Christian Faith – Questions of Conscience for the Churches, edited by Walter Wink (1999).  Her essay on justice for nontraditional families appears in The Justice Project, edited by Brian McLaren (2009). Peggy and her husband, Tony, live in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.  They are the parents of two children and have four grandchildren. PEGGY CAMPOLO’S MISSION STATEMENT My commitment is to live out the values of the Kingdom of God on earth.  I am an advocate for justice for God’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender children, not in spite of the fact that I am a follower of Jesus Christ, but because of it. I believe in traditional family values, including the rights and responsibilities of marriage for all God’s children, not just those who happen to be straight. I want to let my GLBT brothers and sisters know that God loves them just as they are, and am committed to telling their stories to those who do not understand them, be those people their classmates, their teachers, their parents, their churches, their pastors or their representatives In government.  This is the Kingdom work God has given me to do, and doing it brings me great joy and peace. (This biographical statement provided by Peggy Campolo.) Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Peggy Campolo Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists AWAB Baptist Evangelicals Concerned Peggy Campolo Soulforce