William R. Johnson (minister)

William R. Johnson (sometimes referred to as Bill Johnson[2]) was the first openly gay minister to be ordained in a historic protestant denomination. He received his ordination through the United Church of Christ (UCC) on June 25, 1972 in San Carlos, California.[3][4]

William R. Johnson
Personal
Born(1946-06-12)June 12, 1946[1]
Houston, Texas, U.S.
ReligionChristianity
DenominationUnited Church of Christ
EducationElmhurst College
Pacific School of Religion Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality

Education and ordination

William Johnson first received his undergraduate degree in May 1968 from Elmhurst College with a BA in English. He then held two summer student pastoral positions in Iowa before beginning his seminary in the following fall at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. He attended seminary from 1968–1971 and during that time he also held church positions as a youth minister, student pastor, chaplain, and Interim Associate Pastor. In 1970, The Graduate Theological Union organized a support group in Berkeley for gay seminarians. William, having recently embraced his identity as a gay man that year, became an active member of the group. That year the group hosted a public forum at Graduate Theological Union on the topic of homosexuality and the church. The event drew in around 400 attendees. During the public forum, William came out as a gay christian and made clear his intentions of receiving an ordination through the United Church of Christ. As a requirement for ordination, William worked as a coordinator for a house church development ministry within the United Church of Christ from January of 1971 until his ordination in San Carlos on June 25, 1972. He later on went back to school to receive his Doctor of Education degree at the Institute for Advance Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco in May of 1977.[1] His ordination is the subject of the documentary film "A Position of Faith" directed by Michael Rhodes.[5]

Career as a minister and LGBT activist
Riverside Church in New York City, founding place of Maranatha: Riversiders for Lesbian/Gay Concerns

Some of William's accomplishments in LGBT activism include founding the UCC Gay Caucus (now called UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns) and co-founding P-FLAG/San Francisco. He has also planted UCC churches in New York and Ohio.[6] An annual lecture at Elmhurst College called The William R. Johnson Intercultural Lecture was named after William[7] along with The William R. Johnson Scholarship which was set up in 1999 for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender United Church of Christ seminarians.[8] In 1974 William co-authored the book Loving Women/Loving Men: Gay Liberation and the Church with Sally Miller Gearhart.[9] After moving to New York City in 1977, William founded Maranatha: Riversiders for Lesbian/Gay Concerns at Riverside Church the following year which was the first parish-based LGBT ministry within the United Church of Christ.[1]

Retirement

William Johnson retired during the 29th United Church of Christ General Synod on July 1, 2013. In his retirement he continues to give talks about his experiences as a christian gay activist and minister.[10]

See also

References
  1. "William R. Johnson | Profiles | LGBTQ Religious Archives Network". lgbtqreligiousarchives.org. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  2. Reports, Staff. "Bill Johnson reflects on his historic ordination, 30 years later". United Church of Christ. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  3. "Student Diversity and Inclusion". Elmhurst College. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  4. "About our LGBT Ministries". www.ucc.org. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  5. "The Historic Ordination of William R. Johnson | LGBT-RAN". lgbtqreligiousarchives.org. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  6. "First out UCC minister honored". The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Inc. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  7. "LGBT Activist Calls for a Culture of Respect". Elmhurst College. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  8. "William R. Johnson Scholarship". hds.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  9. Gearhart, Sally Miller; Johnson, William R (1974). Loving women/loving men; gay liberation and the church. San Francisco: Glide Publications. ISBN 9780912078410.
  10. "Bill Johnson (M.Div. '71)". Pacific School of Religion. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
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