When Rev. Dr. William Johnson (he/him) was ordained as a United Church of Christ pastor in 1972, he was the first out gay person to be ordained in any mainline Protestant denomination. He was a founding member of the UCC Gay Caucus (now the Open and Affirming Coalition) and served as its first National Coordinator. He founded the first UCC parish-based LGBTQ+ ministry, Maranatha, at Riverside Church in NYC, which is still active today. And Rev. Bill served on the UCC National staff for over a decade, where he established the United Church HIV/AIDS Network (now UCAN) and was involved in crafting numerous LGBTQ+ resources for congregations and UCC leaders, including curriculums, videos, Bible studies, and books – the impact of which is being felt to this day.

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Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum (she/her) has dedicated her life to promoting social justice, LGBTQ+ and human rights, and progressive values within Judaism. She served for 32 years as Senior Rabbi of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York City, the largest LGBTQ+ synagogue in the world, where she is now Senior Rabbi Emerita. Rabbi Kleinbaum serves as Director of The Beacon, a project of Union Theological Seminary. The BBC named her one of its 100 Women of 2024, and Newsweek named her one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. President Biden appointed Rabbi Kleinbaum a Commissioner to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

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The Reverend Irene Monroe (she/her) is an African American lesbian feminist public theologian, ordained minister, and religion columnist. Over the decades, she’s continuously challenged audiences to consider the role religion plays in LGBTQ+ discrimination as well as other intertwined injustices, including racism, sexism, and anti-Semitism. Rev. Monroe is a founder and currently member emeritus of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC). She is also one of the founders of Equal Partners of Faith, the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry (RCFM) and Christian Lesbians Out (CLOUT). The recipient of many awards and accolades, Rev. Monroe continues to inspire and transform queer religious narratives in the U.S.

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Mx Chris Paige (they/them) is a scholar, a chaplain educator, and an interfaith chaplain with more than 20 years of experience working around transgender and intersex spiritual care. They authored OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation (2019) and Mx Chris was founding executive director of Transfaith, a multi-tradition, multi-racial, multi-gender advocacy organization by and for people of transgender experience. Mx Chris has been a catalyst, contributor, and/or founder to several other ground-breaking projects for and by transgender faith leaders, including The Other Side Christian magazine and OtherWise Engaged Publishing.

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The Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson is the former Global Moderator of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). In addition to serving in that prestigious role, she’s served many MCC congregations: MCC Detroit, MCC Los Angeles (now Founders MCC), Church of the Trinity MCC, and SunCoast MCC. Rev. Nancy founded MCC’s Ecumenical Ministry in the 1970’s, and served as Ecumenical Officer for 23 years, representing MCC at several World Council of Churches General Assemblies. Also an Associate Minister with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, Rev. Nancy’s writings, speeches, and interviews are appreciated by audiences worldwide.

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