Justin Cannon

Rev. Justin R. Cannon, born July 9, 1984, in Detroit, Michigan, is the founder of www.TruthSetsFree.net, an affirming outreach ministry to gay and lesbian Christians centered around his booklet "The Bible, Christianity, and Homosexuality." The Los Angeles Times described the booklet as "an illuminating...analysis that argues the Bible doesn't condemn faithful gay relationships" (Michael McGough, July 18, 2005). Rev. Justin is also the founder of Rainbow Christians, the Internet's first gay Christian personals website, a business which he sold to new ownership in 2009.

In 2007 he re-launched his ministry website under the name "Inclusive Orthodoxy." According to his website, "Inclusive Orthodoxy is the belief that the Church can and must be inclusive of lgbt individuals without sacrificing the Gospel and the Apostolic teachings of the Christian faith." His ministry affirms the divine inspiration of the Bible, the sacredness of Tradition, and affirms "...that there is a place within the full life and ministry of the Christian Church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Christians, both those who are called to lifelong celibacy and those who are partnered."

Rev. Cannon was featured as a "Future Gay Hero" in the gay newsmagazine The Advocate (July 5, 2005) shortly before he graduated from Earlham College. He subsequently appeared on The Michelangelo Signorile Show on SIRIUS Satellite Radio. His work has been cited in The New York Times, and has even been recognized internationally--in the French glbtq magazine Préf ("Ainsi Soient-Ils" January/February #12 Issue). ABC News' Sacramento affiliate, News 10, ran a feature on Rev. Cannon and his website Rainbow Christians on March 29, 2007. In 2006, Rev. Cannon was recognized as one of Out Magazine's Top 100 most influential gay people of the year.

He received his Master of Divinity from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2009 and was ordained to the priesthood by the Right Reverend Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, on December 3, 2011. In 2010, he founded a ministry called Holy Hikes (www.holyhikes.org), an eco-ministry serving the San Francisco Bay Area, and he is currently is serving as Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in San Leandro, California (www.saintsalive.net)

(This biographical statement provided by Justin Cannon.)

Biography Date: October 2012

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